Bali is cracking down on how tourists act and dress, with the island’s tourism board chairman announcing that billboards will be implemented to teach foreigners how to dress.
Bali tourism board chairman Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana has told the press that he hopes the new measures will make tourists more mindful of the local culture.
“The point is that tourists respect Balinese cultural customs by dressing well and neatly, following in an orderly manner, carrying out traffic activities and not doing things that are outside the provisions,” he told The Bali Sun.
He added, “The point is for tourists to respect the cultural customs of the Balinese by dressing well and eating and being orderly in carrying out traffic activities. By not doing things that are outside the provisions such as doing business and working in Bali.”
The billboards will be located in Denpasar Regency, Denpasar Regency, and Gianyar Regency, which includes tourist hotspots like Seminyak, Canggu, Kuta, Keramas, Ubud, Jimbaran and Uluwatu. Ida Bagus Agung Partha Adnyana said that the boards will be implemented in English and will be replicated in foreign languages.
He added, “Indeed, we are welcoming and accept everything. Guests are king but don’t abuse.”
The new billboards is just another measure the island is implicated to try and manage unruly tourists. Late last year Indonesia passed a law that bans anyone in the country from having pre-marital sex. The ban stipulates that sex outside of marriage will be punished with one year in prison while unmarried people living together could face six months in jail – and it was stated that the law applies to non-nationals, including tourists.
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The new rule caused a lot of uproar and had thousands of tourists vowing to stay away from Indonesia because of the ban. However, the country later backtracked on the law.
Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej how confirmed that tourists won’t be prosecuted if they engaged in pre-martial sex.
“I want to emphasise for foreign tourists, please come to Indonesia because you will not be charged with this article,” Mr Hiariej said.
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