M’sians Visiting Bali May Need to Pay Up to RM446/Day in Tax Soon as the Island Plans to Deter ‘Cheap’ Tourists

Since February last year, foreign nationals, including Malaysians, who visit the beautiful island of Bali, Indonesia, must pay IDR150,000, or around RM40, in tourism tax per person.

Well, a visit to the popular global destination might get even more expensive in the near future as local leaders are planning to hike up the tourist tax and charge it daily to ensure only “high-quality” tourists visit Bali. 

Bali leaders want the island to impose a RM446/day tourism tax on foreign tourists

For illustration purposes

In fact, according to a report by CNN Indonesia, several Balinese leaders want the island to adopt the daily tourism tax mechanism imposed by Bhutan on foreign tourists.

For reference, all adult foreign visitors to Bhutan must pay USD100 (RM446) per day, plus a visa for stays up to 90 days costing USD40 (RM177).

With that in mind, Bali Marginal Tourism Alliance Head Puspa Negara recently asserted that foreign tourists to the island should be subjected to the same requirements as Bhutan’s system, stressing that it would help increase the overall quality of Bali’s tourism offerings.

Puspa negara

Meanwhile, Bali Governor Wayan Koster proposed in 2023 for the province to introduce a tourism quota to help control the number of international tourists allowed into the region annually.

Besides that, former Indonesian Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno had also touted a similar model, such as Bhutan’s, to be introduced in Bali.

Recently, Bali Senator Ni Luh Djelantik also issued several statements urging Indonesian leaders to adopt the Bhutan tourism model in Bali.

Locals are frustrated with backpackers and “flip-flop tourists” who don’t spend much

For illustration purposes

This push to implement a daily tourism tax was further spurred by recent controversies on the island about “cheap” tourists, nicknamed “Turis sandal jepit” or “flip-flop tourists” by locals, who frustrate local entrepreneurs due to their frugal spending. 

As reported by The Bali Sun, small local business owners across the island’s tourism resorts are beginning to lose their patience with the frugality of these tourists, all of which were reported to Puspa Negara.

The Bali Marginal Tourism Alliance Head asserted,

“Especially in Bali, this Backpacker class is common to come even they are repeater guests, so it all depends on us, the government, stakeholders, interests, technical units, whether to filter them or not.

“The way to filter can be like the country of Bhutan, the number of tourists is limited… It’s time for Bali to move towards quality tourism by strengthening the quality of the destination and human resources, and this can be done with the local government policy.”

For illustration purposes

So, what do you guys think of the whole situation? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!

Also read: Malaysians Travelling to Hong Kong Will Soon Have to Pay Nearly 70% More in Departure Tax