Back in October last year, we reported on the popular Indonesian holiday island of Bali introducing a new tourism levy from February 2024, designed to support environmental, cultural and infrastructure projects on the island, which sees over five million visitors annually.
In a nutshell, you’ll part with IDR 150,000 (~S$13) when you arrive on the island as a non-Indonesian tourist, and the fee also applies to children of all ages.
That means costs can add up for a family, for example two adults and two children are looking at an extra S$52 for a Bali trip.
Online pre-payment is now live
When we first reported on this news, it was merely suggested that a form of advance online payment would be in place for tourists to pay the new tax online ahead of their trip, but all that was confirmed at the time was that five designated payment counters would process the payments at Bali Airport’s international arrivals hall.
With an impressive-sounding turnaround time promised of 23 seconds per passenger, we pointed out that it would still take 47 minutes to process 615 arriving passengers from the single daily Emirates Airbus A380 arriving on the island each afternoon!
Thankfully our worst fears of long queues in the arrivals hall were recently laid to rest, because there is indeed an online payment portal via the Love Bali website.
That system has now gone live, so you can already pay your tourism tax for any arrival date in 2024.
Here’s a summary of how it works.
We certainly don’t like the idea of paying for this tax on arrival, which will almost inevitably mean joining a queue before you even head to the immigration booths, and the Bali Government also agrees!
“It is strongly advised to make payment before departure to Bali”
Bali Provincial Government
The system in action
I have an upcoming trip to Bali in April, so I decided to test out the system for myself and obtain my arrival QR code well in advance.
The process is quite straightforward, just click on the “Pay Tourist Levy” button at the Love Bali website, then complete the required details, which are relatively basic.
As you can see, you’ll need to select your payment method, then enter your name, email address (where the QR code for levy payment is sent), passport number and arrival date.
Payment by credit or debit card (e.g. Visa, Mastercard, Amex) attracts an additional fee of IDR 4,500 (S$0.40), which to me is definitely worth paying to avoid joining a queue at the airport on arrival.
Once the payment is successfully processed, you’ll see a confirmation screen.
Within just a couple of minutes, I received the tourist levy QR code as a PDF document by email.
This is the one you need to keep hold of, since it will apparently be scanned at the airport on arrival to verify that you already paid the tourist tax.
Do note that the tourism tax is non-refundable, but we confirmed with Love Bali that the QR code is valid for 60 days.
You cannot arrive in Bali earlier than the date specified when you make payment, but you can arrive up to 60 days later, so the payment might still be valid if you are only postponing your trip by a few days or weeks.
The Love Bali mobile app is also now available, which may prove an easier option to make the prepayment and have the Levy Voucher QR code stored on your phone.
Advance payment for your tourism tax follows a similar process via the app as it does on the desktop site.
No need to pay twice for two-centre trips
When this scheme was first mooted, it was proposed that those making a trip to neighbouring islands would then have to pay the the tourism tax again on return to Bali, for example when making a side trip to the likes of the Gili Islands, Lombok and Java.
Thankfully it’s been confirmed that this is not the case.
We confirmed with the Love Bali team that you will simply need to keep hold of the QR code you used to first enter Bali on any subsequent re-entry, having spent time only in other parts of Indonesia, to arrive back on the island with no additional levy due.
Exemptions
If you fall into one of the following categories, will be be exempt from the requirement to pay the new tourism tax on arrival in Bali, simply by showing your card to the officer on arrival:
- Diplomatic and official visa holders
- Conveyance crew (ship workers)
- KITAS / KITAP holders
- Student and family unification visa holders
If you have one of the following visas, you will need to apply for an exemption via the Love Bali website (click the “Apply Exemption” button).
- Golden visa holders
- Other non-tourist visa holders not listed above
Presumably, this will generate a special QR code for you to show on arrival, if your application is successful.
Many tourists still need a VoA too
Those not holding ASEAN nationality, such as Australian, US and UK citizens, will also have to obtain a Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) when entering Indonesia on an international flight, obtained at a separate counter at a cost of IDR 500,000 (~S$44), though this can also be done online in advance.
Remember, Singaporeans and other ASEAN nationals don’t need a VoA (but will need to pay the IDR 150,000 tourism tax).
Don’t forget your customs QR code!
As if all this complexity wasn’t enough, if you are arriving by air in Bali on an international flight, you should also complete the e-customs declaration before departure and obtain a QR code to show on arrival.
Summary
Bali’s new tourism tax certainly splits opinions, but it’s becoming mandatory in just a few days from now and so if you have a trip planned arriving on or after 14th February 2024, it will be payable for all members of your party, unless you are an Indonesian passport holder or hold a specific non-tourist visa.
Online pre-payment is by far the best option in our opinion, even though a small S$0.40 surcharge is applied for credit card payment, since you simply don’t know how long the queue will be at the counter on arrival.
Bali holidays are supposed to be about relaxation – so do yourself a favour and pre-pay your tourism arrival tax in advance, so you can get to your accommodation as quickly as possible after arrival.
Don’t forget to also obtain a customs QR code before departure, and if you’re a non-ASEAN passport holder get an e-VoA in advance too, to further streamline the arrival process.
(Cover Photo: Amarterra Villa)
Sadly, not a single rupee of this tax will go to benefit Bali or its inhabitants.