Tourism body to tie up with S'pore company
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Tourism Promotion Board (ITPB) will establish a joint venture with a Singapore-based firm later this year to help boost tourism campaigns and revenues.
Chairman of the board, Tanri Abeng, said yesterday that the planned joint venture will be 40 percent owned by PT Bangun Nusantara Indah, an affiliate of the board, and 60 percent by a Singaporean firm.
"The planned company will handle international-scale conferences and exhibitions in Indonesia and its profits will be passed on to ITPB," he said at the House of Representatives.
By organizing such events, the board will also be able to promote the country's tourist industry and generate revenues at the same time, he said.
In his hearing with the House Commission V for tourism, housing and transportation, Tanri reported that ITPB has incurred debts of Rp 21.98 billion (US$9.7 million) to advertising agents and other parties used for their promotional activities.
"However, our revenues are very limited," he said.
The board, under a presidential decree, is supposed to collect two percentage points from the 10-percent local development tax imposed on hotels and restaurants in the provinces of North and West Sumatra, Jakarta, West, Central and East Java, Yogyakarta, Bali, North and South Sulawesi. Local administrations in the provinces are required to extend the two-percentage point portion to the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications, which passes the amount on to ITPB.
Tanri said yesterday that in 1994-95, ITPB received only Rp 5.92 billion (US$2.6 million), far lower than the Rp 55.99 billion targeted by the government, in revenues from the development tax.
"In the current 1995-96 fiscal year, we have received just Rp 1.22 billion out of the targeted Rp 64.17 billion," he added.
Minister of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave said in April that by the end of March 1995, a number of local administrations had reported the results of their development tax collections from hotels and restaurants which reached Rp 26.47 billion.
No payment
Tanri said yesterday that the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association recently reported that the association has already paid the funds to the local administrations.
"But we are wondering where the funds are actually now because we have not received any payment from the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications," said Tanri, who is also top executive of the widely-diversified Bakrie Group.
"I heard that tourism minister Joop Ave has reported this matter in a cabinet meeting, while the Ministry of Home Affairs has also instructed local governments to deliver the payment to ITPB," he said.
Minister of Information Harmoko told reporters after a cabinet meeting on the economy yesterday that President Soeharto had instructed the tourism minister and the minister of home affairs to coordinate the channeling of the promotional funds from the local administrations to ITPB.
"The funds are designed for the promotion of the tourism industry, not for the local administrations," Harmoko said.
ITPB, which was set up in 1991 as an independent foundation, spent $20 million last year on promotional activities through advertisements in the print media and on television. By comparison, Australia, Singapore and Thailand spent about $92 million, $40 million and $38 million respectively on tourism promotion.
In addition to the development tax and funds from Bangun Nusantara Indah, ITPB earns revenues from promotion programs, which generated Rp 15 billion in revenues last year.
By 1999, Indonesia hopes to attract 6.5 million visitors per annum and $8.9 billion in revenues. This year, some 4.65 million foreign tourists are expected to visit the country. (icn)