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strong>May 4, p5

The Mentawai Islands Regency Legislative 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.

Your comments:

A regency that was serious about development would attract tourists by making everything as cheap as possible and then watch as they come in droves and spend their hard currency holiday money!

Terry McAsee

Mentawai is a spot where people travel from all over the world, just to surf. Ten dollars a day in surfing fees will not stop them.

I actually think it'€™s a good idea, if the money is used honestly. Limiting the number of surfers and other infrastructure costs money, and none is gained from people staying on liveaboards unless you charge them.

Kantisini

I just love how Indonesian officials do math. They always predict unattainable numbers, like President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo thinking Indonesia'€™s economic growth will hit 7 percent during his tenure. How is it possible to go from Rp 1 billion to Rp 10 billion in surf tax revenue within a few years when the surf breaks have a limit of 25 surfers per break per day? Where will the extra billions come from? Along with this they still have to pay US$35 for the visa on arrival.

Last month'€™s announcement of a visa-free policy was a sham, as I arrived on April 29 and had to pay the $35 fee. The price is another scam, as on the visa form the stated price is $25. I doubt the revenue will be anywhere near this prediction if surfers have to pay $100 in fees just to get through to the break. I'€™m going to head to Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa instead for the waves.

LF Ca

Okay '€” what a great idea. Of course, if implemented, surfers will simply abandon the area in favor of other places that don'€™t charge high fees. There are plenty of other places where surfers can go and are not burdened with a surf tax.

In addition, peripheral tax income from consumer goods purchased by those tourists will also cease, and jobs will be lost.

Norriss