Tourists heading to Bali during this high season are reminded that the Bali Tourism Tax Levy is a mandatory requirement. In the 2024/25 tax year, only 35% of eligible tourists paid their fees.
Moving into the 2025 high season, leaders are initiating new efforts to ensure that tourists don’t dodge the fee.
One of the biggest reasons tourists have been failing to make their Bali Tourism Tax Levy payment is that they simply aren’t aware of it. While all tourists are aware that they need to arrange a visa on arrival for their vacation, far fewer are aware that they are also required to make the tax payment.
The Bali Tourism Tax Levy was introduced on February 14, 2024, and is a legal requirement for all international tourists and visitors to the island, including children and babies.
The tourism tax is charged at IDR 150,000 and can be paid on arrival at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport, online on the LoveBali website and app, or at a range of tourist attractions around the island.
Tourists can also make the payment on the spot if a Tourism Task Force Officer stops them and they are yet to make their contribution.
Tourists who have paid their fees are issued with a QR-code voucher as proof of payment, and this QR-code may be requested by Tourism Task Force Officers, police officers, and other government officials.
Yet, despite the tax being a legal requirement for all tourists for only a year, millions of Bali’s arrivals are unaware of what is expected of them. Bali’s Tourism Office has been open about the policy needing to be better communicated to inbound tourists and that it needs to be easier for tourists to pay their fees.
Tourism expert Ravindra Singh Shekhawat spoke to reporters about the tourism tax levy. He shared, “Tourists are unaware of the tax or requirement to pay on or before arrival. There isn’t much info about where to pay or how to pay and it’s now well enforced.”
He added, “You can just walk out of the airport, nobody is checking.” Shekhawat, who is the General Manager for Indonesia at Intrepid, is calling on international travelers, especially those from Australia who are the most frequent arrivals to Bali, to pay the fee. He noted, “We can help Bali become a better tourist destination.”
The initial thinking behind the Bali Tourism Tax Levy was to help generate funds to conserve culture, nurture nature, and level up tourism infrastructure. The Bali Provincial Government has already disrupted the first round of tax funding directly to traditional village leaders throughout the province to use as they see fit.
Moving forward the Bali Tourism Office and the Bali Provincial Government will be working together to make it harder for tourists to avoid paying the fee. Although it is mandatory and a legal requirement, there are no formal legal implications for not paying the fee. If caught tourists are asked to pay the IDR 150,000 on the spot via a card payment.
During a hearing at the Bali House of Representatives last month, political leaders backed plans to update Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2023 concerning Levy for foreign tourists and implement sanctions for those caught dodging the payment.
Senator Suwirta told the House “We, the PDI Perjuangan Faction, the Bali Provincial DPRD agree to the amendment to the Regulation on Foreign Tourist Levies for the Protection of Bali’s Culture and Natural Environment, as long as the formulation aspects of the changes are able to strengthen legal certainty, maintain harmony and conformity, and guarantee the sustainability of the objectives of the Draft Regulation.”
As the new policies are developed, tourists must be sure to make their payment at the LoveBali website or app prior to their departure from Bali or at the dedicated counter at Bali Airport upon arrival.
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