Now without #fairytalebali

This week in the Indonesian parliament, new laws were passed prohibiting cohabitation and sex outside of marriage. The laws will be applied not only to residents, but also to foreign tourists and expatriates residing in the country.

According to the new criminal code, which took three years to develop, sex and cohabitation outside of marriage is punishable by a year in prison.

The new amendments include stricter laws against blasphemy, which have increased from one to six offenses and now carry a maximum five-year prison sentence.

The new law has caused a shock in the tourist industry. By the way, Bali is heavily dependent on tourism income and is still recovering from the closure of borders due to COVID-19, when tourist flows fell from more than 500,000 foreign visitors every month to 45 for the whole of 2021.

The authors of the bill claim that only close relatives will be able to declare extramarital relations. However, it is yet to be seen how it will play out in reality, and whether the new initiatives will have an effect on foreigners.

By the way, the law will come into effect only in three years, so you can confidently go in search of new photos with the tag #fairytalebali

UPD.

As expected, officials have started confirming that the restrictions will not affect tourists. Hotels will not ask for marital status information and require a marriage certificate before checking in.