Domestic tourist industry urges open-skies policy

Domestic tourist industry urges open-skies policy

JAKARTA (JP): Tourist industries here remain adamant that the
government should take further steps to open up domestic air
routes to foreign carriers, arguing that the changes would be a
welcome boost to tourism.

However, domestic airlines remain unenthusiastic about the
plan, an industry source said.

The vice president of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant
Association (PHRI), Feisol Hashim, said on Wednesday that the
a draft aviation policy was being studied by officials in the
Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture before it was submitted to
President B.J. Habibie for approval.

Feisol said he and PHRI chairman Pontjo Sutowo met with
Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Marzuki Usman and a senior
ministry official, I Gde Ardhika, in early December to discuss
the draft policy.

"During the meeting, the minister seemed very supportive of
the draft," he told The Jakarta Post over the phone from his
residence in Bali.

However, when asked about the plan to change the aviation
policy last week, Minister of Communications Giri Suseno
Hadihardjono dismissed it as unnecessary.

"We don't need to change the present policy," Giri said.

The existing policy allows foreign chartered aircraft to fly
directly from overseas destinations to all airports in Indonesia
which are equipped for international aircraft, provided they fly
straight back to their port of embarkation with picking up new
passengers.

Scheduled flights are restricted to a limited number of
airports in the country.

"This is different from a limited open-skies policy," he
added.

A scheduled airline wanting to serve a new destination in
Indonesia must make bilateral agreement with the government in
accordance to the universal aviation "cabotage" policy.

Director General of Air Transportation Soenaryo Yosopratomo
said that scheduled planes had not yet started to serve any new
routes in the country lately.

"We have struck one new agreement with an airline from Brunei,
but it has yet to begin operating on the route," Soenaryo said,
adding that many foreign airlines had cut the frequency of their
flights to Indonesia in recent months or abandoned the country
altogether due to falling passenger numbers.

However, the tourism-related industries wanted a new aviation
policy in line with the limited open-skies policy, under which
both chartered and scheduled planes would be granted the right to
fly to any destination in the country.

Under the proposal, foreign carriers entering the country
through Biak airport in Irian Jaya and Batam airport in Riau
would be allowed to pick up passengers and cargo before flying
onto other destinations here.

The proposal also calls on the government to make it legal for
foreign airlines to hold majority shares in domestic carriers.

Commenting on Giri's cool response to the suggestions, Feisol
said: "He should think it over. Can there be tourism without
accessibility? Are we just going to ask people to paddle their
boats here?"

Feisol also called on the government to reshape the mindframe
of the country's development by establishing policies which gear
to boost tourism, a sector expected as a major foreign exchange
earner for the country. (das)