Indonesian tourist tax will 'discourage' Australians

Indonesian tourist tax will 'discourage' Australians

PERTH, Australia (AFP): Plans reportedly being made by Indonesia to charge Australians an entry tax would discourage them and cost Jakarta valuable tourist income, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said here Friday.

Downer was responding to a report on the Indonesian on-line news service Kompas that Indonesia was considering charging Australian tourists an entry fee to raise foreign revenue for its ailing economy.

Kompas quoted Indonesian Justice Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra as saying Indonesia could earn A$578 million (US$300 million) if it charged A$96 per tourist.

Indonesia attracts thousands of Australian holidaymakers each year, with the vast majority going to the island of Bali.

Downer said tourist numbers were only just starting to build up to former levels in Indonesia after last year's East Timor crisis, and that an entry tax would simply send people elsewhere.

"If Indonesia introduces a tax, they will be cutting off their nose to spite their face," Downer said.

"The fact is, if they introduce a new tax, fewer Australians will go to Bali. If they whack a tax on, people will go to Phuket in Thailand or they'll go to Malaysia or they'll go ... to the South Pacific and so on.

"So I would say: Not a wise idea on Indonesia's part if they want to encourage Australian tourists to go there and spend Australian dollars -- and Australian dollars are quite valuable compared to the rupiah."

Downer said the Australian government would encourage Indonesia not to implement any new entry tax.