TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - International tourists visiting Bali will have to curb their plans to freely commute in the popular tourist destination independently via vehicle rental services as the Bali provincial government has banned tourists, especially foreigners, from renting vehicles that are not provided by official government tourist agency services.

Bali Governor I Wayan Koster said that the government already has a number of regulations governing foreign nationals through the Bali Governor's regulation regarding tourism management, including a ban on foreign nationals from operating motorized vehicles.

"This means tourists have to travel using vehicles from travel agents. It is no longer allowed to rent and operate vehicles that are not from travel agents," he said in a press conference, Sunday, March 12.

This regulation will be effective this year as a means to fix the island’s tourism system. He insists that Bali is not fixated on the number of tourist visits but will maintain quality over quantity on the island which will respect and enforce local laws.

Kostner said such a move is only implemented this year as the previous years saw Bali struggling to survive the global pandemic restrictions. Visa violations will also be looked into.

According to Bali Regional Police reports, a large number of tourists, especially foreign tourists, have constantly violated traffic rules. These violations include not wearing a helmet, not having complete vehicle documents, and not having a driving license and many cases also see foreign tourists driving recklessly.

"Those who complicate the convenience of our tourism, beauty, and cultural richness, and after coordinating with the Regional Police Chief and the Bali Ministry of Law and Human Rights regional branch, [we have decided] to take firm action against tourists and foreign nationals whose actions are not in accordance with the legal norms in force in Indonesia and culture in Bali in particular,” said the Bali governor.

Foreign Tourists in Bali Under the Spotlight

As reported last week, International tourists who are temporarily residing in Bali are currently under the spotlight following a number of violations they committed, and for allegedly working illegally.

One case that has been handled by the island’s police is a criminal offense committed by a Russian national identified as SR, who allegedly violated his visa permit by working as a photographer in Bali. The Denpasar Immigration Office has officially deported the individual.

"SR obtained a visa on arrival that is valid from February 22, 2023, until March 27, 2023,” said the head of the Denpasar immigration office Tedy Riyandi on March 8, 2023.

A visa on arrival is a temporary stay visa granted to foreign citizens mainly in tourism regions. Meanwhile, in RS's case, to work in any Indonesian region, a foreigner must submit a different specific visa that would allow them to generate income during their stay.

"SR claims to be a photographer in Bali. However, his visa is only intended for vacation. SR uploads his work to his Instagram account," said Tedy, as reported by Antaranews.

The Russian citizen had violated Article 75 (1) of Law No. 6/2011 concerning Immigration (Immigration Law). Pursuant to a provision of the Immigration Law, deportation is one of the sanctions for those who violate their visa. SR had already been sent home on March 9, 2023.

Head of Bali’s law and human rights regional office’s immigration division, Barron Ichsan, said that his personnel managed to apprehend 22 foreign tourists who are in Bali over administrational immigration violations. These arrests were made from January up to the second week of March.

Out of the dozens of violators, Barron said most were committed by Russian citizens.

ANTARA

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