Bali wants a daily ‘tourist tax’ on Australians
The $15 Bali tourism levy could skyrocket to $70 and might also be charged on a daily basis.
By Staff Writers, February 24 2025
That quick getaway to Bali could soon cost you more – quite a lot more – as the government of the popular Indonesian holiday region considers ways to deter ‘low-class foreign tourists’.
Indonesia already charges IDR500,000 (AUD$48) for an e-Visa on Arrival, on top of which visitors to Bali pay an additional IDR150,000 (AUD$15) levy introduced in February 2024 to fund tourism initiatives and support the local Balinese community.
Local lawmakers have been pushing for this ‘foreign tourist tax’ to be increased to AUD$75 (IDR750,000).
“I think IDR150,000 tax is too low, so Bali seems like a cheap tourist destination,” said Bali Regional Legislative Council lawmaker Gede Komang Kresna Budi. “Why should Bali be sold cheaply?”
“There is this problem because usually, those who act up are members of the bottom layer (lower-spending tourists).”
This push for a better class of traveller could even see tourists paying a daily fee, with the number of visitors capped per year.
It’s a system already adopted by Bhutan, where tourists must pay a daily ‘Sustainable Development Fee’ of US$100 (AUD$157) per person; they are also obliged to hire a guide, driver and transport from official tour agencies, with no more than 400,000 tourists permitted to visit the country each year.
“Foreign tourists who come to Bali must be selected, like in Bhutan, from a spending perspective,” says I Wayan Puspa Negara, head of the Bali Marginal Tourism Actors Alliance, who backs the shift to a daily fee.
Bali governor Wayan Koster has previously backed this Bhutan-style approach in 2023, saying he “ideally would like Bali to be like Bhutan”, including an annual limit on the number of visitors, to shift tourism in the Indonesian province from being about quantity to quality.
In the crosshairs is the cohort known as thong-wearing ‘flip-flop’ tourists.
“Flip-flop tourists is a term for tourists who have a tight or insufficient budget when visiting Bali,” explains Ida Bagus Raka Suardana, who lectures in economics and business at Bali’s National Education University.
“They do not contribute much to society. They usually choose cheap accommodation, they walk (everywhere), they eat street food, they use public transport.”
“They cause commotion in bars, they drive motorbikes recklessly and without wearing clothes, they do not respect local wisdom, this is what we often see. Last year during Nyepi (the Balinese Day of Silence), they roamed the beach, without paying attention to the prohibitions and Balinese customs.”
While Raka Suardana said it might be “rather extreme” for Bali to apply Bhutan’s exact tourism model, he supported the idea of “selecting visitors based on their income”.
24 Aug 2011
Total posts 1277
An extra $60 isn't going to achieve a reduction in flip-flop travellers but will increase the revenue the government receives. If Bali are serious about reducing the number of low value tourists, they would be better to discourage low-cost airlines flying there. Whilst airlines like Lion, Air Asia and Jetstar dominate arrivals, it is no surprise that the tourist demographic is what it is.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 May 2012
Total posts 95
An extra $75 per person, how much of that will flow through to people of bali.
It will further line the pockets of corrupt government officials and politicians. Plane and simple.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 May 2012
Total posts 95
Wow, what a great idea. So bali currently has 5.5m visitors per year. We drop that down to 400,000, and then all the airlines will stop flying there and the hotels will close because there is no demand, restaurants will close and put many small shops out of business.
Yes there is many bogan travelers, that choose to stay very cheaply. But those same cheap hotels and street food vendors employ local people.
Instead of reducing visitor numbers, why not focus on enforcing the rules with policing (and try to cut out police corruption 🙄)
Etihad - Etihad Guest
21 Jul 2019
Total posts 228
If the Bali officials/politicians were truly serious about cutting down the numbers of "lower layer tourists" they must logically start by closing down cheap hotels, villas, and homestays. And they must revoke landing rights for low cost carriers. And they must close down the bars selling cheap alcohol and restrict street food and bike operators. If they took away these various 'enabling' factors which are extremely popular with "lower layer tourists", then those said tourists would find no reason to visit Bali. Now imagine them trying to sell these measures to their local constituents...yeah nope. It's a money grab, pure and simple. Bali is a cheap and tacky destination full of bogans because local officials have allowed it to become one.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Sep 2017
Total posts 171
This initiative (or push for it) is fraught with problems - some already highlighted very well here by those commenting. Make the place too expensive and yes, a component of the tourists will look elsewhere. If people of any budget travel to a destination, pay for some accommodation, buy food and drink from any venue or vendor then they’re contributing to a local economy, not just the pockets of crooks/politicians. And what’s wrong with people who walk whenever they can? Less traffic, less pollution, less stress? Seems perfectly reasonable. Good point by LR too - reduce the annual tourist numbers and then everything else starts suffering and scaling back. There must be better ways for disincentivising bogan behaviour and this is not it.
03 Aug 2020
Total posts 31
It would be interesting to know what the tourist dollar (or rupiah) is worth to Bali. My experience is that it's not as cheap as it used to be with other destinations worth considering. I guess it all depends on what you're looking for in a holiday.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
13 Jun 2019
Total posts 18
For Australian who go to Bali for reasons other than getting beads in their hair, taking drugs and having an RSL Club experience in Asia, go to Fiji. Its a big more expensive and a bit more premium than Bali. You are unlikely to see ugly Australian behaviour, and more to the poitn you are welcomed in Fiji rather than tolerated.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
18 Feb 2015
Total posts 132
You need a quality product to charge a premium and expect people to pay for it
Etihad - Etihad Guest
21 Jul 2019
Total posts 228
@moecat
You sum it up beautifully!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
11 Nov 2016
Total posts 72
I've never paid the $15 Bali levy. Just walk past the booth on the left when you arrive, it's not always staffed and even when it is I've never been stopped.
06 Sep 2018
Total posts 1
If they were serious they could impliment these few measures...
1. Restrict the number of Jetstar flights
2. Restrict the number for flights to/from Perth, or at least Batik, Citilink, etc
3. Some sort of tax on tattoo shops
4. Crackdown on TAB syle facilities in bars, ie live races in large screens (Gambling is actually illegal in Indonesia but this still proliferates)
It seems to be a common theme amongst countries these days, complaining about low value tourists, but in almost every case you look at thier airport arrivals and they are dominated by Jetstar, various Lion brands, IndiGo, SpiceJet, etc. Not sure why they can't connect the dots there...
26 Sep 2019
Total posts 3
Having returned from a Trip in January this year (my 7th visit), I would agree that Bali is not a cheap destination anymore. Quite a few operators and restaurant staff (not at the cheap Warungs) complained about the lack of tourist numbers.
Flights are no longer cheap from Brisbane and to be honest I not likely to return to Bali anytime soon. Other cleaner destinations for the same cost are available now with sufficient frequency in flights.
26 Sep 2023
Total posts 36
I made my first trip to Bali this year. I dutifully paid the tourist levy- I support it, like Venice the place is a victim of its own success- but nobody seemed to care or notice.
I would have thought the easier thing would be just to jack up the cost of the visa rather than introduce a whole new system.
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