Since February 14, 2024, every international visitor to Bali has been required to pay a one-time tourism levy of IDR 150,000, roughly USD 10. The fee, officially called the Bali Provincial Tourism Levy, is separate from your visa cost and from any hotel or accommodation tax, and it goes toward environmental protection, cultural preservation, and tourism infrastructure across the island.
It sounds simple, and it is. But more than two years after the levy launched, most tourists still are not paying it, and the reason is not what you might expect.
According to The Bali Sun, only up to 35 percent of eligible visitors have actually made the payment since the levy was introduced. That is not a small compliance gap, it is most of Bali's tourists arriving without paying a fee they are legally expected to pay.
The main reason is not defiance, it is simply that most tourists are not aware the policy exists. There is no visa requirement tying entry to payment, and there are currently no fines, penalties, or legal enforcement mechanisms attached to non-payment, which means the levy functions closer to a moral obligation than a strictly enforced tax. Airlines and travel platforms have been inconsistent about informing passengers before they arrive, so a lot of visitors simply never see the request.
The only official channel is the Bali provincial government's own website, lovebali.baliprov.go.id. It is worth being deliberate about this, since unofficial third-party sites have been known to charge two or three times the real amount for the same payment. If a payment link or app is not the official Love Bali site, treat it as unnecessary at best and a scam at worst.
The process itself is short: enter your passport number, full name, email, and arrival date, then pay online. You will receive a levy voucher with a QR code by email, which is scanned on arrival. If you would rather not do it in advance, you can also pay at dedicated counters at the airport or seaport when you land, though paying online beforehand means one less line to stand in after a long flight.
| Method | When | Payment Options |
|---|---|---|
| Love Bali website (official) | Before you arrive | Credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB), bank transfer, UnionPay, QRIS |
| Airport or seaport counter | On arrival | Cashless payment methods available on-site |
The levy is charged once per visit, per person, and covers your entire stay regardless of length. Cruise operators can also submit group payments for up to 500 passengers at once using a spreadsheet template through the same official system, according to the official Love Bali FAQ.
Per the official FAQ, a small number of traveler categories do not need to pay: diplomatic and official visa holders, transportation crew, KITAS and KITAP holders (Indonesia's limited and permanent stay permits), and family unification, student, and golden visa holders, the latter two requiring an application through the Love Bali system rather than an automatic exemption. Everyone else visiting for tourism purposes is expected to pay.
The individual tourist levy is only one part of a much larger tax compliance push happening across Bali right now. According to The Jakarta Post, Governor I Wayan Koster said on May 8, 2026 that of roughly 470,000 accommodation listings across nine online travel platforms, only about 31,000 have a verified business registration number, meaning the vast majority of listed villas and rentals are operating without paying the taxes they owe. Koster has publicly urged platforms including Airbnb, Agoda, Booking.com, and Traveloka to only promote properly licensed accommodations.
That is a separate issue from the visitor levy covered above, an accommodation and hospitality tax problem rather than an individual tourist one, but it points at the same underlying theme: Bali's provincial government is actively tightening tax compliance across tourism in 2026, and awareness of the individual levy is likely to keep improving as a result, even without formal penalties yet.
Worth knowing if your itinerary includes it: this provincial levy is separate from destination-specific entrance fees. Nusa Penida, for example, moved to its own mandatory online ticketing system in April 2026, on top of the provincial levy covered here, not instead of it.
Currently, there is no fine or legal penalty for not paying. It relies on visitors paying voluntarily, which is a large part of why compliance has stayed around 35 percent. That could change as Bali's broader tax enforcement tightens, but as of now there is no punishment mechanism in place.
No. The IDR 150,000 levy is a one-time, per-person entry fee paid directly to the Bali provincial government. Hotel and restaurant taxes are separate charges built into your accommodation and dining bills, paid by the businesses themselves, not by you directly.
Yes. The levy covers a single visit. If you leave Indonesia and return on a new trip, it needs to be paid again.
Individual travelers pay per person through the standard Love Bali flow. Cruise operators have a separate group-submission process for up to 500 passengers per booking.
No. The official Love Bali system describes the fee specifically as a levy on "foreign tourists," and Indonesian citizens are not part of that category. If you are traveling with Indonesian family members or friends, the levy only applies to the non-Indonesian travelers in the group.
The official Love Bali site has a dedicated voucher lookup tool at lovebali.baliprov.go.id where you can retrieve a voucher you already paid for. It is worth saving a screenshot of your payment confirmation as a backup as well, in case you need to show proof before your voucher is retrieved.
The official system does not publish a refund policy, so the safest assumption is that payment is final once processed. If your travel dates are not fully confirmed yet, it is worth paying closer to your departure date rather than far in advance.
The Bali tourist levy is a small, one-time cost, about the price of a coffee and a snack, and it goes toward the environmental and cultural upkeep that keeps Bali worth visiting in the first place. The compliance gap is not really about tourists refusing to pay, it is about most people simply never hearing about it before they land. Paying it in advance through the official Love Bali site takes a few minutes and means one less thing to deal with on arrival.
If you are planning a trip and want help with the logistics beyond the levy, from airport pickup to a full custom itinerary, you can reach out through our Custom Trip planning page and we will help you put together a smooth, well-timed Bali itinerary.
Last updated August 2026. Sources: The Bali Sun on levy compliance rates, the official Love Bali FAQ (Bali Provincial Government) for payment details and exemptions, and The Jakarta Post on Bali's broader 2026 tax compliance push. Fees and rules can change; always confirm current requirements at lovebali.baliprov.go.id before you travel.
Kadek Santika
Bali Travel Expert
Our team of local Bali travel experts has spent years exploring every corner of the island — from hidden waterfalls in the north to secret cliff beaches in the south. We share honest, practical guides to help you plan an unforgettable trip.
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