Driver confides in tourists canceling trip to Nusa Penida due to levy of IDR 25 thousand/destination

Going viral on social media, a tourist driver uploaded his conversation with a group of tourists who had canceled their holiday to Nusa Penida, Klungkung, Bali. The reason for the cancellation was because they were suddenly charged a levy of IDR 25 thousand per person per destination.

The group consisting of 47 tourists originally planned to visit four destinations in Nusa Penida. Even though they had paid the down payment for the tour package, they were again charged additional fees totaling around IDR 4.7 million due to the application of the levy.

The tourist canceled the visit and asked for a refund of the deposit and expressed his disappointment with the new rules. The upload also drew various comments from netizens.

Netizens assess that the government is unprofessional by having to implement additional levies without being balanced by efforts to improve infrastructure in the form of adequate roads.

Dispar: Retribution Has Been Regulated in the Regional Regulation

Responding to this, the Head of the Klungkung Tourism Service (Dispar), I Gusti Agung Gede Putra Mahajaya, explained that he had discussed this issue. He explained that the additional levies at each destination were an implementation of Klungkung Regional Regulation Number 4 of 2026 concerning regional taxes and levies.

"So this regulation has been clearly discussed and stipulated jointly by the legislature and executive. There are not only levies, but also taxes which are regulated as a refinement of Regional Regulation Number 8 of 2023," explained Mahajaya, Wednesday (5/8/2026).

As for the implementation that causes tourists to flee, Mahajaya explained that it is very normal for a regulation to reap pros and cons at the start of its implementation. According to him, from there his party will carry out evaluations and improvements.

This rule itself was officially implemented as of August 1 2026. Then it entered the socialization stage from August 1-12 2026. During the socialization stage, the party was committed to accommodating every input.

"The pros and cons are certainly material for our evaluation. However, as I have said, these are the rules that we must implement," he explained.