Expert calls for massive change to Bali which would impact Aussies

An expert has made a drastic request for foreign visitors – including Australians – who want to holiday in Bali.

It’s one of the biggest international destinations for Aussie travellers, with 2024 well on its way to being the busiest years for Bali on record.

But with the surge of travellers and the influx of ‘digital nomads’ looking to push visitation into the Indonesian island above 14 million, one tourism expert is calling for a change that would see Aussie bank accounts essentially laid bare.

According toThe Bali Sun, tourism academic at the National Education University in Denpasar, Dr Ida Bagus Raka Suardana, has raised concerns about the type of tourist has been entering Bali – and if the island should be a little more selective with who travels on and off the island.

Would you show your bank account savings to go to Bali?

“Even though there are lots of people coming to Bali, many foreign tourists have changed places to stay,” he said, highlighting the trend of private often “illegal” villa stays rather than hotel stays,” Dr Suardana said.

“There are still many foreign tourists who come to Bali who need money and are not the ones who bring money. There’s no point in tourists coming here to Bali, just eating rice and staying in cheap places.”

Dr Suardana said he had observed a growing number of tourists coming into Bali and essentially staying on a budget, which he argued brought no value to the island — which relies so heavily on tourist spend.

In 2023, Indonesia’s Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies Sandiaga Uno revealed that the average spend of foreign tourists to Bali is AU$2300 per person per stay. Of the visitation, according to the Bali Province Centra Statistics Agency, with the most frequent arrivals from Australia, According to the data, around 131,000 arrivals in June alone were from Down Under.

Tourism experts are trying to work out how to get the millions of visitors to Bali to spend more. Picture: iStock

However the highest spending tourists come from Europe, with the average Austrian tourist spending IDR 69.4 million during their trip to Bali, which is equivalent to AU6,565. Visitors from Switzerland were shortly behind, with an average spend of around AU$6375.

But while some visitation amounts to thousands in holiday spend, Dr Suardana argues that policies need to be introduced to ensure visitors have plenty of cash to splash around the island for the entirety of their stay – and even if they choose to extend.

His suggestion, as reported by The Bali Sun, would essentially reveal intimate details of a visitors’ bank account. It would see foreigners who wished to visit Bali to lay bare what is in their savings balance before they are granted permission to enter.

Australians spend on average about $2000 a week in Bali. Picture: iStock

Given an expanding number of visitors opting for private villas rather than hotel stays, there is growing missions to drive more ‘high-quality tourism’ on the island. As such, these types of tourists would typically spend more on activities and cultural experiences.

Last year, at the Future Of Bali Development summit, which focused on 100 Years of Bali from 2025-2125, the Bali Governor Koster suggested the island needed to change tact when it comes to tourism.

“Tourism control [is needed] so that tourism is not cheap, mass tourism, as we have seen in recent cases,” he suggested, highlighting the need for a ‘quota’ to be put in place,” Governor Koster said.

“[the quota] is limited to seven million foreign tourists, for example, per year, with certain criteria, so it’s tightened. For example … a minimum [amount] of money to carry in savings. “Don’t let [tourists] only bring IDR 10 million enough for a week and suddenly stay in Bali for a month.”