On 29 October 2025, Indonesia quietly but decisively reshaped its tourism governance framework.
With the enactment of Law No. 18 of 2025, the Third Amendment to Law No. 10 of 2009 on Tourism officially came into force.
While it has received limited mainstream attention, this amendment carries significant implications for how tourism is developed, regulated, and financed — particularly in destinations like Bali, where regulatory enforcement and sustainability pressures are intensifying.
At its core, this amendment reflects one clear direction: tourism in Indonesia is moving toward a data-driven, ecosystem-based, and sustainability-oriented model.
Below is what investors, tourism operators, and destination managers need to understand.
1. Tourism Is Now Officially “Ecosystem-Based”
For the first time, Indonesian tourism law mandates that tourism development must be built around tourism ecosystems, not isolated projects.
The law introduces 12 ecosystem elements, covering areas such as:
- Strengthening the tourism industry
- Culture-based tourism
- Digital integration
- Sustainable destination management
- Human resource development
This is not symbolic language. Government planning, budgeting, and policy decisions must now be grounded in research, data analysis, and policy studies, provided by stakeholders such as universities, local governments, and tourism institutions.
Why this matters:
Ad-hoc development, short-term licensing strategies, and speculative tourism models are increasingly out of alignment with national policy. Projects that cannot demonstrate ecosystem alignment will face greater scrutiny — especially at the provincial and regency levels.
2. A National Tourism Data System Is Coming
The amendment also mandates the creation of an integrated national tourism data and information system. This system will track:
- Tourism destinations and attractions
- Strategic tourism areas
- Types of tourism activities
- Tourism businesses and human resources
- Visitor statistics and tourist behavior
For investors and operators, this signals tighter coordination between ministries, regions, and enforcement bodies. Over time, it will become much harder to operate outside formal licensing, zoning, and reporting structures.
3. Destination Management Rules Are Tightening
The law now clearly regulates who can guide tourists in Indonesia.
Key points:
- Destination managers must use certified Indonesian tour guides
- Certified guides must collaborate with local guides
- Foreign tour guides may only operate if accompanied by certified Indonesian guides
This reflects a broader policy objective: local empowerment and protection of domestic tourism labor.
For destination owners, villa operators, resorts, and experience-based tourism businesses, this is not optional. Compliance procedures will need to be built into daily operations.
4. Rights and Obligations: More Responsibility for Businesses
While older prohibitions (such as damaging tourism sites) have been removed as standalone articles, they now reappear as explicit obligations for tourists and citizens.
More importantly for operators, tourism businesses are now required to:
- Maintain non-discriminatory services (as before)
- Implement local empowerment initiatives, including community-based programs
This aligns closely with Bali’s regional policies emphasizing community involvement, cultural preservation, and sustainability.
5. Foreign Tourist Levies Are Now Legal — Details Pending
One of the most closely watched changes is the formal legal basis for foreign tourist levies (pungutan). The law allows the government to collect levies from foreign tourists, with proceeds earmarked for:
- Tourism sector development
- Destination management and sustainability
The technical details — rates, collection mechanisms, and allocation — will be set out in a forthcoming Government Regulation.
Key takeaway:
Operators should anticipate cost implications, but also potential reinvestment into infrastructure, destination quality, and enforcement. This is not a “Bali-only” concept anymore — it is now anchored in national law.
6. Incentives Are Promised — But Still Undefined
The amendment reiterates that tourism businesses may receive:
- Fiscal incentives (tax facilities)
- Non-fiscal incentives (simplified licensing, immigration facilitation, infrastructure support)
However, as with previous versions of the law, no clear procedures or eligibility criteria are provided yet. This creates a familiar reality in Indonesia: incentives exist in principle, but proactive engagement with regulators is essential to actually access them.
7. Financing Access Has Expanded — With One Notable Omission
The law expands access to tourism financing to include:
- Medium-scale enterprises
- Cooperatives (alongside micro and small businesses)
However, the previous explicit prioritization of small-island tourism development has been removed — a subtle but notable policy shift.
What This Means in Practice
This amendment confirms what we are already seeing on the ground:
- Tourism regulation is becoming more structured and enforceable
- Data, zoning, licensing, and sustainability are now interconnected
- Informal, poorly structured, or non-compliant tourism models face growing risk
- Community integration and local empowerment are no longer optional narratives — they are legal expectations
For investors and operators in Bali and across Indonesia, this is a moment to reassess structure, licensing, and long-term positioning, not just market opportunity.
At Seven Stones Indonesia, we see this amendment as a necessary evolution. Sustainable, compliant, and community-aligned tourism is not a constraint — it is the only viable path forward.