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Tourism players oppose mandatory CHSE certification
The government could rake in nearly Rp 1.3 trillion (US$91 million) annually from Cleanliness, Health, Safety and Environment (CHSE) certification fees, one observer estimated.
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Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) chair Hariyadi B. Sukamdani talks to the press on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the tourism industry in Jakarta on March 12, 2020. (JP/Riza Roidila Mufti)
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he Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), a major tourism business lobby, has objected to plans to make Cleanliness, Health, Safety and Environment (CHSE) certifications mandatory for tourism players – a central part of the government’s strategy for reviving tourism in the country.
Introduced in 2020, the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry's CHSE certifications seek to standardize and enforce best COVID-19-related practices for businesses in the restaurant, hospitality and tourism sector. The ministry hinted earlier this month that it planned to make the certification compulsory.
PHRI chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani said businesses would be “burdened” if they had to pay for CHSE certifications, which would be made part of the country’s recently revamped online single submission (OSS) business permit system.
“The industry objects because CHSE certification is supposed to be incidental. It is aimed at restoring people’s confidence in tourism, and it is not supposed to be a requirement for a business permit. This would place a financial burden on business players if it were included in the OSS system,” he said during an online discussion on Monday.
Expanding the CHSE certification is a central part of the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry's strategy to revive Indonesian tourism. Other initiatives include vaccinating hospitality workers, developing five “New Balis”, establishing bilateral travel corridors and reopening Bali to foreign holidaymakers in September. The last two of these have faced setbacks as a result of the Delta variant outbreak.
Read also: Indonesia may reopen to tourists from some countries in October: Luhut
The ministry explored the idea of making CHSE certification a prerequisite for obtaining a business permit during a national coordination meeting on Bali’s planned reopening for international tourism on Sept. 10, according to Tribunnews.
