Bali taxed its guests multiple times: for each entry

“Yesterday we caught naked Russians on the street again”

Paradise Island imposes a tourist tax on all foreign tourists, including children. Moreover, if you travel – or rather, sail – outside the island, even if you remain within the borders of Indonesia, you will still be charged a tax upon entry. Russian-speaking guides on the island believe that this is part of the fight against low-income tourists.

An entry tax of 150 thousand rupees (about $10) will come into effect from the beginning of 2024. This was officially announced by the governor of the island, Vaian Koster.

“In fact, the new scheme is unlikely to be operational before February,” says Subhartu, a local guide. – Many formalities still need to be completed, but in this sense our system is not fast. But there will definitely be a tax. Even when returning from an excursion to Lombok (a small Indonesian island neighboring Bali – author), an exception is for excursions to Penida, Lembongan and Ceningan.

The islands of Nusa Penida, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Ceningan are part of the same province as Bali, so there is no border crossing when visiting them, and accordingly, no tax is charged.

The official reason is to preserve the “authenticity” – the culture and traditions of Bali. And the unofficial one is voiced by representatives of the Balinese tourism industry who speak Russian.

“Yesterday we caught naked Russians on the street again,” Subhartu sighs. – But it is clear that this is not the best contingent of your travelers. These are people who, anywhere in the world, will behave the same way, since they are in a certain state of mind and psyche. Our island would not be sorry if they went somewhere else. Maybe at least the tax will somehow sober them up.

This approach causes understandable irritation on the part of the “same” contingent:

– Not only do we have to go to visaran (travel outside the country to extend a visa – author), which in itself is expensive, now they have additionally taxed each entry! – the relocant from Izhevsk, Sergei, is indignant. – It would be better if they cleaned up the trash first! And we’ll clean up ourselves if things go like this! My wife and I have two children, and now we also have to pay tax on them every time we return from visaran. We’ve completely lost our conscience!

“The island needs tourists who can afford to spend money,” sums up Putra, a representative of a Balinese travel agency that works with Russian “packers” (organized tourists – author). “There’s nothing you can do about it, that’s normal.” Indonesia is not the richest country to give free shelter, especially to those who do not respect its traditions.