Southeast Asia’s largest economy fears Barcelona-style tourism protests in Bali

“Things like that (the Barcelona protests) should not happen in Bali. Because if people feel uncomfortable with the presence of tourists, bad excesses emerge. In fact, tourism is one of the economic drivers in Bali,” Minister for Tourism and Creative Economies Sandiaga Uno told a press conference last week.

He was mentioning recent anti-tourism protests in popular holiday destinations across Spain, especially Barcelona where people took to the streets to tell tourists go home and even sprayed them with water pistols.

Uno’s statement came as many tourism leaders and political figures in Bali feel the island is at risk of mass tourism, which could lead to a backlash against tourists, Bali Sun reported.

He hopes to witness more progress made on the Probowangi Toll Road in East Java and the Mengwi-Gillimanuk Toll Road in West Bali, according to Travel Weekly.

He expects the opening of these toll roads would be beneficial so that tourists are not only concentrated in South Bali but also in West Bali, which can be connected with Banyuwnagi.

The island has already imposed a 150,000-rupiah (US$10) tourist tax and is seeking to raise to 750,000 rupiah to attract wealthier tourists.

A series of foreigners have recently been found violating immigration laws and breaking local customs in Bali.

Over 130 foreigners have been deported from Bali so far this year.

Last year, the government deported 300 foreign visitors for misusing or overstaying their visas.

Indonesia has recorded more than 3 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first quarter of this year, an increase of 25% compared to the same period last year.