Foreign tourists on Bali Island in Indonesia. Photo by AFP
Indonesia’s government announced it will intensify efforts to deport foreign tourists who engage in unruly behavior in Bali to preserve the island’s reputation and enhance the quality of its tourism.
Illegal activities, such as drug use, public nudity, and open drunkenness, will not be tolerated on the island, coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said as reported by the South China Morning Post.
He added the crackdown would not negatively impact the economy of the tourism-dependent island.
In the first eight months of the year, 157 foreigners were deported from Bali, while 194 individuals are currently being held in the immigration detention center, awaiting deportation, according to Bali’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights.
The island attracted 3.89 million tourists in the first seven months of the year, an increase from the 2.9 million visitors in the same period last year.
In June, the island’s tourism board issued an advisory urging visitors to dress appropriately at religious sites and to refrain from climbing sacred trees.
Foreign arrivals in Bali have surged since the island reopened following the Covid pandemic. However, viral videos of misbehaving tourists have caused outrage among locals, sparking harsh reactions from social media users across Indonesia, Reuters reported.
Public nudity is illegal in Indonesia, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, and there are no strip clubs in Bali, although there are nightclubs and discos that feature in-house dancers.
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