Bali hotels, tour guides to play new role in crackdown on unruly tourists

In another attempt to bring unruly tourists under control, Aussies evading to Bali may discover something different when checking into their hotel.

In another attempt to bring unruly tourists under control, Bali is turning to its hotels and tourism workers to educate foreigners on local customs and acceptable behaviour.

The Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) for Bali wants tourism leaders to ensure foreign visitors are educated on what they can and can’t do.

PHRI secretary Perry Markus said the association and Bali’s tourism board had joined with nine stakeholders and issued flyers, according to local news outlet NusaBali.com.

The idea is to have the tourism sector play a proactive role in anticipating bad behaviour and stopping it.

The Bali Sun reported that this could also include tour guides not only showing off the sights, but instructing tourists on how to behave there.

Mr Markus said tourists needed to be educated on how to dress appropriately and abide by the law when riding motorcycles, including wearing a helmet and obeying traffic rules.

Tourists are also being instructed to not get drunk in public and only wear swimwear in appropriate settings.

Bali wants its tourists to be better behaved and respect its local customs. Picture: Johannes P. Christo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Attention was also drawn to social media, with tourism workers helping educate foreigners on what not to post – like this influencer who posed naked with a sacred tree or this man who posed semi-naked on a sacred site.

Getting hotels and tourism workers involved in stopping foreign visitors’ misbehaviour is just one of a series of proposed changes spoken about in recent weeks.

Bali Governor Wayan Koster revealed this month he was asking the central government to stop Russian and Ukrainian tourists from being allowed to get a visa on arrival in the country due to the high number of violations, including getting jobs and overstaying the time permitted.

Russians have become the second biggest group of visitors to Bali behind Australians.

Bali is cracking down on foreigners on motorcycles, with even talks of banning tourists fro riding them. Picture: Agung Parameswara/Getty Images

Bali is also considering banning all foreign tourists from riding motorbikes.

Two weeks ago Bloomberg reported that Mr Koster had sought the legal ministry’s support to let Bali revoke visas if any foreign tourists were found riding motorbikes.

Bali’s official campaign to crack down on how tourists behave not only includes leaflets and social media, but is also expected to see large billboards installed.

Bali Tourism Board chairman Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana previously told The Bali Sun: “The point is that tourists respect Balinese cultural customs by dressing well and neatly, following in an orderly manner, carrying out traffic activities and not doing things that are outside the provisions.”