Tourism promotion budget far below target

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications has targeted collecting Rp 207.45 billion (US$84.67 million) in development tax this fiscal year to finance tourism promotion.

But minister Joop Ave told the House of Representatives yesterday that his office had failed to meet its development tax target for the last three years.

"We received Rp 5.92 billion from development tax in the 1994/1995 fiscal year, much less than the targeted Rp 45 billion."

"In 1995/1996, only Rp 21.61 billion was collected, still far below the target of Rp 71.42 billion. In 1996/1997 only Rp 20.79 billion was collected, also way below the target of Rp 80.35 billion," he said.

Based on Presidential Decree No. 6/1993, the 10 most visited provinces -- North and West Sumatra, Jakarta, West, Central and East Java, Yogyakarta, Bali, North and South Sulawesi -- are required to collect 10 percent tax on hotels and restaurants.

Twenty percent of the funds collected from this tax should be passed on to the Ministry of Tourism, Post and Telecommunications to be given to the Indonesian Tourism Promotion Board to promote tourism.

He said development tax might reach Rp 1.08 trillion in 1997/1998.

"It's very human of the local authorities to refuse to extend the money, though there's a regulation," Joop said.

He said he would meet with the ministers of finance and home affairs to discuss how to collect the unpaid funds.

He turned down a suggestion from House members to abandon the fund collection system.

The country expects between $7.2 billion and $7.8 billion from 5.3 million to 5.7 million foreign tourists this year. The government expects tourism will be the biggest foreign exchange earner by the end of the Seventh Five-Year Development Plan period in 2004. (icn)