Tourists may have to sign up a year before departure to visit the “paradise island” of Bali – recently a mega-popular resort among Russians. Another initiative to sort and screen out tourists was proposed by the Governor of Bali Wayan Coster. Under this initiative, Bali may introduce tourist quotas, which will limit the number of travelers who are allowed to enter the island. The main reason for this measure, according to the Indonesian press, is the desire to get rid of “cheap” tourists who revolt the entire local population. And in the first place the head of Bali mentioned the Russians among them.
As the governor said, he is “unhappy with the growing number of tourists who break the rules and show disrespect for the local culture.” “We will no longer welcome mass tourism. We will limit the number of tourists by implementing a quota system,” Mr. Coster said. He added that one possible quota system requires foreign tourists to register a year in advance of a scheduled visit to Bali and wait their turn to enter. “If there is a quota, then people will have to stand in line. Those who want to come next year can register right now. This is the system we want to implement,” the governor assured.
“If we continue like this, we will only attract cheap tourists who only eat nasi bungkus(a rice dish wrapped in banana leaves or paper), while renting motorcycles and violating traffic rules and even stealing from ATMs,” said the head of Bali. At the same time, he named Russian “relocators” as the most problematic tourists, adding that almost a third of all deported tourists – or 27 out of 101 foreigners – and this has been since January.
Recall that Russian tourists, alas, give grounds for these angry remarks. Only on May 4, a group of Russian tourists was arrested in Bali for inappropriate behavior at the Pengubengan Temple, a sacred place for local residents and the largest Hindu temple on the resort island. Russians – two women aged 35 and a man 37 – were detained for dancing and inappropriate posing in a sacred place, which also caused a serious reaction from the authorities. The offenders were caught in the city of Ubud, where another incident took place last week: a Russian tourist and a priest got into a fistfight right on the road while the cars were stuck in a traffic jam. The fight was captured on eyewitness cameras, and the video went viral on social media. Read the details at this link.
The second question is whether the “luxury” tourists so desired by Bali will want to come “on a quota” and wait a year. Especially when taking into account the numerous competitors who do not plan to introduce such measures.
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