Latest news with #BaliMarginalTourismActorsAlliance
Euronews
27-02-2025
- Euronews
Bali floats steep daily tourist tax amid concerns over mass tourism and unruly visitors
Beach holidays in Bali might get more expensive if a proposed tourism tax goes into effect. Grappling with the pitfalls of overtourism, Balinese officials have floated a daily tourist tax similar to the $100 (€95) Sustainable Development Fee that Bhutan charges most international visitors. Wayan Puspa Negara, head of the Bali Marginal Tourism Actors Alliance and a lawmaker in Bali's Badung regency, told the South China Morning Post this week that he envisions the island 'selecting' tourists just like Bhutan. The Himalayan hermit kingdom restricts tourist numbers to 400,000 people a year and in the past has charged as much as $250 (€240) per day to visit. 'They select tourists from a spending perspective,' he said. 'It's the same as when [Indonesians] go to the US, Europe or Britain.' Bali confronts the impact of mass tourism The 'island of the gods' is one of the world's most popular travel destinations. But it has also been plagued by a rash of ill-behaved tourists lured by blissful beaches, delicious food, rich culture, cheap accommodation and visions of self-indulgence. Although tourism has transformed Bali, accounting for more than 60 per cent of the island's economy in 2019, residents today have a love-hate relationship with it. Many have grown upset with the choked traffic, unchecked development and unruly visitors. In 2023, one Russian influencer was deported from Indonesia after posing naked on a sacred tree. Dozens of others have been sent packing for working illegally on tourist visas. Meanwhile, reports of reckless driving, altercations with authorities and disrespect for local customs have fuelled calls for stricter regulations across the board. Can a tourism tax curb bad behaviour? As frustration grows, authorities are looking for ways to balance Bali's booming tourism industry with the well-being of locals and the land itself. In 2023, Bali considered banning motorbike rentals to tourists to reduce traffic accidents. Last year, local officials pressed pause on the construction of new hotels, villas and nightclubs on parts of the island inundated with development. The Bali Tourism Board also ran an ad campaign urging travellers to behave respectfully. Raising the tourism tax is now another option on the table. Bali's governor, Wayan Koster, first floated the idea of a Bhutan -style approach in 2023. Last February, the island introduced a one-time entry fee of 150,000 Indonesian rupiah (€9) to fund conservation efforts. Now officials are reconsidering Koster's initial suggestion of a steeper charge to regulate tourism and attract higher-spending visitors. Tourism taxes: A global trend? Tourism taxes can take various forms, from entry fees to per-night accommodation charges or daily levies on foreign visitors. They also serve different purposes. Edinburgh recently announced plans for a fee to be spent on infrastructure, housing, destination management and cultural initiatives. Meanwhile, Italy has considered raising some of its daily fees to combat overtourism, with the country's tourism minister, Daniela Santanchè, arguing that such fees encourage more responsible travel. But tourism taxes have not been a salve for busy destinations. Barcelona has a famously contentious relationship with tourism, something taxes have done little to alleviate. Last summer, Barcelona residents protested mass tourism and short-term rentals such as Airbnb, spraying some travellers with water while shouting 'go home.' In Southeast Asia, Bali is not the only travel hub experimenting with tourism taxes, either. Thailand, which welcomes around 40 million travellers each year, plans to revive a shelved 300-baht (€8.50) fee for all arrivals before the end of 2025. How that fee will be collected is still unknown, although Sorawong Thienthong, Thailand's tourism and sports minister, said it will likely be part of the country's proposed digital arrival card. 'If collection is complicated, it will be inconvenient. Our aim is to make the process as smooth as possible,' he said at a press conference this week. With European destinations from Wales to Venice also debating the merits of tourism levies, Bali's proposal fits into a broader global conversation about how to make travel more sustainable. Whether higher costs will deter visitors - or simply shift travel patterns - remains to be seen.
South China Morning Post
22-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Will Bali adopt Bhutan-style tax to deter ‘low-class foreign tourists'?
As concerns mount in Bali that the high volume of budget-conscious tourists is threatening the Indonesian island's economy and reputation, officials are being urged to consider a drastic shift towards a Bhutan-style tourism model that would require visitors to pay a hefty fee. I Wayan Puspa Negara, head of the Bali Marginal Tourism Actors Alliance, recently proposed charging foreign visitors a daily fee. To visit Bhutan, tourists, except Indians, must pay a fixed daily charge – called the Sustainable Development Fee – of US$100 per person, although that amount has been dropped from US$250 before the pandemic. Tourists are also obliged to hire a guide, driver and transport from any official tour agency. 'Foreign tourists who come to Bali must be selected, like in Bhutan,' said Puspa Negara, who is also a regional lawmaker at the House of Representatives in Bali's Badung regency. 'They select tourists from a spending perspective. It's the same as when [Indonesians] go to the US, Europe or Britain. The first requirement [for visa applicants] is that they must have a minimum amount of savings. If you don't have it, they won't give you a visa.' Bali's governor Wayan Koster has previously floated the idea of a Bhutan-style approach in 2023, saying he 'ideally would like Bali to be like Bhutan', where tourists are strictly limited to 400,000 per year.
South China Morning Post
18-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Bali fumes at frugal tourists who spend time but less money
Locals in the Indonesian holiday hotspot of Bali have urged authorities to filter out cost-conscious travellers who spend more time but less money on the island, in a shift towards quality tourism. Small business owners have become increasingly annoyed with the spending habits of some backpackers blamed for lower profits, forcing them to eject such thrifty guests from their premises. 'I told them to come out of my stall because they didn't shop, just bought a glass of iced tea, then sat for hours, chatting for hours,' fish restaurant owner Ibu Parubaya was quoted in The Bali Sun as saying. 'It's blocking other customers who want to eat here. [They should be used to being] kicked out because it's normal.' Bargaining hard with fruit vendors and occupying stalls to eat food bought elsewhere were also among grievances that an industry representative believed could be addressed by taking a leaf out of Bhutan's book. Tourists at Kuta Beach in Bali, Indonesia. More than 6.3 million international travellers visited Bali last year. Photo: EPA-EFE The Bali Sun reported that Wayan Puspa Negara, head of the Bali Marginal Tourism Actors Alliance, said backpackers were repeat visitors to the tropical paradise and they could be kept in check like in the Himalayan kingdom where the number of foreign arrivals was controlled.
