I have been to Bali 10 times now and have had varying times in the queue on arrival. I have also been reading the debate about the VIP VOA service. It concerns me also that no-one has spoken up for the travellers who were 'used' in the staff scam to issue and record week-stay visas but charge tourists longer-stay visa charges. Do the travellers see any refund?
Anyway, my point is - we would not need a VIP VOA service if the airport management scheduled staff numbers to match the passenger numbers for incoming flights. Even with flight delays, you can't tell me that it is impossible to make sure you have a decent number of staff there to process people at peak times.
What I want to know is has anyone ever written to the management of the airport to complain? Maybe they think we are all just so happy to be there we will stand for two hours in the heat quite happily. Maybe we are all afraid to say something in case we get taken into the little room next time we arrive in Bali.
We keep seeing all these news items about Bali's tourist numbers going up and down, and we are all very aware of how important it is that a good number of people choose to fly to Bali for their holidays, but if the service does not improve I can see some people just deciding not to come. It is not very welcoming to a country to have to spend hours just trying to get into it! - while hot and bothered from a long flight.
Maybe it is time we said something in writing, explaining politely just how it feels to arrive and see the queues ahead of you and so few staff processing arrivals. Written messages have so much more weight than grumbling at the counters.