Bali police called on consulates to coordinate and tighten the management of international visitors to ensure order on Indonesia’s famous tourist island.
“Bali is a global destination. Security is a shared responsibility for tourism to operate smoothly and benefit all parties,” said Bali police chief Daniel Adityajaya. Representatives of major consulates such as Australia, China, Japan, the US and Russia were all present at the meeting on October 31, similar to the meeting that Mr. Adityajaya held in February.
In the first 10 months of the year, 301 cases occurred on the island, involving 309 foreign citizens. In addition to visa and immigration violations, international visitors are also involved in many serious cases such as drugs, fraud, illegal investment and cybercrime.
Balinese people perform traditional dances in a show for tourists. Image: SCMP
Bali police representative, Mr. Suwandi Prihantoro, said the police cannot solve this problem alone, they need to coordinate with local authorities, departments and immigration forces, towards a more orderly Bali.
Local officials also conducted surprise passport checks in crowded tourist destinations such as Canggu, Ubud and Legian to detect violations.
“The proportion of foreigners involved in cases is increasing, consulates have been asked to assist in protecting their citizens while staying in Bali,” Mr. Prihantoro said.
At the meeting, the parties agreed to maintain joint inspection campaigns for foreigners. The consulates will also appoint contact points to support information exchange, avoiding misunderstandings that could negatively affect the image of Bali tourism.
The police force is coordinating with local authorities to search for and handle violations. To date, 236 foreigners have been deported from Bali, the largest number being Russian, American, Australian, Ukrainian and Indian citizens.
People are performing a traditional Balinese dance. Image: Insta stay world
Faced with increasing immigration violations, the Indonesian Immigration Department has deployed a new task force to check the residence status of foreigners. This group carries out regular passport checks at major tourist destinations on the island.
With more than 6.5 million international visitors forecast to visit Bali this year, authorities are stepping up measures to ensure “safe and high-quality tourism”, according to police chief Adityajaya.
He emphasized that “ignorance of the law cannot be used as an excuse” and that the police will continue to strictly handle all violations.
To limit the situation of tourists behaving inappropriately, the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism has issued a list of rules of conduct for foreign visitors such as requiring respect for local culture, especially at temples, not climbing on sacred trees and preserving the solemnity of sacred places.