Bali weighs up tourist tax to combat ‘unruly behaviour’ of visitors

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Visitors to Bali could be forced to pay a “tourist tax” of between $30–$100 under a proposal being considered by the Indonesian government to discourage disruptive travellers. The minister for tourism, Sandiaga Uno, told a media briefing that the plans were still at the discussion stage but the chairman of the Bali Tourism Board, Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana, believes that the fee would improve the quality of tourists taking trips to the island, the Australian Financial Review reports. Last month, Luhut Pandjaitan, Indonesia’s coordinating maritime affairs and investment minister, called for a tax on tourists because Bali’s reputation as a low-cost destination has “encouraged many low-income foreign visitors” which has caused “a rise in unruly behaviour”. In March, the Bali Tourism Board announced it was mulling measures to improve the behaviour of visitors, with ideas including a tourist handbook, as well as billboards explaining what was considered acceptable.