Indonesia’s minister of Maritime and Investment affairs, Luhut Pandjaitan, made waves this month when he said Bali would weed out backpackers and focus on “quality” tourists after its reopening, which is planned for October.
“We will filter the tourists who visit,” Pandjaitan told media. “We do not want backpackers, so that Bali remains clean, and the tourists who come here are of quality.”
“We’ll aim for quality tourism in Bali, so we won’t allow backpackers to enter once the reopening plan for international travellers is officially put in place in the near future,” Pandjaitan said (these comments reportedly came on September the 10th).