Tourist relief: Bali scraps controversial visa fee

Australian travellers will rejoice after the holiday favourite scrapped one of its more controversial practices.

Australian travellers rejoice — Bali is getting ready to scrap a controversial fee in the coming months in a bid to attract more tourists.

The Visa on Arrival (VoA) is currently required to enter the country and it can be obtained at Bali Airport or online before even landing in Indonesia (e-VOA). It allows travellers to stay for 30 days, with option to extend for another 30 days, and costs about $50 (IDR 500,000).

It had previously stirred some anger amid reports that unsuspecting Australians were getting ripped off while trying to obtain the e-VOA by accidentally using unofficial sites.

The VoA was first cut in 2016, sparking a 15 per cent increase in Australian travellers heading to Bali and resulting in a new annual arrivals record of 1.2 million. However, after Covid it was brought back.

The Indonesian ministry hopes that scrapping the fee again and making travelling to the holiday hotspot cheaper for families will lure more tourists. For a family of four, this would add up to a saving of $200 – very welcome amid today’s cost of living pressures.

Tourists to Bali will soon pay less. Picture: Supplied

The Indonesian Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies Sandiaga Uno has confirmed that he would press for changes to law to bring back visa-free travel for 20 countries that visit the most, the Bali Sun reported.

Mr Uno hasn't spoken much about these changes since first talking about the idea towards the end of 2023 and in early 2024, however tourism industry experts are confident these changes will be made when the new government is sworn in.

Australia is one of 20 countries that Indonesia is proposing should have visa free entry, and it’s expected the Indonesian government will bring in the changes by October.

“We understand that Indonesia’s Minister for Tourism, Sandi Uno, will recommend that some 20 countries, including Australia, will be given visa-free entry into Indonesia, including Bali, before October when the nation’s new president is inaugurated,” Robbie Gaspar, President of the Indonesia Institute, the peak body for insight into engagement into Indonesian-Australian bilateral relations, told, the Bali Sun reported.

“This will make it cheaper for Aussie families, and we, therefore, expect to see another jump in the number of holiday-makers heading to our favourite island.”

However, tourists must not forget about paying the IDR 150,000 ($14) mandatory Bali Tourism Tax Levy fee.

Travel is rebounding in Bali since Covid.

Arrival numbers are rebounding in Bali – in 2023 it hosted 11.4 million visitors and following that success, it’s en route to achieving its 14 million goal this year.

According to the latest data unveiled by the Bali Central Bureau of Statistics, the influx of tourists reached 469,227 visits during March 2024 – an increase of 3.06 per cent compared to February 2024. But April was the busiest month in 2024 for Bali Airport with 1,109,958 international passengers and 830,870 domestic passengers, with May figures now set to surpass April.

Ross Taylor, founder of the Indonesia Institute previously told news.com.au Bali is making a very strong rebound after Covid, however warned that competition for tourists was increasing, particularly as people look for ways to save.

“Indonesia is making a ‘pre-emptive strike’ to make sure that tourist numbers for other parts of Indonesia keep increasing, and for Bali arrival numbers will at least hold at current levels,” he said.

“In 2016 when Indonesia first removed the VoA fees, we saw a 16 per cent increase in Australians heading to Bali, so the evidence does suggest that by cutting red-tape and government fees, more tourists will come.”