Fraudulent practices in marine tourism industry especially for diving activity, received lots of complained from several parties especially from marine tourism businessmen. One of them is a cheat that they called as “teabag dive” or in other word short time diving, this kind of cheating, they confessed, could become a terrifying threat for tourism development at Tanjung Benoa area.

Teabag dive done by illegal guide who asked certain fee from the businessman cause unhealthy price competition and service quality derivation. Gradually, this kind of practice becomes wider and decrease Tanjung Benoa’s marine tourism image quality.

Head of Badung Local Tourism Agency, I Made Subawa on Thursday (March 11) said that practically “teabag dive” sold far below the diving price standard. If people want to dive at Tanjung Benoa, averagely they have to spend $ 50 US for 45 minutes dive. But due to this cheating actions, the price and standard offered far from the regular standard. 15 minutes dive could be enjoyed by those tourists with $20 US, shortly, cheap for bad quality.

Thus, said Subawa, make the tourists feels unsatisfied since they could not enjoy the beauty under the sea maximally. “What left for them only the fish. They have no time to watch over the coral reef,” he said.
Moreover, that teabag practice also claimed could give bad effect toward the coral reef conditions due to the boat anchor that always parked at inappropriate places,” he added.

In order to press teabag practice at Tanjung Benoa area, Subawa confessed that his party had gathered all marine tourism executives. In that meeting, they discussed about the bad effect caused by teabag diving as well as discussing its solution.
In the end, continued Subawa, the executives agreed to close their company if they have ever used that illegal service labors according to their initiative since they violating the agreement. “Essentially, they had agreed to adjust their price with the usual standard and compete in service,” Subawa asserted.

News by Bali Post