Provinces' contribution to tourism still low

JAKARTA (JP): Bali, the country's major tourist destination, was the most reluctant province to contribute to the country's tourist promotion, says a tourist executive.

Managing director of the Indonesia Tourism Promotion Board, Wuryastuti Sunario, said yesterday Bali did not give the required 20 percent of its development tax to the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications.

Bali's administration in the last three and a half fiscal years contributed Rp 4.39 billion (US$1.69 million) to the ministry, or 11 percent of the targeted Rp 40.1 billion.

Wuryastuti said after publicizing the upcoming Tourism Indonesia Mart and Expo that none of the provinces had given the full amount required to the ministry.

Presidential Decree No. 6/1993 rules that the 10 most visited provinces -- Jakarta, Bali, Yogyakarta, North and West Sumatra, South and North Sulawesi, and West, East and Central Java -- must impose a 10 percent tax on hotels and restaurants.

Twenty percent of the funds collected from this tax must be passed to the tourism, post and telecommunications ministry.

The ministry channels the funds to the tourism promotion board to promote tourism.

The board has been poorly financed over the past several years and has had acute financial problems.

Data from the ministry shows it received Rp 60.39 billion from development tax in the past three and a half fiscal years, or about 30 percent of the targeted Rp 207 billion.

The ministry received Rp 12.07 billion in the first half this year.

In the past three and half fiscal years, Jakarta gave the ministry Rp 33.5 billion of its development tax, or 11 percent of the targeted Rp 105.62 billion, Wuryastuti said.

And East Java had so far contributed Rp 8.58 billion or 63 percent of the targeted Rp 13.69 billion.

To market the country's tourism internationally, the tourism promotion board, in cooperation with the Jakarta tourism agency and the country's carrier Garuda Indonesia, will hold the fourth Tourism Indonesia Mart and Expo in Jakarta from September 23 to September 28 this year.

The annual event would be attended by local sellers consisting of tourist agencies, hotels, resorts and buyers from International travel companies, Wuryastuti said.

It was expected to attract 50,000 visitors and the transaction value during the four days was expected to be 30 percent more than last year, she said.

Last year, local companies made an average US$ 284,400 each during the mart. And buyer companies spent about US$320,700 each, she said.

So far 169 companies from 18 provinces in Indonesia had registered as sellers at the mart and 158 companies from 31 countries had registered as buyers, she said. (das)