T

he Mentawai Islands Regency Council (DPRD) in West Sumatra has passed three bylaws regulating tourism, including surfing excursions, in an attempt to collect more revenue from the business.

Mentawai Islands DPRD deputy speaker Kortanius Sabeleake said the most substantial matter regarding the issuance of the three bylaws, which were passed on Thursday evening, was that the regency administration had never received any income from the surfing business, so now it would collect fees from surfers and surfing operators in Mentawai.

'€œThe bylaw on the management of surfing excursions requires each surfer to pay Rp 1 million (US$76) for a 15-day period and a boat carrying surfers will be charged Rp 5 million for 15 days. People making documentary films on surfing will pay a Rp 20 million fee,'€ Kortanius told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

In the bylaw, said Kortanius, the fees would be collected online from six months to a year in advance.

Mentawai has 70 surfing spots, each limited to 25 surfers daily.

The regency administration will set up counters in a number of places in Mentawai and Padang for check-in and to distribute wrist bands, while the boats will get a permit. The counters will be opened at the Minangkabau International Airport and Rokot Airport and at the Tua Pejat, Siberut and Sioban ports.

'€œThe bylaw should be followed up with a regency decree about the people who will implement the regulation, such as those accepting registrations and the public order police and health officer who provide security,'€ said Kortanius.

He hoped the decree would be issued in one or two months and that the collected fees would contribute of around Rp 1 billion annually to the region'€™s income.

'€œWe expect the sum to rise to Rp 2 billion next year, Rp 5 billion in the third year and gradually up to Rp 10 billion annually,'€ he said.

Regarding Law No, 23/2004 on regional autonomy, the provincial administration has the authority to regulate from zero to 12 miles of the sea territory. Kortanius said there would be no problem implementing the new bylaws as there was no government regulation or provincial bylaw preventing it.

'€œWe have consulted with the Tourism Ministry and the West Sumatra provincial administration. They stated that there was no problem so far,'€ he said.

Kortanius expected that every stakeholder, especially surfing operators, would comply with the bylaw.

West Sumatra Surfing Excursion Association head Aim Zen said he would discuss the new regulations with members affiliated with the association.

'€œThe amount of the fee set by the government would be a burden on visitors. We'€™ll see later whether or not the bylaw would have impacts to our business and the reaction from guests regarding the additional fees,'€ said Aim.

Separately, Yon Mardjono, director of Macaronis Resort, said he welcomed the new bylaws. '€œThere had been no legal certainty over the matter. We have been waiting for these bylaws,'€ Yon said.

According to him, the fee prices were not expensive, as long as the collection and the use of the collected fund were supervised carefully. Yon'€™s resort, located in Pagai Utara Island, receive between 250 and 300 surf tourists each year.