Caution! This is how tourists in Bali are currently being ripped off

Hotels in Bali are said to have illegally taken money from tourists with a fake quarantine surcharge. Indonesia now wants to crack down on such scams, but also wants to change the quarantine rules.

On the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, various hotels and tour operators are said to have ripped off holidaymakers as part of the Corona measures. Local media quoted the governor of Bali, I Wayan Koster, as saying that accommodations from guests designated as quarantine hotels had asked for an additional 500,000 Indonesian rupees (30 euros) per room and night and falsely declared that it was a quarantine surcharge. In addition, tour operators have charged foreigners completely inflated prices for their tourist visas.

The news portal “medcom.id” spoke of a “visa and quarantine mafia”. The authorities in the island nation now wanted to crack down on the culprits and prevent such scams from happening again.

Bitter reality

“Tourists have traveled so far to have a good time, only to be confronted with a bitter reality,” Koster said. This damages Bali’s reputation considerably. Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno told Indonesian broadcaster CNBC: “We have received complaints and will take firm action against any behavior that damages the reputation of Indonesian tourism.”

Bali relaxes quarantine rules

Bali is known to surfers, swimmers and yogis from all over the world. For decades, the “Island of the Gods” with its numerous beaches and sights has also been a magnet for holidaymakers from Germany. However, with the corona pandemic and the island being closed to foreign tourists in May 2020, things have gone quiet on Bali – and the island has been suffering from the economic consequences of the pandemic ever since.

Since February 4th things have been looking up again. Since then, the borders of the popular Indonesian holiday island have been reopened to tourists from all over the world. Although vacationers still have to observe some requirements, entry is now made even easier.

Travelers who have full corona protection will only have to quarantine for three days in a hotel of their choice in Bali from next week. Holidaymakers currently have to isolate themselves for five days after arrival. However, the new regulation only applies to travelers with a booster vaccination.

In April, the quarantine for visitors from abroad could be completely lifted. If the corona situation improves even faster and the vaccination rate continues to rise, this could happen even earlier. This was announced by the government’s pandemic officer, Luhut Pandjaitan, on February 15. It is still unclear whether the easing only applies to holidaymakers with a booster vaccination or also to travelers with other proofs of immunity.

The Corona situation in Indonesia

Indonesia has long been the worst-hit country in the region by the virus. As of Friday (February 18), the Southeast Asian island nation had recorded more than 64,718 new infections. So far, almost 5 million cases have been registered in the country with 270 million inhabitants. More than 145,000 people died in connection with Covid-19