As of August 1, 2016, foreign surfers headed to the Mentawai Islands must pay admission aka a “surf tax” to ride the region’s legendary waves.
The Mentawais are a chain of islands off the western coast of Sumatra and are frequented for their world-class surfing scene.
The tax, under Regional Law No. 08, was enacted by the Mentawai Government Tourism Department and requires foreigners to pay Rp 1 million prior to arrival in the Mentawais for a maximum 15-day stay—don’t worry, the stay is extendable, according to Surfline.
Just like at a water park, surfers who pay the tax while be given a designated wristband that they will be required to wear.
The law, which has been anticipated for some time, comes with a growing concern of environmental damage and overcrowding and is intended to benefit the local community.
“We only get the name, garbage and environmental damage,” Mentawai Islands Deputy Regent Rijel Samaloisa said last year.
Some surfers are probably peeved at the added cost of riding the area’s legendary barrels, but let’s be honest: most foreign surfers coming into the Mentawais can afford the Rp 1 juta tax.
Kandui Resort, a hub for traveling surfers in the Mentawais, says the tax isn’t a bad thing, as long as the tax benefits the local community.
“We support any effort to help the local communities,” Kandui Resort co-owner Anthony Marcotti told Surfline. “We provide jobs for dozens upon dozens of families directly and indirectly. We are proud of our contributions and the money we are able to spend in our local communities in terms of jobs, supplies, and fuel purchases. We try to utilize Mentawai based support for Kandui as much as possible.”
Of course, there are concerns how how effective the law will be and how many people will “sneak in” without their wristbands. Guess we’ll have to wait and see, but we sure hope the tax really does benefit local Indonesians.
The Mentawais reportedly get a surge of 5,000 to 7,000 surfers annually.
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