Bad tourist decorum has Indonesia considering tourist tax
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Business groups are uneasy at the idea of Indonesia imposing a tourist tax, as they believe this will discourage tourism, especially since they are still recovering from the pandemic.
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Passengers at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Badung, Bali, Indonesia, September 2. (Reuters)
According to Indonesian media, the country is considering introducing a tourist fee following a series of cases in which foreigners broke laws or violated traditions.
Sandiaga Uno, the minister of tourism and creative economy, told reporters this week that the potential of a tourism tax was "currently being studied."
He stated that it was expected to wrap up in the coming weeks according to The Jakarta Post.
Nevertheless, business organizations are concerned that a charge will discourage visitors, harming the tourist industry at a time when it is still recuperating from the epidemic, according to the Post.
Luhut Pandjaitan, the coordinating maritime affairs and investment minister, called for a tourism tax earlier this month, claiming that Bali was one of the world's cheapest tourist destinations, which had "encouraged many low-income foreign visitors to come to Bali, leading to a rise in behavior." He believes the island should move away from mass tourism and focus on being a great tourist destination.
Prior to the pandemic, Bali was known for its surfing areas, emerald green rice terraces, and nightlife, and attracted 6.2 million international tourists each year, with tourism accounting for over 60% of the island's income.
Locals have grown more upset with visitors' disrespectful or illegal behavior, ranging from foreigners posing naked for social media images at sacred places, to poor driving on the roadways.
Bali's governor, Wayan Koster, announced last month that the island intended to prohibit visitors from using motorcycles because they were violating traffic laws, such as driving without a helmet or a license.
When advocating for a tourism tax, Luhut referenced a video in which a tourist was stopped by police for riding a motorcycle without a helmet or shirt and yelled at policemen, accusing them of attempting to steal money.
Both ministers Sandiaga and Luhut have suggested that funds collected through the tax could be used to support the development of the local tourism industry.
