Govt asked to give city more tourism autonomy

JAKARTA (JP): A councilor urged the government yesterday to give more autonomy to the municipality in managing its tourism sector, including in the issuance of star hotel permits.

Imam Sutikno of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI) said at the City Council's plenary session that he made the appeal because the municipality's authority in the tourism sector was at present very limited.

"The issuance of permits for star hotels, for example, is still under government authority, while the administration only has the authority to issue permits for small-scale hotels," Imam said in a meeting to pass a bill on the city's tourism sector.

The bill was to replace the old city regulation No. 3/1993 on tourism.

Imam said the municipality also did not have the authority to issue permits for travel bureaus or airline agencies.

"Limited authority of accommodations, travel bureaus and airline agencies hampers our efforts to further develop the city's tourism sector," Imam said.

For instance, he said, the municipality could not offer attractive tourism packages to prospective tourists.

"Currently, the municipality is very active in promoting tourism here, but without attractive (tourism) packages, it would be difficult to promote (the city)," Imam said.

He urged officials to further find a breakthrough in improving the tourism sector.

Deputy Governor of Economic and Development Affairs Tb.M. Rais supported Imam's remarks.

"In my opinion, Jakarta has already had the ability to manage its tourism sector, including the issuance of star hotel permits," said Rais, who attended the session on behalf of Governor Surjadi Soedirdja.

The municipality and the government, he said, could discuss the division of their shares, including fees, after transferring autonomy.

The transfer of autonomy, he said, could be conducted in stages. "We have to consider some factors, including human resources," Rais said.

Data from the Central Statistics Bureau shows that the number of foreign tourists entering Jakarta tends to increase every year.

In 1995, the number of foreign tourists substantially increased from 1.3 million people to 1.67 million in 1996.

In the January-May period this year, 578,987 foreign tourists entered through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tanjung Priok seaport and Halim Perdanakusumah Airport.

The bureau's data showed that in 1996, 55 percent of foreign tourists came to the city on vacation, 37.8 percent on business, 5 percent as convention participants and 0.3 percent in educational programs.

Spending by foreign tourists increased from US$2.1 billion in 1995 to $3.02 billion in 1996.

Most foreign tourists stayed in the city for about a week and spent about $240 per day in 1996.

The 1996 statistical data also showed that 31.7 percent of tourist spending was on accommodations, 16.5 percent on souvenirs and shopping, 15.6 percent on meals, 14.1 percent on transportation, 10.1 percent on entertainment and 6.5 percent on recreational activities.

In the 1994/1995 fiscal year, tourism sector contribution to city income was Rp 212.6 billion and Rp 298.4 billion in 1996. (ste)