The Concept Of Mass Tourism Must Change So That The Gembel Tourists Don't Make A Action

Views of foreign tourists in Bali. (Between/FIKRI YUSUF)

JAKARTA Bali is a tourist destination whose beauty is already famous all over the world. But in recent years, Bali's image as a destination that is rich in natural beauty has often been tarnished because of the many cases of foreign tourists acting.

Recently, the National Police arrested Sisairos Valdes Roberto, the leader of a Mexican gang, who was involved in the shooting of Turkish citizen Turan Mehmet at a villa in the Tumbak Bayuh Village area, Mengi, Badung Bali. The arrests were made in the Nganjuk area, East Java.

Based on the results of the interim examination, apart from being the leader of the group, Sisairos Valdes Roberto also acts as a planner for the robbery. He organized the role of three of his colleagues who had been arrested previously.

Sisarios Valdes Roberto is not the only foreign tourist who has caused trouble in Bali. In the past few years, the news of Caucasians causing chaos on the Island of the Gods seems to be everyday food.

In March 2023, when Hindus were solemn in organizing Melasti, which was a series of ceremonies to welcome Nyepi Day, a foreign man riding a motorcycle was about to grab the convoy of people's entourage. The action was prevented by local pecalang or traditional police. Not accepting the reprimand, the Caucasian man screamed. This action was discovered by many people after the video recording went viral on social media.

Another thing with the story of a foreign national (WNA) who was secured by Badung residents, Bali after hitting another motorist and hitting a resident.

Meanwhile, Matthew Richard was arrested by the police after snatching a bag belonging to another tourist named Dergham Montreal on June 19, 2019. When he was arrested, he admitted that he had often snatched.

A series of disturbing actions carried out by foreign tourists made the Governor of Bali, I Wayan Koster, finally make regulations prohibiting foreign tourists from renting motorbikes while traveling on the Island of the Gods due to many foreign tourists violating traffic in Bali.

Many foreign tourists, especially foreigners, are getting the attention of many parties in Bali. Tourism observer and Chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Cendikiawan Association (ICPI) Azril Azahari said that the phenomenon of many foreigners having negative behavior was partly due to the spirit of tourism being managed.

Azril said, the concept of tourism in Indonesia is mass tourism, so that what is targeted by the current government is only in terms of the quantity of tourists who come. Thus, tourists who come also tend to come from the lower class, which is called the term backpacker tourist.

"So it's better not to look for a large number of tourists anymore, but it should be a value," said Azril.

To achieve this value, Azril suggested that tourism in Bali not be sold cheaply. Thus, it is hoped that tourists who come are also from the middle to upper class.

The same thing was also expressed by the Director General of Immigration at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights Silmy Karim, explaining the reason why many foreign tourists acted in Bali. One of the main problems is because Bali is a cheap tourist destination for travelers from abroad.

"So the main problem related to foreigners in Bali is the large number of foreign tourists with low spending who often cause trouble," said Silmy on July 27, 2023.

"Because Bali is included in the category of cheap tourist destinations, attracting tourists with thin pockets," Silmy added.

The high interest of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia, especially Bali, cannot be separated from the status of our country which can easily be visited by foreigners without requiring an entry permit or visa.

Based on Presidential Regulation Number 21 of 2016 concerning Visa-Free Visits, there are 169 countries whose citizens are exempt from the obligation to have a visit visa to enter Indonesian territory.

A visit visa-free recipient is granted a visit residence permit for a maximum of 30 days. In his statement, a visit visa-free is not granted for visits in the context of journalism.

Among countries free of visas to visit Indonesia are Russia, the United States, and Australia. According to Denpasar Immigration data, Australians and Russians ranks at the top two most coming to Bali. Although from an economic perspective foreign tourists can turn the wheels of the economy, the presence of Russian citizens also causes problems.

In the period January to April 2023, 101 foreigners were deported and 27 of them were Russian citizens, who were at the top.

This is inversely proportional to the difficulties of Indonesian citizens going abroad. Indonesian passports themselves are still underestimated, because only 76 countries have exempted visas or only need Visa on Arrival or ETA (Electronis Travel Authority) for immigrants from Indonesia. That includes 10 ASEAN countries, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Timor Leste.