A foreigner has attracted the anger of the Balinese people after sitting in a sacred temple.
What causes foreigners to so often get on the wrong side of locals?
A photo was uploaded by the owner of the Instagram account @dreamchaser_traveling. The person is seen visiting the Lotus Bang Temple in Candikuning Village, Baturiti District, Tabanan, and deliberately sitting on the temple pedestal.
People working in the Balinese tourism industry have spoken out against the actions. “Strengthen the announcement regarding the rules for visiting Bali from upstream to downstream,” said I Wayan Puspa Negara, Chair of the Alliance of Bali Marginal Tourism Actors to detikTravel.
According to Negara, there needs to be mandatory information provided about what tourists can and cannot do while on vacation to Bali. Incidents like this have been on the rise, usually involving foreigners traveling alone and not using a guide.
“In this situation, it was clear that the Pura Terate Bang gate was locked and there is an information board in front of the temple. However, we do not see this problem solely on the weakness of supervision and information. It’s more about how foreign tourists entering Bali need to get complete information about Bali,” added Negara.
Information about what can and cannot be done needs to be comprehensive. Cooperation between airlines, immigration, customs counters, airport authorities, airport information, guides, transport, drivers, hotel receptions and front desks, and destination ticket guards are the main places to convey information about Bali.
“When foreign tourists who enter Indonesia sign a declaration at immigration regarding luggage, it is also the best time to prepare them about what they can and cannot do in Bali just before they land (on the plane they get an announcement),” he explained.
Negara said there is a simple way to prevent such incidents from happening again. He said that every foreigner who enters Bali should sign a declaration about what can and can’t be done and the sanctions for violations, including customary sanctions up to persona non grata or deportation.
“Every foreign tourist would get complete information when entering Bali and while staying, respecting Balinese local wisdom, maintaining Balinese taksu, and presenting foreign tourists who understand Bali as a strengthening of public relations about Bali as a whole,” he concluded.