DENPASAR (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): The Bali administration has said that funds collected from a tax of Rp 150,000 (US$10) per person to be levied from all foreign tourists starting next year will be used for waste management and cultural preservation programmes.
“We will use the revenue from the tourist tax for Bali itself, such as for waste management and cultural preservation programmes,” Bali acting governor Mahendra Jaya said during a meeting with Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry secretary Ni Wayan Giri Adnyani in Denpasar on Monday .
“If we can’t handle the waste well enough, it will cause a bad smell and damage the environment,” he said. With the improvement of waste management and cultural preservation programmes because of the additional funding from the tourist tax, Bali can maintain its status as a world-class tourist destination for its environment and culture, he said.
The island’s administration had previously cancelled a plan to impose a US$10 tax on foreign tourists. The initial plan, which was announced in 2019, could not be implemented, in part because of legal reasons.