Bali airport scams back in the news
BALI – Bali Update (www.balidiscovery.com) suggests the rorts at Bali’s international airport may be continuing with reports in the Jakarta Post that errant baggage porters and immigration officials are on the prowl for illegal fees.
According to Bali Update, one report claimed baggage handlers were demanding excise tax from departing tourists carrying large amounts of locally purchased goods.
The fictitious tax is completely at odds with government efforts to increase the spending of tourist visitors and a VAT tax rebate scheme to be introduced in early 2010.
Several tourists, clearly irritated at the request, have been circulating angry emails which formed the basis of the Jakarta Post report.
According to the Jakarta daily: “Ngurah Rai Airport staffers have a long and ugly history of attempting to extort illegal fees in the name of taxes or fines from visitors.”
The same article told of a 2007 incident in which Dorothy Longhurst, a cancer survivor on a recuperative trip to Bali, was put back on a plane with her husband to Australia when she refused to pay US$4,000 to overcome the technical illegality of only having 5 months and 2 weeks validity remaining in her passport.
Immigration procedures for Indonesia require six months remaining validity and several empty pages in the passports of arriving foreign tourists.
The 2007 incident caused uproar and prompted the intercession of the then Vice-President, Jusuf Kalla, who insisted the culpable immigration officer be fired.
Ian Jarrett
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025