Australian Consul General in Denpasar, Bali, Jo Stevens supports the introduction of a foreign tourist levy of IDR 150,000 (USD 9.54) per person in Bali, which will come into effect on February 14, 2024.
“This (levy) is a good thing to support culture, for waste management, with respect for customs, religious aspects and Balinese culture,” Jo Stevens said on Monday on the sidelines of the launch of the foreign tourism levy in Sanur, Denpasar.
Meanwhile, regarding the amount of the foreign tourist tax of IDR 150,000 per person, he continued that this is the nominal amount that can be paid by foreign tourists. “In my opinion, this is the amount that tourists can pay,” the diplomat said.
Earlier, Britain’s deputy ambassador to Indonesia, Matthew Downing, also supported the levy on foreign tourists on a separate occasion. According to him, tax policies regarding tourism fees have been implemented by various city and country governments in the world. Funds from the levy, he said, were returned to be used as a source of funding for a local project, as he understands that this is also being done by the Bali Provincial Government in relation to the foreign tourism levy policy, including for the protection of culture and nature. “Many cities or countries have introduced tourist taxes,” he said in Denpasar in early February.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) Bali chairman Ida Bagus Agung Parta Adnyana said levies on foreign tourists are not something strange in the tourism industry.
Many tourist destinations worldwide had already introduced similar policies, he said, including Amsterdam, Netherlands, where fares for cruise passengers went from 8 to 11 euros, and hotel room taxes to 12.5 percent, or an increase of 7 percent. Spain then applies a room rate per night of up to EUR 3.25 in Barcelona and Valencia, Bhutan applies a daily visit surcharge of USD 100 for adult tourists and USD 50 for children and recently Venice also started charging tourist tax in 2024.
Meanwhile, two days before the levy takes effect on February 14, 2024, foreign tourists are starting to show interest in paying the levy. CEO of PT Regional Development Bank (BPD) Bali I Nyoman Sudharma revealed that IDR 1.4 billion in funds had been deposited into the regional treasury account since the trial period on February 7, 2024. The BUMD bank is a perception bank that collects levy money from foreign tourists, the first in Indonesia. “Now that we can accept transactions, hopefully it will become easier and easier,” I Nyoman Sudharma said.
