Student protests costly to tourist industry: Feisol

JAKARTA (JP): Persistent anti-government student demonstrations sweeping across the country are having a costly effect on the tourism sector, the industry executives have said.

Deputy Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), Feisol Hashim, said on Saturday that Jakarta and nearby towns had had to suffer the repercussions of the latest political dynamics in the country.

"We don't object to demonstrations. We know this is the order of the day, but the only thing we ask for is that demonstrating should be done properly," Feisol told The Jakarta Post in an interview on Saturday.

Since the bloody incident around the Semanggi cloverleaf, South Jakarta, on Nov. 13, during which the military's brutal force crushed student protesters, there had been many cancellations of visits to Jakarta, he said.

Occupancy rates of hotels in Jakarta fell to 30 percent from about 40 percent before the incident, while in Bandung, West Jakarta, the occupancy rates were down to about 35 percent from 45 percent.

PHRI Chairman Pontjo Sutowo said on Friday that hotels had had to halve their normal rates to an average of between $40 and $50 from about $100 before the incident, which was followed by several hours of unrest in some spots in the city the next day.

"We believe that the student movements are pure and that they are intellectual enough not to become destructive, but we are worried that they are being infiltrated by other elements or that they may be stirred up by other parties," Feisol said.

Feisol said the industry was also concerned about the recent phenomenon of students taking over airports in several areas of the country.

Since the Semanggi killing, students in Medan (North Sumatra), Ujung Pandang (South Sulawesi) and Padang (West Sumatra) had briefly taken over their local airports in protest at the killings.

Feisol said the move could induce the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to revoke or downgrade the status of the local international airports because of the lack of proper security in the sensitive areas of the buildings and runways, he said.

If statuses were downgraded, most international airlines would not be likely to enter the country, and this could further hurt the recovery efforts of the tourism sector, which relied much on accessibility, he said.

Pontjo said the students' acts are in violation of the ICAO's policy on runway security.

"In every airport, only those with passes can enter the runway area. It is not permissible to have all these hundreds of students roaming the area," he added.

Kompas reported that the incidents had forced at least 35 domestic airlines to cancel or alter their flights.

Feisol said there had not been any travel ban issued by foreign governments on Indonesia, unlike in the aftermath of the massive riots in May.

However, many had informally advised their nationals to cancel visits to the country. (das)