Bali, Indonesia’s popular tourist island, will start charging foreign tourists a tax of 150,000 rupiah ($10 or 9 euros) from today to protect the “Island of the Gods”, its authorities announced.

The volcanic island with its fine sand beaches, which attracts millions of foreign visitors annually, wants to boost its economy to deal with the unwanted effects of tourism.

“This tax is aimed at protecting the culture and environment in Bali,” the island’s acting governor, Sang Mande Mahendra Jaya, said during a ceremony on Monday.

This tax will be paid online through the “Love Bali” portal and will apply to foreign tourists arriving in Bali from abroad or other areas of Indonesia, according to the press release issued.

However, this tax will not apply to Indonesian tourists.

The ruler of the popular island believes that paying it online will allow there to be no queues when visitors arrive in Bali.

Nearly 4.8 million tourists visited Bali from January to November last year, according to official figures, while the island’s tourism sector, which has suffered greatly from the COVID-19 pandemic due to border closures, continues to to recover.

The tropical island has vowed to crack down on irreverent behavior by tourists after several incidents, mostly of foreigners naked inside temples or sacred sites, that shocked the island’s majority Hindu residents.

Last year, the local government released a guide for tourists to Bali instructing them on behaviors to avoid.