Bali wants to outlaw tourists from riding motorbikes because they are “roaming around with motorbikes, without wearing T-shirts and clothes, with no helmets, violating [traffic rules],” according to the government.
According to Bali Governor I Wayan Koster, tourists would only be permitted to rent cars through travel agencies or regional tourism businesses.
It happens in the midst of a backlash against visitors riding motorcycles on the island, where police allege that more than 171 foreign nationals disobeyed traffic rules over the course of two weeks in late February to early March. According to authorities, some tourists also have fake license plates.
“If you are a tourist, then act like a tourist,” the governor said during a press conference this week.
He added that tourists are “disorderly and they misbehave” and assure that the ban would help to “ensure quality and dignified tourism.”
“[Tourists should] use the vehicles prepared by travel agents, instead of roaming around with motorcycles, without wearing T-shirts and clothes, with no helmets, violating [traffic rules], and even without a license,” he said.
Putu Jayan Danu Putra, the Inspector General of Police and Chief of Bali Regional Police, stressed the importance of tourists obeying the law when renting cars.
“We provide education to rental vehicles that will be rented out to foreigners to always comply with existing traffic rules,” he explained.
In recent years, social media has increasingly shared stories and videos about foreign tourists violating traffic rules in Bali. This includes a video of a Russian Instagramer who performed a stunt by flying off a jetty on his motorcycle in 2020. Also, a video of an Australian woman yelling at police after being pulled over for riding a motorcycle without a helmet went viral.
There have also been deaths. After allegedly visiting a nightclub in the Legian area, 36-year-old Englishman Michael Andrew was found dead in a swamp with his scooter in April. However, there is no evidence that he had broken any laws before his death; instead, he is believed to have died in a car accident.
Most recently, in January of this year, a Russian tourist who was apparently driving drunk was killed in a collision with a local, and a Ukrainian tourist died after losing control of his motorcycle.
According to the Ngurah Rai Immigration Department, the island’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) received more than 2.1 million visitors in 2018 compared to 6.2 million in 2019. Although this appears to be a small fraction of pre-pandemic levels, it is a significant increase over the 34 visitors who came to the island in 2021.