The tourist Bali, in Indonesia, has announced that it prohibits foreign visitors from circulating on their own motorcycles when moving around the island, after a series of accidents, some fatal, involving tourists.
"Tourists have to travel in vehicles provided by travel agencies"the island’s governor, Wayan Koster, said on Sunday, according to what the Kompas media published today.
"If you are a tourist, behave like one and use the means of transport provided by the tour operators, instead of riding a motorcycle, without a shirt, without clothes and without a helmet. More even when done without a license"he added. It is unknown how and when the ban will be applied and it has only been specified that it will be this year, being able to change a usual scene in Bali, where tourists often rent motorcycles on their own to expedite travel, given the intense traffic and narrow roads. roads. The initiative follows several motorcycle accidents on the island: last month, a Russian tourist, who was driving under the influence of alcohol, was stopped by the police after he collided with a local motorist, who had to be hospitalized. In January, a Ukrainian tourist and a Russian visitor were killed in another accident. On the other hand, Koster assured that he has asked the Ministry of the Interior and Human Rights and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to revoke the arrival visa of Russian and Ukrainian tourists, after incidents in which citizens of these nationalities have been accused of working in Bali illegally.
"Since the two countries are at war, they come to Bali, including people who do not return for comfort, and stay to work."he added. The number of Russian tourists in Bali has been booming and they are the second nationality – after the Australian one – with the highest volume of visitors, above 22,000 in January, almost 13 percent more than the previous month, according to the latest figures from the Bali Tourist Board. Russia and Ukraine are currently among the 86 countries whose citizens can apply for a visa upon arrival in Bali.