Govt seeks to limit expats' role in hotels

Govt seeks to limit expats' role in hotels

JAKARTA (JP): The government will ask tourist-industry
associations to help it draft rules to restrict foreigners
managing four-star or lower-rated hotels, an official said
yesterday.

The secretary to the tourism director general, I Gede Ardika,
said their input would enrich the rules being drafted by his
office.

"Our office is asking for input from associations in the
tourist industry to make the rule," he told a one-day seminar on
hotel operations and tourism in 1997.

The seminar was cosponsored by Neraca daily, Sabang Hotel and
the Institution for Tourism Development Information.

Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave
issued a decree last month requiring all foreign hotel chains to
set up local subsidiaries and reduce foreign staff at their five-
star hotels to three by 2000.

"The decree only regulates the restriction of foreign managers
at five-star hotels to provide a guideline. The Tourism
Directorate General and tourist-industry associations will make
rules for lower-rated hotels," he said.

Tourism Director General Andi Mappi Sammeng said earlier the
requirements for overseas hotel chains operating four-star and
lower-rated hotels were likely to be stiffer.

Ardika said the minister issued the decree because foreign
hotel chains could rarely solve their local industrial disputes
because of their representatives status. Their overseas
headquarters had minimum decision-making rights.

Many of the chains broke contractual obligations when they
failed to train locals for management, he said.

There are 47 foreign hotel chains operating or about to
operate in Indonesia, up from three in 1973. There are only eight
local hotel chains.

Foreign hotel chains operating domestically include the United
States' Holiday Inn, Westin, Inter-Continental, Hyatt and
Sheraton; Britain's Le Meridian and Hilton International;
Canada's Regent & Four Seasons; Spain's Melia-Sol; Hong Kong's
Century International, Oriental, Aman Resorts and Shangri-La; and
Japan's Imperial and Nikko.

Some foreign hotel chains, including Century, Shangri-La and
Hilton, have set up local subsidiaries.

When asked if the decree conflicted with WTO anti-
protectionism principles, Ardika said the organization had a
clause letting countries protect infant industries. Indonesia
could call hotel management an infant industry, he said. (jsk)