Bali’s government decided in 2023 that they would launch a Tourism Levy that all international visitors would need to pay every time they enter the islands, whether arriving from overseas or domestically.

The government announced in early January (read more here) that the levy would be in effect from Valentine’s Day, which is today. It is still unclear how Bali’s government will enforce the payment from visitors who arrive on domestic flights and whether they have the resources to inspect every international arrival when Indonesian citizens and permanent residents are excluded from it.

You can access Bali’s page for Tourism Levy payment here.

Bali States That This Levy:

Your support will protect the nature of Bali

To improve quality of service, safety and convenience of tourists

To preserve Bali heritage

Move towards a sustainable green tourism of Bali

Your support will strengthen the culture of Bali

Bali Tourism Fee Payment:

As I am arriving in Bali in early March, I decided to pay this Tourism Levy today.

First, it wouldn’t accept my valid email address (own domain).

It does, however, accept GMAIL.

The levy is not 150K IDR but a bit more due to the credit card surcharge, but how can international visitors pay this using domestic payment methods?

Then I got this transaction processing screen.

And it failed, which could be due to my bank wanting to confirm that this was a legitimate payment.

I tried to return to the previous screen and use another card but was hit with this “Internal Server Error” screen.

There might be some security issues on their website, or at least Google’s Chrome browser believes so.

Bali Government’s Tourism Levy Information:

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Entering Indonesia Through Bali In May 2022

Conclusion

If you want to protect the nature of Bali, preserve the island’s heritage, strengthen Bali’s culture, or move towards sustainable tourism, you don’t travel there.

Parts of the island are becoming an overdeveloped tourism ghetto that the infrastructure cannot handle.

Some locals are burning the trash or dumping them in the rivers or sea rather than paying for the garbage collection. Shouldn’t the local government deal with this issue rather than ignoring it?

I don’t think this Tourism Levy is anything but a money grab by the local government, yet the amount is borderline insignificant. It is another hurdle to remember if you plan to visit Bali.

As I have said before, I don’t think this levy will deter anyone from visiting the island, but where and how is this payment enforced? It also applies to domestic arrival by non-Indonesians but excludes permanent residents who need to apply for an exception.

Have you had experience with how, when, and where this Tourism Levy fee payment is checked upon arrival?