Australian travellers to Bali could be stung with a $10USD tourist tax to help the holiday island deal with the mountain of rubbish left behind by visitors.

Bali’s new Governor Wayan Koster, who was sworn in in September, is understood to have resurrected the idea of charging foreign visitors the equivalent of $14 a person to help deal with the environmental decline of the island.

The money would apparently be spent on damage including piles litter which has been, in part, left behind by tourists.

Bali Tourism Authority director secretariat Gilda Sagrado told thewest.com.au a tourist tax had been on the table for about a decade, but Governor Koster may be the one to make the plan a reality.

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“There was many previous attempts to implement the tourist tax but all failed because there is no Indonesian national law to base it on,” Mr Sagrado said.

“Since taking office in late 2018, Bali’s new Governor Wayan Koster has been voicing the idea of the tourist tax... he is also an experienced legislator on the national level. Therefore he may have a way to the tourist tax implementation.”

The Governor told the Jakarta Post he believed tourists would not be deterred by the fee.

“Tourists will understand [the regulation]. They will be happy to pay it as it will be used to strengthen our environment and culture,” he said.

However, Mr Sagrado assured tourists implementation of the tax “will not be overnight” and the exact details of how visitors would be charged were still being nutted out.

He said it was still unclear whether tourists would be charged at the airport (making the tax an “airport tax”) and what would happen if visitors decided to visit Bali via another Indonesian destination.

Mr Sagrado said the tourism authority was also aware of the impact an extra fee may have on visitor numbers to the island.

“The Balinese voice is also a powerful voice on the national level because there is fear of drop in arrival numbers affecting Bali’s economy,” he said.

Perth’s Indonesia Institute Inc president Ross Taylor said about 85 per cent of Bali’s river systems have severe environmental damage, mostly from rubbish and plastic.

“Bali has struggled to develop large scale recycling plants so much of the rubbish ends up in the waterways or the ocean,” he said.

“The Governor is asking if tourists could help Bali with what is becoming a massive problem that will eventually impact tourism anyway.”