A foreign tourist canceled a visit to the Bantimurung waterfall site in Maros Regency, South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
In a viral video circulating, a foreign tourist was seen entering the tourist area. He walked towards the ticket box while being videoed by his colleague.
When he got to the counter, the tourist shook his head. He didn’t want to buy a ticket. “No, No,” he said. He seemed to object to the entrance fee, which is much more expensive than tickets for local tourists.
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The price for foreign tourists at Bantimurung Waterfall natural attractions in Maros Regency is IDR 255,000 per person, while for local tourists, it is IDR 35,000 per person.
The entrance ticket price of IDR 35,000 per adult will feel heavy if you bring many family members, especially for foreign tourists who have to pay seven times the local price.
This video went viral and was reuploaded by various Instagram accounts, such as @makassar_iinfo and @maros.informasi. These two accounts wrote about why the foreign tourists refused to enter the Bantimurung waterfall tourist spot because of the expensive ticket.
The Instagram account post was flooded with comments from netizens. Some think the fee is expensive because local residents only charge IDR 35.000.
Some say that the difference in ticket prices for foreign and local tourists is common in other areas but not that expensive.
Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno responded to the incident. Sandiaga said tourism activists need to guide so as not to discourage foreign tourists from vacationing in Indonesia.
“This is case by case, person by person (oknum), don’t generalize. Our efforts are to provide guidance and control,” Sandiaga said in the Weekly Brief with Sandiaga Uno on Monday, May 27, 2024, as reported by Sindonews.
Sandiaga said these price gougers usually take the opportunity to charge many times the price for foreign tourists. For this reason, supervision and guidance are needed so that it does not happen in other places.
Sandiaga also suggested sanctions if a similar incident continues to occur.
“This is taking advantage of opportunities in constraints. It can hit the entire series of ecosystems that exist in these tourist destinations,” he said.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Arafah, the Head of the South Sulawesi Culture and Tourism Office, also responded to the viral video.
He said that tourism fees have indeed been regulated by the manager who oversees it. He hopes the management can socialize the entrance ticket fee so that tourists can know before visiting the landmark.
The differences in tourism fees between foreign and local tourists do occur in Indonesia and are often debated. For example, compared to other regions, the Tanah Lot ticket price for local visitors is IDR 30,000 for domestic tourists and IDR 75,000 for foreign tourists.
As a foreign tourist visiting Indonesia, have you ever had an experience like this? Share your thoughts.
