Bali Provincial Government is preparing a new regulation to screen foreign tourists, which is planned to take effect in 2026. One of the key criteria in the screening process will be the financial capacity of prospective visitors.
Bali Governor Wayan Koster explained that one indicator of quality tourism is a tourist’s economic capability, including their savings history.
According to Antaranews, “One of the aspects considered for quality tourism is how much money they have in their bank account over the past three months,” Koster said in Gianyar on Thursday, January 1, 2026.
In addition to financial checks, the provincial government will also examine the planned length of stay and activities of foreign tourists while in Bali.
“This is so everything can be properly controlled, just like when we travel to other countries. With policies like those applied by other countries, we will do the same,” Koster said.
Before outlining the new policy, Koster presented data showing that foreign tourist arrivals in 2025 reached 7.05 million people via air routes and around 71,000 via sea routes. This figure marked the highest number in Bali’s tourism history and reflected a continued upward trend since the easing of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He acknowledged that in 2022, many parties pushed to accelerate foreign tourist arrivals by offering various conveniences. As a result, the flow of visitors became excessive and difficult to filter.
“Everything was mobilized to make people want to come to Bali, and that’s what’s happening now—they’ve become too comfortable. This is something we must address, and it cannot be solved in just a day or two; it requires patience,” Koster said.
The Bali Provincial Government is aware of various emerging issues such as waste, traffic congestion, and flooding. However, Koster emphasized that rather than blaming these problems, the focus should be on improving regulations.
Although the central government has not yet set a tourist arrival target for 2026, Bali has chosen to shift its focus away from quantity toward quality tourism. According to Koster, setting clear criteria for foreign tourists is crucial to ensure their presence brings positive impacts, particularly for the tourism economy, without creating new problems.
According to Metrotvnews, “Going forward, we will begin to move toward quality tourism, not merely focusing on numbers, but on quality that is designed through regional regulations governing tourism management,” he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Tourism Widiyanti Putri Wardhana conducted direct monitoring of tourist activities in Bali during the Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026 holiday period. The visits covered various destinations, ranging from shopping tourism and family and sports tourism such as beaches, to historical sites.
Widiyanti began her inspection at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport to ensure that all services were operating smoothly. At the airport, she received positive data showing that throughout 2025, foreign tourist arrivals reached 7.05 million.
The monitoring continued at Icon Mall Bali, which is integrated with Sanur Beach as a family and sports tourism area.
“I also visited Icon Mall and Sanur Beach, which remain crowded. At the mall, there is the Bina Indonesia Great Sale program, and we saw data showing that transactions over the past two weeks have exceeded the sales figures of an entire month in normal periods,” Widiyanti said.
She added that the high number of visitors highlights the evolving role of shopping malls as tourism destinations.
“So this is extraordinary due to the large number of visitors in Bali, and the number of visitors at the mall reached 40,000 people per day, underscoring how malls are now developing into tourism destinations with various attractions, handicraft and art markets integrated with the lively Sanur Beach,” she said.
The Ministry of Tourism delegation also visited the Ubud area in Gianyar, particularly Puri Agung Ubud, which is located next to the Ubud Art Market.
“The visit to Puri Agung Ubud is extraordinarily beautiful. Ubud represents harmony between natural beauty, lush villages, terraced rice fields, forests, and waterfalls, combined with a calm atmosphere that supports healing activities, as well as Bali’s strong artistic and cultural richness,” Widiyanti said.
In the historic and cultural tourism area, the minister held discussions with Bali Governor Wayan Koster and tourism association stakeholders regarding the year-end holiday momentum and Bali’s tourism conditions over the past year.
According to her, the key challenge ahead is improving the overall quality of Bali as a destination, which will be fully supported by the Ministry of Tourism.
Regarding the decline in domestic tourist visits from 10.1 million in 2024 to 9.28 million in 2025, Widiyanti explained that this was due to the more even distribution of domestic tourists across various regions.
She emphasized the importance of domestic tourists to national tourism and encouraged tourism industry players to continue innovating in 2026.
“The national target of 1.08 billion domestic tourist trips will be achieved this year, and we project 1.2 billion domestic tourist trips. I would like to emphasize that domestic tourists are the backbone of Indonesia’s tourism,” Widiyanti said.