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)