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Minister insists no tourism fee surcharge on airfares
Tourism minister said the plan was to finance the fund using the central government budget instead of collecting fees from tourists.
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Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno addresses a meeting on August 16, 2022. (Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry/-)
T
ourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno has given an assurance that the government will not put a tourism fee surcharge on airfares, reports of which had caused concern among passengers and businesses last month.
The ministry is now devising a proposal to ensure the Tourism Endowment Fund will not collect fees from domestic tourists, Sandiaga said. He added that it had not yet been discussed whether to impose a similar collection on foreign visitors.
“The sustainable tourism fund is not to be collected through a tourism fee; I want to stress that,” Sandiaga said in a press briefing on Monday.
He said the plan was to finance the fund using the central government budget, pointing out that tourism “has contributed a lot” to the economy.
The government has set Rp 2 trillion (US$124.7 million) as the first-phase target for the fund intended for amplifying tourism promotion, Sandiaga said on February, it could be used for “music, sport or cultural events deemed capable of generating a multiplier effect for Indonesian tourism”.
Sandiaga first revealed the fund this February, saying such a fund could help Indonesia win bids to host megastars like Taylor Swift, as Singapore has done.
The government is still discussing the regulation with the initial draft previously stating that there were several potential sources of funding, such as additional fees obtained from foreign nationals’ entry visa charges, state and regional budgets and grants, among many others.
