Indonesia’s Bali searches for UK TikTokker over ‘negative’ videos of island’s traffic, rubbish-strewn beach

Travel content creator Corrin expressed her dismay at Kuta’s vehicle-choked roads and errant drivers, ahead of the island’s new tourist tax from February 14
But she acknowledged she was a little ‘negative’ in her videos and did not intend to portray the place that way

Indonesia

SCMP’s Asia desk

Published: 3:49pm, 30 Jan 2024

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Officials in Indonesia’s tourism hotspot of Bali are on the hunt for a British influencer after she took a swipe at the island’s “unbearable” traffic and called the famous Kuta beach “absolutely awful” in viral TikTok videos.

Travel content creator Corrin earlier this month expressed her dismay over Kuta’s vehicle-choked roads and errant drivers that do not allow people to cross the road even when they stand at the pedestrian crossing.

“Everyone says come to Bali, it’s an amazing place to come. Honestly, I hate it,” she said in the video as motorists drove haphazardly near an intersection in Kuta, a resort area popular with foreign tourists.

“The traffic is unbearable and I have never seen something like this in my life.”

A man walks near rubbish that was washed ashore by strong waves at a beach in Kuta. Photo: EPA-EFE

In another video, Corrin said she had done her research about the island, but nobody told her about “this side” of the place, pointing to the beach strewn with waste.

“I am so disappointed, there is literally rubbish all along the waterfront. Why don’t people show you this,” she asked.

Corrin added “this is not something I want and the beaches are absolutely awful”.

The visitor acknowledged that she was a little “negative” in her videos and did not intend to portray the place that way.

But her explanation did not convince Bali’s tourism task force, which deals with travellers behaving badly and has deported several in the past, including for posing naked in front of sacred sites.

A senior official said the department would collect information about these “foreigners who have given up on holidaying in Kuta” and coordinate with the immigration agency on the incident, The Bali Sun reported.

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Responding to Corrin’s criticism of Kuta, which he called the “face of Bali”, the island’s acting governor Sang Made Mahendra Jaya admitted the tourist hub was messy due to damaged stalls and uncleared rubbish dotting the beachfront.

“After we went inside, it looked even more shabby. Behind every stall, there were piles of rubbish,” said Jaya, who also teamed up with locals and led the clean-up of the beach last Friday.

The incident comes as Bali introduces a new tourist tax from February 14 to preserve its environment and culture.

The US$10 fee will have to be paid electronically and will apply to foreign tourists entering Bali from abroad or from other parts of Indonesia.

According to official figures, more than four million intentional holidaymakers visited the island in the first 10 months of 2023.