Bali Struggles to Enforce Tourist Tax, Turns to Airlines for Support via Passenger Announcements
The Bali Provincial Government is confronting significant challenges in collecting its Foreign Tourist Levy, a mandatory tourist tax introduced in February 2024. Despite the requirement for all foreign visitors to pay 150,000 Indonesian Rupiah (about 10 USD) upon arrival, compliance remains low, with only 32% of international tourists reportedly paying the fee by the end of 2024. ### Airlines’ Role in Publicising the Tax Remains Limited
One key hurdle is the lack of effective communication about the tax to incoming visitors. Of the 37 airlines operating flights to Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, only five currently inform passengers about the tourist levy during the booking process, check-in, or onboard the aircraft. Bali officials have urged airlines to increase their role in publicising the levy, highlighting the critical need for pre-departure communications, website payment links, and, importantly, announcements over cabin public address systems before landing.
Local authorities emphasize that many travelers remain unaware of the tax due to insufficient airline involvement. As immigration is controlled by the national government, Bali cannot enforce tax payment at border checkpoints or require immigration officials to verify payments. This enforcement gap leaves airlines as a crucial touchpoint for educating and notifying tourists.
New Measures to Boost Tax Collection Through Tourism Industry
In response to the low compliance and lack of airline cooperation, the Bali government has updated regional regulations to bring hotels, tour operators, and travel agents into the collection process. Under revised Regional Regulation No. 2/2025, these businesses are permitted to collect the levy from tourists, earning a 3% commission as an incentive. The government hopes broadening collection responsibility to the hospitality sector will improve awareness and payment rates “from the start of the trip.”
Furthermore, Bali is working with the Indonesian national government to integrate its local “Love Bali” payment system with the broader “All Indonesia” platform, potentially linking tax payment more directly with immigration processes. However, immigration officers will still not be tasked with enforcing the levy, maintaining the challenge of ensuring universal compliance.
Ongoing Issues: Scam Websites and Lack of Enforcement
Tourists attempting to pay the tax online face additional complications due to numerous scam websites posing as official portals. These fraudulent sites sometimes charge fees three times higher than the actual tax and use Google advertising to appear above legitimate government sites. While tourists can make payments upon arrival, airport authorities have no dedicated checkpoints or personnel authorized to enforce payments, allowing many travelers to bypass the levy entirely.
Financial Impact and Future Outlook
Bali collected approximately 330 billion IDR (about 20 million USD) in tourist tax revenue in early 2025, falling short of its 380 billion IDR (23 million USD) target. With peak tourist season underway, officials stress that increased cooperation from airlines is crucial to closing the revenue gap. Bali’s government pledges to continue collaborating with the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation to ensure airlines flying into Denpasar actively support tax implementation measures.
Bali’s difficulties with its tourist tax echo similar challenges faced by other destinations, such as New Zealand, which has recently raised its own tourism levy.
Conclusion
To enhance compliance with the Foreign Tourist Levy, Bali is seeking a stronger partnership with airlines to use onboard communications and digital platforms to notify travelers of their tax obligations. Combined with expanded collection through the tourism industry and integration with national systems, these efforts aim to address enforcement limitations and secure much-needed funding for the island’s sustainable tourism development.
As Bali strives to balance robust tourism growth with environmental preservation and infrastructure funding, effective tax collection remains a key piece of the puzzle—one that increasingly depends on close cooperation across aviation and tourism sectors.
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