ozstamps

The Governor of Bali, Dewa Made Berata, made it clear he thought Australian tourists were undisciplined cheapskates - and was not bothered by the plan to revoke free visas for Australians.

"Bali will be quickly damaged if it is flooded with tourists who love partying but have no money," he said, adding that he preferred Japanese.

"Aside from being large in number, the Japanese tourists usually have more money and are more disciplined than the Australians," he told the Jakarta Post.

But the Australian Federal Government will tell Indonesia it risks seriously hurting Bali's tourist trade. About 261,000 Australian tourists travel to Indonesia - mainly Bali - every year. Under the visa proposal, they would have to visit consuls or the Indonesian Embassy and apply for a $US50 visa - close to $100 on the current exchange rate.

He added that the new visa system would not only be for Australia but for all countries.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/0010/28/p.../pageone1.html

(Hey, folks, it wasn't me. )



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~ Glen ~

Gaucho100K

I cant believe they will do this... I will double check this later next week when Im back in Jakarta.

Sound dumb, though. They should have the tourist police take care of this, if somebody (no matter where they come from) gets out of line, they should be taken care of according to the law. This "tax" via a Visa thing is absolute rubbish (IMO).


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Gaucho100K

ozstamps

When I finally got my printed copy of SMH today it was HALF the front page, so looks like a pretty big deal diplomatically!

USAFAN

Ozstamps:

Where else are going the Australians on vacation? Where else does the "rest of the world" can expect other, more penalties. When I remember it right, you have been in Mexico!?! Have not heard anything yet. Sorry, only joking.
How did they know this people are Aussies? How do Aussies look? The only Aussie I have ever seen is good looking, charming Greg Norman; he builts the Tiburon Golf Course next to a new Ritz Carlton in our village. People say Tiburon is Spanish for shark - Gaucho100K might correct me if I'm wrong.

Sanguan

Forget Bali. Come to the FULL MOON PARTY in Thailand.
http://www.thaisite.com/fullmoonparty/

Law Lord

This won't get Bali floods of Gin'ral Grants from American visitors, if they require a $50 visa fee. I recall that several years ago, France got upset that USA required the French to get tourist visas, so France required Americans to get tourist visas before arriving in France. Surprise! American tourists stopped going to France. I think it took the French government about 90 days to back down. I predict the same thing will happen here -- Americans will go to Fiji, or Tahiti, or some other warm place, and skip Bali until the fee goes away or is folded into the airfare.

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"If you want to win the game, write the rules."

drtravels

OZ:

Cheap and drunkards, the Aussies?????? Tell me it isn't true!

ozstamps

It certainly is not true. I am an expensive drunk as it takes so much booze to get me that way.

Come to DUS next weekend and join the FT fun!

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/000626.html

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~ Glen ~

[This message has been edited by ozstamps (edited 10-28-2000).]