Latest news with #Bali-based
New York Post
05-05-2025
- New York Post
Dictator's alleged love child gets taste of the real world after explosive drunken meltdown on flight
An Australian woman who claims she is the daughter of late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos admitted to drinking from a bottle of alcohol smuggled on board a Jetstar flight before launching into an expletive-laden tirade at cabin crew, according to court documents. Analisa Josefa Corr, 54, and her husband James Alexander Corr, 46, appeared in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Monday where they were sentenced over their actions on-board a Hobart-to-Sydney flight which ended with them being escorted off the plane by Australian Federal Police officers late last year. The Bali-based couple admitted to swigging from bottles of whiskey and vodka which they had carried on board the Dec. 28 flight, before an agitated Analisa told a crew member: 'Get your f—king face off me.'' Analisa and James Corr pleaded guilty to sneaking alcohol onto a flight to Sydney, Australia last year. Photo by Marc Grimwade/WireImage The couple also made unfounded allegations about flight staff consuming drugs. Analisa's lawyer Jasmina Ceic told the court on Monday that her client only had one sip from a vodka bottle, and at the time she was on painkillers for broken ribs. According to court documents tendered to the court, when the couple took their seat in row 13, Analisa began drinking from a 3.3 ounce whiskey bottle he had brought on board and asked the passenger sitting next to him: 'Are you going to tell on me if I drink it?' Mid-flight, the same female passenger went to the bathroom but was interrupted by Analisa banging on the door. Analisa Corr went on a drunken tirade against staff on the Jetstar flight in Decemeber. Getty Images When she exited Analisa held her by both shoulders and hugged her. Analisa told the woman: 'I know what you are doing in there' before the passenger assured her she was just going to the toilet. She then accused a flight staff member of doing drugs on-board. 'You guys are Jetstar staff, you can't be doing drugs on a flight,' Analisa said according to a statement of facts tendered to the court. 'It's a major safety risk. You're making me feel scared.' James was seen drinking from his bottle and was told by airline staff to put it away. The couple handed over two bottles of alcohol to the staff before Analisa became agitated. When asked by the cabin crew manager if she had any more alcohol, she said: 'Oh yeah, I have plenty in my bag.' The crew member once again asked her to not drink from her own bottle and to put it away. According to the court documents, Analisa responded: 'Get your f—king face off me, don't talk to me!' James then chimed in with unfounded allegations that crew members were doing drugs, saying: 'Your crew are doing drugs.' There was no suggestions of wrongdoing on the part of any crew member and none were charged with any offense. Analisa was heard saying of the crew manager: 'She is a f—king bitch, I am never flying to f—king Hobart again, get me off this fucking plane.' After the plane landed, James, an ex-Special Forces commando, made an online report to the AFP again making allegations about staff doing cocaine. AFP officers met the plane when it landed and both were escorted off the flight and arrested. In a letter of apology to the court, James said he was 'embarrassed' over the incident. 'I am writing to express my sincere apologies to the court, the Australian Federal Police and all those affected by my actions on the 28th of December, 2024, during the flight from Hobart to Sydney,' he said in the letter of apology. In January, the couple pleaded not guilty to all charges. But in court on Monday, Analisa pleaded guilty to one count of consuming alcohol not provided by cabin crew and behaving in an offensive or disorderly manner affecting safety. Prosecutors withdrew one count of assault and one count of not complying with the cabin crew's safety instructions. James pleaded guilty to consuming alcohol not provided by crew, while another charge of not complying with the cabin crew's safety instructions was withdrawn. Their lawyers asked magistrate Rosheehan O'Meagher not to record a conviction because it would affect their ability to travel internationally for work. O'Meagher described their actions as out of character and noted they were remorseful. 'On the flip side to that, this is a serious matter, it is a fairly prevalent offense. Because people become intoxicated on planes, it causes problems, it causes havoc,' she said. O'Meagher also told the couple that she had to 'send a message to the community.' Both were convicted and Analisa was fined $517 and James was fined $259. Outside court on Monday, Ceic said both would be lodging an appeal.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Yahoo
Dictator's daughter in Jetstar tirade
The Australian daughter of late Philippines dictator Ferdinand Marcos admitted to drinking from a bottle of alcohol smuggled on board a Jetstar flight before launching into an expletive-laden tirade at cabin crew, according to court documents. Analisa Josefa Corr, 54, and her husband James Alexander Corr, 46, appeared in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Monday where they were sentenced over their actions on-board a Hobart-to-Sydney flight which ended with them being escorted off the plane by Australian Federal Police officers late last year. The Bali-based couple admitted to swigging from bottles of whiskey and vodka which they had carried on board the December 28 flight, before an agitated Ms Corr told a crew member: 'Get your f***ing face off me.' The couple also made unfounded allegations about flight staff consuming drugs. Ms Corr's solicitor Jasmina Ceic told the court on Monday that her client only had one sip from a vodka bottle, and at the time she was on painkillers – Panadeine Forte – for broken ribs. According to court documents tendered to the court, when the couple took their seat in row 13, Mr Corr began drinking from a 100ml whiskey bottle he had brought on board and asked the passenger sitting next to him: 'Are you going to tell on me if I drink it?' Mid-flight, the same female passenger went to the bathroom but was interrupted by Ms Corr banging on the door. When she exited Ms Corr held her by both shoulders and hugged her. Ms Corr told the woman: 'I know what you are doing in there' before the passenger assured her she was just going to the toilet. She then accused a flight staff member of doing drugs on-board. 'You guys are Jetstar staff, you can't be doing drugs on a flight,' Ms Corr said according to a statement of facts tendered to the court. 'It's a major safety risk. You're making me feel scared.' Mr Corr was seen drinking from his bottle and was told by airline staff to put it away. The couple handed over two bottles of alcohol to the staff before Ms Corr became agitated. When asked by the cabin crew manager if she had any more alcohol, she said: 'Oh yeah, I have plenty in my bag.' The crew member once again asked her to not drink from her own bottle and to put it away. According to the court documents, Ms Corr responded: 'Get your f***ing face off me, don't talk to me!' Mr Corr then chimed in with unfounded allegations that crew members were doing drugs, saying: 'Your crew are doing drugs.' There was no suggestions of wrongdoing on the part of any crew member and none were charged with any offence. Ms Corr was heard saying of the crew manager: 'She is a f***ing bitch, I am never flying to f***ing Hobart again, get me off this fucking plane.' After the plane landed, Mr Corr, an ex-Special Forces commando, made an online report to the AFP again making allegations about staff doing cocaine. AFP officers met the plane when it landed and both were escorted off the flight and arrested. In a letter of apology to the court, Mr Corr said he was 'embarrassed' over the incident. 'I am writing to express my sincere apologies to the court, the Australian Federal Police and all those affected by my actions on the 28th of December, 2024, during the flight from Hobart to Sydney,' he said in the letter of apology. In January, the couple pleaded not guilty to all charges. But in court on Monday, Ms Corr pleaded guilty to one count of consuming alcohol not provided by cabin crew and behaving in an offensive or disorderly manner affecting safety. Prosecutors withdrew one count of assault and one count of not complying with the cabin crew's safety instructions. Mr Corr pleaded guilty to consuming alcohol not provided by crew, while another charge of not complying with the cabin crew's safety instructions was withdrawn. Their lawyers asked magistrate Rosheehan O'Meagher not to record a conviction because it would affect their ability to travel internationally for work. Ms O'Meagher described their actions as out of character and noted they were remorseful. 'On the flip side to that, this is a serious matter, it is a fairly prevalent offence. Because people become intoxicated on planes, it causes problems, it causes havoc,' she said. Ms O'Meagher also told the couple that she had to 'send a message to the community.' Both were convicted and Ms Corr was fined $800 and Mr Corr was fined $400. Outside court on Monday, Ms Ceic said both would be lodging an appeal.
CNA
05-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
More digital nomads calling Bali home, but this comes at a price for the island and locals
Remote working is becoming increasingly popular in a post-COVID-19 pandemic world, with more and more people aspiring to travel and become digital nomads like Ivanova. According to a 2023 study by remote working consultancy firm, MBO Partners, there were 35 million digital nomads around the world, a 131 per cent increase compared to before the pandemic. But experts and activists have blamed the influx of digital nomads for over-tourism and soaring property prices in many places around the world. Southeast Asian hotspots like Thailand's Phuket or Malaysia's Langkawi saw an average of 8 per cent and 4 per cent hikes in property values respectively in 2024. But even they pale in comparison to Bali's capital Denpasar which according to several brokerage firms saw a 15.1 per cent rise in property values last year. Property is in such high demand that sleepy agricultural villages are being transformed into boom towns filled with upscale restaurants and modern-looking villas. The steep hike is partly why Ivanova is still hesitant about calling Bali her second home. 'When I first came to Bali, everything was cheap. Now, I spend almost the same amount of money as I do in Moscow,' she said. Despite the development, very few locals are reaping the benefits. And as the influx of digital nomads drives prices up, some Balinese are feeling priced out, fuelling friction between the locals and remote-working expats. 'Houses have become out of reach for us Balinese,' said Bali resident Nyoman Denny. SKYROCKETING PRICES Last year, Bali saw a 40 per cent increase in the number of digital nomads residing on the island compared to 2023. It is estimated that over 3,000 digital nomads now live there, according to the number of digital nomad visas granted annually. While these numbers might not seem overwhelming for an island around eight times the size of Singapore with a population of around 4.4 million, it is possible that this is a gross-underestimation as it is possible to enter for a month on a tourist visa, which can then be renewed for an additional 30 days. Some nationalities are exempt and do not require a visa at all. The first wave of digital nomads came to Bali in the 2010s as high-speed internet was no longer confined to the downtown areas of major cities and began to penetrate smaller towns and suburbs. 'For these digital nomads, it is a lot cheaper to achieve the lifestyle that they want in Bali compared to where they come from,' Hansen Tandiyanto, the owner of Bali-based co-working space chain, Biliq, told CNA. 'Another reason is that Bali already had strong expat communities. It is easy for them to find someone who comes from the same country, speaks the same language and shares the same culture. So for them, Bali feels like a home away from home.' The early wave of digital nomads was dominated by people in the technology industry and stock brokers, Hansen said. 'Then the (COVID-19) pandemic happened and everyone realised that they can work from anywhere,' he said. At the same time, Bali – an island where 80 per cent of its economy is linked to the tourism sector – was completely devastated. According to the Bali manpower agency, at least 78,000 people lost their livelihoods at the height of the pandemic as hundreds of hotels, restaurants and shops had to stop operating temporarily or permanently. With occupancy down to almost zero, hotel and villa owners began offering significant discounts in a bid to generate what little income they could. 'I was seeing villas which would have cost two million rupiah (US$119) a night being offered at two million rupiah per week or even per 15 days,' Febby Ayu, a 34-year-old accountant who moved to Bali from Jakarta told CNA. The offer, made between 2020 and 2021 when countries around the world were still closing their borders, managed to convince hundreds of people from other Indonesian cities to temporarily reside in Bali. 'My office understood that where I work did not affect my productivity,' Febby said. 'Although I have to admit that sometimes when I was at work all I could think about was 'when can I hit the beach?'.' But the massive price cut did not last long. In fact, prices started rising in January 2022 when Indonesia began to loosen its borders and offered a special visa for digital nomads. Known formally as the C1 special visit visa, the pass allows foreigners to stay in the country for up to 60 days, which can be renewed twice. Applicants must among other criteria prove that they are employed at a company based outside of Indonesia and pay a one million rupiah application fee. Holders of the visa are barred from making a living in Indonesia although they can still earn a salary by working remotely for businesses and clients based outside the country. Apart from the C1 visa, other visas available include the tourist visa, valid for 30 days, and the E33G remote work visa, which allows for multiple entries and a stay of up to 12 months, for employees of non-Indonesian companies earning at least US$60,000 a year. 'Suddenly, rent became three to four times what they were during the pandemic,' Febby said, adding that over the last four years she had to move three times because she could no longer afford to live in her property. While Febby can always go back to Jakarta, the same cannot be said for locals in Bali. 'We have to rent houses in the suburbs or another town altogether because we cannot afford to live in Denpasar anymore,' hotel clerk Ni Wayan Laksmi told CNA. 'How are we supposed to compete with foreigners who are paid in dollars?' LOSING ITS CHARM Skyrocketing prices are not the only problem. Around Denpasar, villas, retail spaces, bars and restaurants have sprung up, turning remote villages into boom towns. 'A few years ago, rice fields used to stretch as far as the eye can see. Now, there are only small patches of rice fields left which are completely surrounded by houses and buildings,' Bali resident Wayan Aditya, told CNA. Before the digital nomad craze, Aditya said, tourists largely stuck to hotels and hostels. But most remote workers prefer the privacy and spaciousness offered by rented villas. With the prospect of earning thousands of dollars each month, wealthy landowners began converting their rice fields into villas for rent. Those without capital to build rental homes are selling their vacant plots of land to investors from overseas or other parts of Indonesia. The COVID-19 pandemic added fuel to the fire. 'People were selling their land because they had no choice. Bali is so reliant on tourism we had no other income,' Aditya continued. According to property monitoring company AirDNA, there are currently 83,500 properties available for rent in Bali and the number has been growing by between 20 and 27 per cent every year. Meanwhile, public infrastructure such as roads and drainage systems are struggling to keep up with this massive scale of development, leading to worsening traffic congestion and flooding. 'Bali is getting more crowded but the roads are not getting any bigger. Traffic is so bad, sometimes it takes two hours just to cover a distance of less than 10km,' transportation expert Djoko Setijowarno told CNA. 'Meanwhile, public transportation in Bali is virtually non-existent, forcing tourists to take taxis or rent a vehicle.' Bali is trying to address its crippling traffic by building a 33km light rail transit (LRT) network. The first two lines, which will connect Denpasar's Ngurah Rai Airport with Cemagi beach in the north and Nusa Dua in the south, are expected to open by 2031. Meanwhile, flooding is worsening as more and more land is being converted into settlements and buildings. On Feb 12, several streets and neighbourhoods in the greater Denpasar area were inundated by waist-high water. Dozens of foreigners were trapped inside their villas and had to be evacuated using life rafts. For Christian Moser, a 60-year-old IT consultant from Germany, Bali is slowly losing its charm. 'I have seen a lot of development in Bali which is not sustainable. The quiet life, the view, the lush green rice fields, they are slowly going away or being spoiled by pollution and waste,' Moser, who has lived intermittently in Bali as a digital nomad for the last two years, told CNA. HARD TO STAY AWAY As more foreigners decide to live in Bali as digital nomads, friction with locals becomes unavoidable. In September of 2022, eight months after Indonesia introduced the digital nomad visa, an online petition emerged to repeal the policy. The petitioners argued that some nomads have been disrespectful towards local customs and traditions, including staging late night parties, driving under the influence of alcohol and getting into brawls with locals or other foreigners. At least 8,000 signed the petition. 'The problem is not everyone who claims to be digital nomads are actually professionals working remotely. Many are just influencers looking to create tasteless content,' tourism expert Azril Azhari said. 'The government needs to be more selective in issuing the digital nomad visa.' Tjok Bagus Pemayun, chief of the Bali tourism agency admitted that 'the regulation must be strengthened' so that the visa is issued to those who deserve it. The island is currently in talks with the Immigration Ministry in Jakarta to work out the details of the planned amendment, he said. However, Pemayun disagreed with the petitioners that the policy should be repealed entirely. 'Bali needs long-staying tourists with money to spend. They were the reasons why our economy stayed afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic,' he told CNA. 'The government also feels that working remotely is now becoming the norm. Working while holidaying is no longer the privilege of a few people in certain sectors. We must capitalise on this trend.' Pemayun admitted that the policy has contributed to the over-development of some areas in Bali. 'Which is why we are trying to develop areas which are under-developed, so there won't be an over-concentration of tourism in one part of Bali,' he said. Experts said Indonesia should also look at other areas outside of Bali and see if they too can become hubs for digital nomads. 'Other countries have multiple tourism hubs. Meanwhile, for Indonesia, most tourists only know Bali and care little about visiting other places,' tourism expert Azril said. 'This is why the impact of digital nomads on over-tourism is felt more in Bali compared to places like Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur.' Although there is no official figure, some media outlets and research firms estimated that there could be tens of thousands of digital nomads in Thailand, making it one of the world's most popular destinations for remote workers. These nomads are spread among several popular tourist destinations in the country like Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai. Malaysia attracted some 1,500 digital nomads last year, 73 per cent of whom chose to stay close to the country's bustling capital, Kuala Lumpur. However, there is a growing number of remote workers choosing to stay in tourist favourites like Penang and Langkawi. 'As for Indonesia, tourists only know Bali because Indonesia is not doing enough to promote other destinations,' tourism expert Azril said. Of the almost 14 million international tourists who came to Indonesia last year, 5.5 million arrived via Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport. In contrast, Jakarta's Soekarno Hatta Airport last year welcomed 2.1 million international travellers. Since 2016, Indonesia has been trying to develop and promote 10 tourism destinations which it hopes will become 'the new Bali'. In 2023, the focus narrowed to five 'super priority destinations': North Sumatra's Lake Toba; Central Java's Borobudur; West Nusa Tenggara's Mandalika; East Nusa Tenggara's Labuan Bajo; and North Sulawesi's Likupang. But despite the efforts, their infrastructure and tourism ecosystems are nowhere as developed as Bali. While it is possible to have high-speed internet access in even the remotest part of the globe using technology such as Elon Musk's Starlink satellite-based network, some nomads still find it hard to stay away from Bali and move to these five destinations. Tanay Mishra, an Indian-born digital marketing consultant, has been travelling all over the world as a digital nomad for the past 10 years. However, he kept coming back to Bali over and over again until eventually he decided a few years ago to permanently make the island his home. 'In Bali, you can find quiet beaches and bustling city centres just a few minutes drive from where you live. You will meet some of the friendliest people and have the best food,' the 35-year-old said.
CNA
05-05-2025
- Business
- CNA
As Bali grapples with a boom in digital nomads, does it risk losing its charm?
Remote working is becoming increasingly popular in a post-COVID-19 pandemic world, with more and more people aspiring to travel and become digital nomads like Ivanova. According to a 2023 study by remote working consultancy firm, MBO Partners, there were 35 million digital nomads around the world, a 131 per cent increase compared to before the pandemic. But experts and activists have blamed the influx of digital nomads for over-tourism and soaring property prices in many places around the world. Southeast Asian hotspots like Thailand's Phuket or Malaysia's Langkawi saw an average of 8 per cent and 4 per cent hikes in property values respectively in 2024. But even they pale in comparison to Bali's capital Denpasar which according to several brokerage firms saw a 15.1 per cent rise in property values last year. Property is in such high demand that sleepy agricultural villages are being transformed into boom towns filled with upscale restaurants and modern-looking villas. The steep hike is partly why Ivanova is still hesitant about calling Bali her second home. 'When I first came to Bali, everything was cheap. Now, I spend almost the same amount of money as I do in Moscow,' she said. Despite the development, very few locals are reaping the benefits. And as the influx of digital nomads drives prices up, some Balinese are feeling priced out, fuelling friction between the locals and remote-working expats. 'Houses have become out of reach for us Balinese,' said Bali resident Nyoman Denny. SKYROCKETING PRICES Last year, Bali saw a 40 per cent increase in the number of digital nomads residing on the island compared to 2023. It is estimated that over 3,000 digital nomads now live there, according to the number of digital nomad visas granted annually. While these numbers might not seem overwhelming for an island around eight times the size of Singapore with a population of around 4.4 million, it is possible that this is a gross-underestimation as it is possible to enter for a month on a tourist visa, which can then be renewed for an additional 30 days. Some nationalities are exempt and do not require a visa at all. The first wave of digital nomads came to Bali in the 2010s as high-speed internet was no longer confined to the downtown areas of major cities and began to penetrate smaller towns and suburbs. 'For these digital nomads, it is a lot cheaper to achieve the lifestyle that they want in Bali compared to where they come from,' Hansen Tandiyanto, the owner of Bali-based co-working space chain, Biliq, told CNA. 'Another reason is that Bali already had strong expat communities. It is easy for them to find someone who comes from the same country, speaks the same language and shares the same culture. So for them, Bali feels like a home away from home.' The early wave of digital nomads was dominated by people in the technology industry and stock brokers, Hansen said. 'Then the (COVID-19) pandemic happened and everyone realised that they can work from anywhere,' he said. At the same time, Bali – an island where 80 per cent of its economy is linked to the tourism sector – was completely devastated. According to the Bali manpower agency, at least 78,000 people lost their livelihoods at the height of the pandemic as hundreds of hotels, restaurants and shops had to stop operating temporarily or permanently. With occupancy down to almost zero, hotel and villa owners began offering significant discounts in a bid to generate what little income they could. 'I was seeing villas which would have cost two million rupiah (US$119) a night being offered at two million rupiah per week or even per 15 days,' Febby Ayu, a 34-year-old accountant who moved to Bali from Jakarta told CNA. The offer, made between 2020 and 2021 when countries around the world were still closing their borders, managed to convince hundreds of people from other Indonesian cities to temporarily reside in Bali. 'My office understood that where I work did not affect my productivity,' Febby said. 'Although I have to admit that sometimes when I was at work all I could think about was 'when can I hit the beach?'.' But the massive price cut did not last long. In fact, prices started rising in January 2022 when Indonesia began to loosen its borders and offered a special visa for digital nomads. Known formally as the C1 special visit visa, the pass allows foreigners to stay in the country for up to 60 days, which can be renewed twice. Applicants must among others prove that they are employed at a company based outside of Indonesia and pay a one million rupiah application fee. Holders of the visa are barred from making a living in Indonesia although they can still earn a salary by working remotely for businesses and clients based outside the country. Apart from the C1 visa, other visas available include the tourist visa, valid for 30 days, and the E33G remote work visa, which allows for multiple entries and a stay of up to 12 months, for employees of non-Indonesian companies earning US$60,000 a year. 'Suddenly, rent became three to four times what they were during the pandemic,' Febby said, adding that over the last four years she had to move three times because she could no longer afford to live in them. While Febby can always go back to Jakarta, the same cannot be said for locals in Bali. 'We have to rent houses in the suburbs or another town altogether because we cannot afford to live in Denpasar anymore,' hotel clerk Ni Wayan Laksmi told CNA. 'How are we supposed to compete with foreigners who are paid in dollars?' LOSING ITS CHARM Skyrocketing prices are not the only problem. Around Denpasar, villas, retail spaces, bars and restaurants have sprung up, turning remote villages into boom towns. 'A few years ago, rice fields used to stretch as far as the eye can see. Now, there are only small patches of rice fields left which are completely surrounded by houses and buildings,' Bali resident Wayan Aditya, told CNA. Before the digital nomad craze, Aditya said, tourists largely stuck to hotels and hostels. But most remote workers prefer the privacy and spaciousness offered by rented villas. With the prospect of earning thousands of dollars each month, wealthy landowners began converting their rice fields into villas for rent. Those without capital to build rental homes are selling their vacant plots of land to investors from overseas or other parts of Indonesia. The COVID-19 pandemic added fuel to the fire. 'People were selling their land because they had no choice. Bali is so reliant on tourism we had no other income,' Aditya continued. According to property monitoring company AirDNA, there are currently 83,500 properties available for rent in Bali and the number has been growing by between 20 and 27 per cent every year. Meanwhile, public infrastructure such as roads and drainage systems are struggling to keep up with this massive scale of development, leading to worsening traffic congestion and flooding. 'Bali is getting more crowded but the roads are not getting any bigger. Traffic is so bad, sometimes it takes two hours just to cover a distance of less than 10km,' transportation expert Djoko Setijowarno told CNA. 'Meanwhile, public transportation in Bali is virtually non-existent, forcing tourists to take taxis or rent a vehicle.' Bali is trying to address its crippling traffic by building a 33km light rail transit (LRT) network. The first two lines, which will connect Denpasar's Ngurah Rai Airport with Cemagi beach in the north and Nusa Dua in the south, are expected to open by 2031. Meanwhile, flooding is worsening as more and more land is being converted into settlements and buildings. On Feb 12, several streets and neighbourhoods in the greater Denpasar area were inundated by waist-high water. Dozens of foreigners were trapped inside their villas and had to be evacuated using life rafts. For Christian Moser, a 60-year-old IT consultant from Germany, Bali is slowly losing its charm. 'I have seen a lot of development in Bali which is not sustainable. The quiet life, the view, the lush green rice fields, they are slowly going away or being spoiled by pollution and waste,' Moser, who has lived intermittently in Bali as a digital nomad for the last two years, told CNA. HARD TO STAY AWAY As more foreigners decide to live in Bali as digital nomads, friction with locals becomes unavoidable. In September of 2022, eight months after Indonesia introduced the digital nomad visa, an online petition emerged to repeal the policy. The petitioners argued that some nomads have been disrespectful towards local customs and traditions, including staging late night parties, driving under the influence of alcohol and getting into brawls with locals or other foreigners. At least 8,000 signed the petition. 'The problem is not everyone who claims to be digital nomads are actually professionals working remotely. Many are just influencers looking to create tasteless content,' tourism expert Azril Azhari said. 'The government needs to be more selective in issuing the digital nomad visa.' Tjok Bagus Pemayun, chief of the Bali tourism agency admitted that 'the regulation must be strengthened' so that the visa is issued to those who deserve it. The island is currently in talks with the Immigration Ministry in Jakarta to work out the details of the planned amendment, he said. However, Pemayun disagreed with the petitioners that the policy should be repealed entirely. 'Bali needs long-staying tourists with money to spend. They were the reasons why our economy stayed afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic,' he told CNA. 'The government also feels that working remotely is now becoming the norm. Working while holidaying is no longer the privilege of a few people in certain sectors. We must capitalise on this trend.' Pemayun admitted that the policy has contributed to the over-development of some areas in Bali. 'Which is why we are trying to develop areas which are under-developed, so there won't be an over-concentration of tourism in one part of Bali,' he said. Experts said Indonesia should also look at other areas outside of Bali and see if they too can become hubs for digital nomads. 'Other countries have multiple tourism hubs. Meanwhile, for Indonesia, most tourists only know Bali and care little about visiting other places,' tourism expert Azril said. 'This is why the impact of digital nomads on over-tourism is felt more in Bali compared to places like Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur.' Although there is no official figure, some media outlets and research firms estimated that there could be tens of thousands of digital nomads in Thailand, making it one of the world's most popular destinations for remote workers. These nomads are spread among several popular tourist destinations in the country like Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai. Malaysia attracted some 1,500 digital nomads last year, 73 per cent of whom chose to stay close to the country's bustling capital, Kuala Lumpur. However, there is a growing number of remote workers choosing to stay in tourist favourites like Penang and Langkawi. 'As for Indonesia, tourists only know Bali because Indonesia is not doing enough to promote other destinations,' tourism expert Azril said. Of the almost 14 million international tourists who came to Indonesia last year, 5.5 million arrived via Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport. In contrast, Jakarta's Soekarno Hatta Airport last year welcomed 2.1 million international travellers. Since 2016, Indonesia has been trying to develop and promote 10 tourism destinations which it hopes will become 'the new Bali'. In 2023, the focus narrowed to five 'super priority destinations': North Sumatra's Lake Toba; Central Java's Borobudur; West Nusa Tenggara's Mandalika; East Nusa Tenggara's Labuan Bajo; and North Sulawesi's Likupang. But despite the efforts, their infrastructure and tourism ecosystems are nowhere as developed as Bali. While it is possible to have high-speed internet access in even the remotest part of the globe using technology such as Elon Musk's Starlink satellite-based network, some nomads still find it hard to stay away from Bali and move to these five destinations. Tanay Mishra, an Indian-born digital marketing consultant, has been travelling all over the world as a digital nomad for the past 10 years. However, he kept coming back to Bali over and over again until eventually he decided a few years ago to permanently make the island his home. 'In Bali, you can find quiet beaches and bustling city centres just a few minutes drive from where you live. You will meet some of the friendliest people and have the best food,' the 35-year-old said. 'Yes, people complain about the traffic and how expensive everything is. But once you look past that, Bali will capture your heart and then you can never leave.'
Forbes
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
She Created A Design For Living
Erika Peña Dasha Almazova Some people really struggle to figure out what they want to do with their lives. Finding their ideal career path doesn't come easily. Erika Peña is not one of those people. From an early age, Peña, who would grow up to become a fashion and jewelry designer, had a sense of her dream profession. When she was around four-years-old she knew her life's calling. She could even picture what kind of clothing she was meant to create. 'I wanted to design resort wear, but at that age, I did not know what it was called,' says Peña, whose designs have been worn by Beyoncé, Jessica Alba, Kim Kardashian, and Paris Hilton and is known for her diaphanous hand-dyed dresses with voluminous sleeves that seem built for twirling. 'I just thought of designing vacation outfits. And I imagined what these ladies would be wearing to fabulous parties.' By the time she was five, she was so focused on her craft, she would sketch models on her brother's index cards. 'I took his circular ruler and would draw these little models I named after my friend from school,' says the Bali-based Peña. "I imagined how I would dress them and where they would be going in these fabulous dresses,' she says. 'I think it was just me fantasizing. And Bali was one of the dream places that I saw these women visiting. It's quite funny because I ended up living there. Bali is such a spiritual, peaceful and creative place. It is a really a refuge for me.' Born in Puerto Rico to Dominican parents, Peña had lived in Florida since she was three. By the time she was18, she studied fashion design at Parsons Design School. After working for several designers, she found herself thrown into the sales part of the industry and opened a New York City showroom. She sold her friends' designs. "It really intrigued me and seemed so fascinating,' says Peña. 'It was still fashion, but another facet.' But ultimately her passion for creating beckoned in a big way. 'I'm always creating in my mind as a designer and literally had an epiphany,' she says. 'I looked at my living room lamp, which contained Nautilus shells from Bali and designed my first earrings. That is how I started designing jewelry.' (In 2012 Beyoncé wore her Obama hoop earrings which became wildly popular.) After a very difficult divorce she stopped designing. 'I needed to take a break from everything and reconnect with myself not as a designer, but with Erika, the person, apart from her career,' says Peña. 'During that period of looking towards my inner self, I was drawn back into designing again and creating pieces that I love for myself.' Inspired by what she was wearing, people would stop her on the street and ask where they could buy her clothing. In 2012 she launched her resort wear brand and relocated to live in Bali. Not only does she have her thriving fashion and jewelry line that is sold around the world she also has four Erika Peña boutiques in Bali. Devoted to creating fashion that lasts Peña uses 100% cotton fabrics made from natural fibers. Her dresses can use from 49 to 55 feet of fabric and take around two to three days to make. 'My fabrics feel good on the skin, do not harm the planet and still look fabulous,' she says. 'It is a labor of love.' Erika Peña designs Gabor Marton Jeryl Brunner: Was there a point where you told yourself you had really made it? Erika Peña: I will probably never say I have fully made it. In my mind it feels like an endless pursuit. But I feel like, wow, I've touched so many lives. I love when I see a person on the street wearing my dress. I think of when Beyoncé wore my pieces and thanked me on her album. I remember seeing a woman on the street in Paris looking absolutely stunning wearing my dress. That really touches my heart and makes me feel very proud and accomplished. Brunner: You have talked about how you honor the people who work with you. What are some things you offer them? Peña: I believe your staff are the limbs of your brand. They are the ones who carry you from place to place. So it's important that you take care of your team and your people. In our company, we provide fully paid insurance and taxes and pay above the minimum wage. As for personal growth, we offer English classes and leadership courses so employees can develop and grow in their careers. We also have annual reviews in which our staff can get raises. We have a five year loyalty program where we buy our employees a vehicle with the brand logo as a thank you for staying and working in our companies. We believe that loyalty should always be rewarded. Brunner: So many people have a dream to create something like a clothing line, but feel they don't have the resources or confidence. What would you advise? Peña: Start small. One design and one step at a time. And let it grow organically. Start researching and studying and learning the most you can. If you are young it's always important to do internships at companies that you admire—where one day you would like to have a similar company. You can really learn from these internships. And this helps form relationships and a possible mentor so when you're ready to launch your company, there's always someone who will help you.
