PHRI seeks city's help to lower expenses
PHRI seeks city's help to lower expenses
Bambang Nurbiantoro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) has urged
the city administration and the City Council to revoke several
bylaws and gubernatorial decrees on taxes, workers' minimum wages
and other charges, which they claim have caused their operational
costs to soar.
"The city administration must revise or even revoke those
bylaws and gubernatorial decrees," PHRI executive chairman Ad
Harisantoso was quoted by Antara as saying on the sidelines of
the congress of the Jakarta PHRI on Thursday.
Among the bylaws and decrees are those on taxes, workers'
minimum wages and fuel and electricity charges.
Harisantoso said the regulations had discouraged the
development of tourism companies, which are facing serious
problems due to concerns by a number of countries about security
in Indonesia.
Hotels and restaurants are the businesses most affected by the
security concerns in the capital following a series of bombings
in the country in the past three years, the latest being the JW
Marriott Hotel bombing on Aug. 5 of this year. Many hotels have
since suffered a decline in the number of guests, with occupancy
rates hovering below 50 percent.
Harisantoso said a review of the regulations would help the
hotel and tourism sector recover its pre-1997 condition before
the economic crisis hit the country.
"It doesn't mean that we are asking for special treatment over
other sectors, we only hope for a stimulus to help us survive,"
he added.
PHRI chairwoman Yanti Soekamdani Hardjoprakoso said that
ethnic conflict in various parts of the country and last year's
outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the
region had also negatively affected the industry.
"All these incidents have caused hotel occupancy rates to
nose-dive," she said, adding that the occupancy rate of five-star
hotels now stood at 40 percent, four-star hotels at 48 percent
and three-star hotels at 50 percent.
Data at the city administration shows that in 2002, the city's
income from hotel and restaurant taxes reached about Rp 550
billion (US$64.7 million). It was the second largest income after
vehicle tax of about Rp 2.5 trillion. The city administration set
this year's target at Rp 750 billion.
The hotel, restaurant and tourist industries employ some 37
million people from across the city.