Cheap fares, no exit tax luring Indonesian tourists overseas

Cheap airfares and the government’s recent repeal of the exit tax are leading more Indonesian tourists overseas, according to a tourism industry group.

The changes might increase in the number of outbound Indonesian tourists in 2011 by 20 percent, up from 5 million in 2010, according to the Association of Indonesian Travel Agencies (Asita),

“The abolition of the fiscal fee along with more affordable tickets offered by low-cost carriers have encouraged more people to travel overseas,” Asita’s Jakarta branch vice chairman Rudiana said on Wednesday.

The government rescinded the exit tax paid by citizens at international departure points on Jan 1.

Previously, Indonesians without tax registration numbers (NPWP) had to pay a Rp 1 million tax when leaving the nation by sea or Rp 2.5 million when leaving by air.

No official figures were available for the number of outbound Indonesian tourists in 2010. According to the Central Statistics Agency, there 8.7 million Indonesian airline passengers went abroad between January and November in 2010, up from 7.2 million in the same period in 2009.

Indonesian Airline Ticketing Agencies Association (Astindo) secretary-general Anto B. Haditono agreed with Rudiana, saying that more Indonesians were travelling overseas.

Nearby destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand remained Indonesians’ favorite destinations, Anto said.

“Singapore’s new attraction is Universal Studios which recently began operations, while Malaysia will remain popular because it offers more affordable accommodations,” he said.

Astindo chairperson Elly Hutabarat said that the potential increase in the number of Indonesians traveling abroad posed a challenge to the government to improve domestic tourist sites.

“The government must take action to make our country more competitive than our neighbors,” she said, adding that the country had many beautiful sites that lacked proper infrastructure.

Astindo will hold a three-day international travel fair at the Jakarta Convention Center to promote domestic and overseas destinations, according to Elly.

The event would start on April 1 and was aimed at attracting dozens of national and international carriers, tour and travel agencies, hospitality industry representatives, she said. (lnd)