Foreign tourists could be banned from renting motorbikes and scooters on the Indonesian island of Bali as part of the local governor's push to crack down on traffic violations and bad behaviour.
Bali's governor Wayan Koster has asked national authorities to ban all foreigners from hiring motorbikes after a spate of incidents such as abuse of police by foreign riders, failing to wear helmets and using fake number plates.
Mr Koster urged travellers to only use transportation provided by travel agencies.
"So the tourists have to travel using cars from travel agents. They are no longer allowed to use motorbikes or anything that is not from a travel agent," he told the ABC.
Business owners — like Agustinus Winjaya, who runs a scooter rental service — warned it could hurt Bali's economy.
"To be frank, this issue was caused by a handful of people or just one or two tourists, so I don't think you can force this regulation on everyone and assume everyone's broken the rules," he told the ABC.
"We at the rental truly support the police in taking action against tourists who use motorbikes and are reckless on the road, but the problem is actually not from the rental."
He said some foreigners were irresponsible, but not all of them.
"In my experience, foreign citizens are fine because they haven't caused really significant problems. They will still pay for damages or other things."
Russian, Ukrainian tourists face heaviest crackdown
The move comes after a spate of incidents involving foreigners on bikes, particularly Russian and Ukrainian travellers flouting road rules and working illegally.
Mr Koster asked the government in Jakarta to revoke visas on arrival for all Russian and Ukrainian tourists.
Russian tourists said they would consider moving elsewhere if the rules change.
"If they make it hard to get visas for Russians, Ukrainians, we will look for other places to go. South-East Asia is not Indonesia alone. Thailand has beautiful places," said Russian tourist Alexander Ivanov.
"We can move there. It will be a big loss for Indonesia itself."
More than 77,500 Russians arrived in Indonesia between September 2022 and January 2023 as COVID-19 restrictions were eased, compared with about 88,000 in the same period just before the pandemic.
About 8,800 Ukrainian visitors arrived between September 2022 and January 2023.
Tourists say age limit would solve problems
Paul Harrison, a traveller in Bali from Melbourne, said it would damage tourism.
"If I didn't have the freedom of a scooter to go get my coffee, to go to a local restaurant … that's a little bit too far to walk," he told the ABC.
"You don't walk anywhere in Bali."
He said he knew a lot of younger tourists on the island would drive scooters about, even after going out partying.
"I think personally if you restrict the age limit of someone who can come and ride in Bali, I think you'll find a lot of issues stop," he said.
"A lot of younger people, they always scooter no matter what."
Chris Lyons, a tourist from Canada, said roads were dangerous, and he and his friends had seen a serious accident while out at a restaurant.
"I wouldn't want to be on a scooter. I thought I was going to be on the scooter all the time … in a town that is quiet, you know, I would consider riding it," he told the ABC.
"But Canggu was way too busy, way too crazy."
He wondered how the ban could be fairly enforced.
"How are they going to tell the difference between a tourist and someone that's living here working and that sort of thing?
"It seems pretty complicated and complicated to police it with so many people renting scooters out."
ABC/Reuters
