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An Australian tourist says he is lucky to be alive after he was bashed outside a Bali nightclub, which he believes was provoked by dancing with the sister of one his attackers.

Video shows the shocking moment Perth man Matthew Stevenson was seriously injured in a violent brawl in Kuta on Friday night.

Mr Stevenson can be seen being dragged along the ground before being put into a headlock and punched in the head.

“I was just trying to defend myself, even in the video you can see I look kind of lifeless,” he told 7News of the encounter involving “a group of five or six people”.

Despite needing 10 stitches in the back of his head and suspecting a broken cheek, Mr Stevenson said “it could have been much more severe.”

“There’s always cases of that happening, people hitting their head and dying or incurring brain damage,” he said.

7News reported one man was in custody, while others involved, believed to be from New Zealand, had not yet been caught.

The 27-year-old told 9News his head injury was caused by being dropped on the ground and then hitting his head.

He said he was left with a pool of blood next to him.

On top of the injuries, he claimed he was also robbed of his phone, passport, hat and 500,000 IDR (about $50).

Mr Stevenson was due to be home on Wednesday for his brother’s wedding. He is now trying to find or replace it, and get medical clearance, in order to make it back for the wedding.

Aussies are the top foreign visitors to Bali.

Australian government data obtained by news.com.au showed the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade managed 401 consular cases there in the 2022-23 financial year.

Just over 28 per cent (114) of these cases had an illness or were hospitalised. About 27 per cent (107) of cases involved a death.

In December last year, more than one million tourists visited Bali — and even more are expected this year, as Aussies flock to the island ahead of Christmas and New Year.

The Indonesian government said last week that it was expecting a more than 100 per cent increase in the number of people travelling nationwide during those days.

Indonesian authorities have been pleading with foreigners to behave in Bali this year.

New measures introduced to control tourism have included an official tourist dos and don’ts list, a hotline for anyone to dob in misbehaving travellers, as well as a special task force to monitor foreigners’ activities.

From February 14, international travellers will need to pay a IDR 150,000 tourist tax, which is about $15.

The Indonesian government has also named five potential “tourist hot spots” it wants to drive international tourists to, instead of crowding Bali.

They are Lombok, Labuan Bajo, Borodudur, Lake Toba and Likupang.

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The coastal town of Labuan Bajo on Indonesia’s Flores Island is the “next big thing after Bali”, according to Deputy Tourism Minister Ni Made Ayu Marthini.

“We want Australians to see beyond Bali and create interest around the rest of Indonesia, showcasing the best of the country to Australian tourists that wouldn’t have previously known about,” she told news.com.au.

“We believe tourism creates jobs and with 17,000 islands in Indonesia, we want to spread the opportunity around our beautiful country.”

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