Jakarta: To protect its culture, Bali, an Indonesian tourist hotspot, will begin charging visitors a 150,000 rupiah ($10) entry fee as of the following year.
Tourist-dependent Bali welcomes millions of foreign visitors each year, and the beach-dotted island is attempting to take advantage of its popularity to increase its revenue and preserve its allure as a tropical getaway.
The governor of Bali, I Wayan Koster, told local lawmakers that foreign visitors only had to pay the fee once while they were there.
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According to him, the fee will be charged to foreign visitors arriving in Bali from outside Indonesia or from other parts of Indonesia and must be paid electronically. Domestic tourists from Indonesia won't be subject to the tax
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According to official statistics, more than two million tourists visited the island last year as Bali recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic after enforcing a zero-tolerance policy on lawbreakers.
Koster responded that authorities did not anticipate a drop in visitor numbers when asked if the new tax would discourage travellers. It's not an issue. We'll use it to preserve the environment and culture and to build better infrastructure, he told reporters, making it safer and more comfortable to visit Bali.
After a string of incidents involving disrespect for the culture of the primarily Hindu island, the palm-fringed hotspot has vowed to crack down on unruly travellers.
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A Danish woman was deported last month by Bali immigration after she was caught on camera flashing the public while operating a motorbike.
In April, a Russian woman who had posted a photo of herself in a nude state in front of a sacred tree on the island had also been expelled. Following pressure from the island's immigration office, the local government released a guide for travellers interested in visiting Bali in June.