Indonesia to Announce Bali Tourism Restrictions Soon... Possible Deportation and Entry Ban for Foreigners

200,000 Foreign Residents... Crime Prevention Perspective
"Preserving Bali's Traditional Culture is Important"

The Indonesian government has decided to soon announce stringent regulatory measures, seeing that the quality of tourism on Bali Island is deteriorating due to crimes committed by foreigners and other issues.

According to local media and foreign news outlets on the 31st (local time), Luhut Pandjaitan, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs, said in a video posted on social media the day before, "Currently, about 200,000 foreigners reside in Bali," adding, "This has caused problems such as crime and overdevelopment."

Minister Pandjaitan further emphasized, "We can deport foreign tourists who bring problems like drugs and crime from Bali and Indonesia, and prevent such tourists from entering the country again."

He also stressed that preserving Bali's traditional culture is of utmost importance and added that the government will soon announce regulatory measures for Bali tourism.

Foreign tourists began flocking to the island after Indonesian authorities reopened Bali following the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, problems started to arise. Some foreign tourists engaged in behavior that upset local residents on Bali Island or posted videos of such behavior online.

According to Indonesia's Statistics Agency, in the first half of this year, about 2.9 million foreign visitors entered the island through Bali Airport, accounting for 65% of all foreign visitors arriving in Indonesia by air during the same period.