Indonesia mulls leasing islands for tourism
Indonesia mulls leasing islands for tourism
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian government is considering leasing a number of
small islands to individual and corporate investors for resort
development in a bid to boost tourism.
Minister of Culture and Tourism I Gede Ardika said that the
government was studying experiences in leasing islands for resort
development in the Maldives.
"We are learning from the Maldives how to set up our own
regulations on leasing islands for resort development," Ardika
told reporters during a workshop on Tourism Development on Small
Islands on Monday.
The workshop was also attended by Maldivian Deputy Minister of
Tourism Mohammad Saeed.
According to Ardika, there are many uninhabited islands in the
country which could be developed to support tourism.
According to ministry data, of the some 17,500 islands in
Indonesia, only 3,000 islands have been developed for land based-
development.
However, Ardika said, the government has yet to set up
regulations on leasing islands for resort development.
"We've just started. But hopefully this year we will have
finished the draft," Ardika said, without mentioning a time
frame.
He added that the rules for leasing islands would be
integrated into Law No. 9/1990 on tourism, which is now under
revision.
Located in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives archipelago consists
of 1,190 islands.
The Maldives Tourism Act stipulates that islands for resort
development can be leased for a maximum of 25 years. The period
can be extended up to 35 years when the investment exceeds US$10
million.
It can also be extended up to 50 years if the investors sell
50 percent of their share of the resort to the public.
Tourism contributes over 30 percent to the Maldive's gross
domestic product. Seventy percent of foreign currency earnings
come from tourism, and makes up 40 percent of government budget
resources.
Vanessa C. Satur of the Asia and Pacific Section of the World
Trade Organization said that leasing islands was a very
profitable and practical way of developing tourism.
However, Satur underlined that the government should play a
central role to facilitate local people and investors.