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Bali Tourism Board demands transparency over tourist tax plan
The Bali Tourism Board is calling for transparency on funds collected from the planned Rp 150,000 rupiah (US$10) tax on tourists entering the resort island starting next year.
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Surfers carry their board past chairs and umbrellas along Kuta beach near Denpasar, Bali, on March 14, 2023. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
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“Transparency is a must. As this is a tourist tax, we hope that tourist business stakeholders are also involved in deciding what the collected fund would be used for. Don’t use the money for useless things such as buying cars for officials or many other things,” board chairman Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
Partha said the income collected from the tax should be used for upgrading tourism facilities and promotion programs.
“There are many tourist attractions with bad facilities. We hope the money would be allocated to fixing them, so tourists will feel more comfortable,” he said.
He also hoped the fund would be allocated to upgrading infrastructure around Bali’s tourist attractions.
On Wednesday, Governor I Wayan Koster told local lawmakers the tourist tax was a means to preserve the island’s culture. "The payment of a fee for foreign tourists applies only one time during their visit to Bali," Koster said.
When asked if the new tax would deter visitors, Koster said authorities did not believe numbers would dip.
