The Indonesian Government is holding discussions on whether to introduce a nationwide tourism tax. While there is potential for this new tax to be integrated with the Bali Tourism Tax Levy and distributed accordingly, that could be a long way off.

The Central Indonesian Government is planning to charge tourism fees through flight tickets. The plan is still in the early stages, but officials are confident about the initiative to help generate more funds for tourism development.

Speaking to reporters, the Chairman of the Badung Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), I Gusti Agung Rai Suryawijaya, said that this plan must first be heard in full and discussed by all stakeholders regarding its objectives and how the policy could be implemented.

He told reporters on the 24th of April, “If I’m not mistaken, tomorrow there will be a discussion. Let’s just listen first and see what the results of the discussion will be.”

He added, “We in Bali have imposed a levy of IDR 150,000 per person for foreign tourists. Now, the central government is discussing implementing tourism fees for tourists via flight tickets. If it is implemented in Bali, it will give the impression that tourists will be charged twice.”

The newly introduced Bali Tourism Tax is local and provincial government legislation.

It is a mandatory fee for all international tourists arriving in the province. The provincial government receives and utilizes the funds.

Suryawijaya noted that he’s not opposed to a nationwide tourism tax but that two fees would be off-putting for many tourists who already begrudge having to pay the visa on-arrival fee.

He is on board with including the national tourism tax as a part of airfares, which will be collected centrally and distributed to Indonesian provinces based on the individual tourism numbers.

He said, “If the distribution is calculated based on the number of tourists visiting, that’s good. Just don’t let the distribution be compared to the others; that would be disproportionate because lots of people go to Bali. We want the distribution to be proportional and based on justice.”

Speaking separately, the Head of the Badung Tourism Service, Nyoman Rudiarta, told reporters that, in principle, Bali and especially Badung Regency would support the Central Government’s policy of introducing a national tourism tax to boost quality, sustainable, and regenerative tourism across the country.

However, he noted that it is essential to get input from stakeholders across Indonesia before introducing such a huge policy change.

Rudiarta said, “We hope that before this policy is implemented, it will be better for all Indonesian tourism stakeholders, including those in Bali, to have their input heard.”

“Public policies like this are seen as still requiring more in-depth study so that they truly become a solution to the policy of maintaining and overseeing sustainable and regenerative tourism development policies in Indonesia.”

Many Bali tourists have called for improvements to be made to the payment system for the newly introduced Bali Tourism Tax and have queried why they must make two seriate payments, one for the tourism tax levy of IDR 150,000 and one for the visa on arrival of IDR 500,000. The answer is simple.

The Bali Tourism Tax is a fee collected by the Bali Provincial Government to be used by the Bali Provincial Government.

The visa on-arrival fee, or any visa fee, is collected by the Indonesian Department of Immigration and is to be utilized by the central government.

Although Bali does receive benefits from funds generated by tourism visas, the amount is dictated by the central government as a part of annual budget allowances.

The central government has not yet alluded to how much a national tourism tax would cost and whether they would work with the Bali Provincial Government to change legislation to integrate all tourism taxes into one new system to save tourists paying double fees. ( the bali sun)