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Lawmakers, businesses want tourism board like Singapore's, Malaysia’s
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Tourists visit Prambanan Temple on Jan. 2, 2025, in Sleman, Yogyakarta. (Antara Foto/Hendra Nurdiyansyah)
L
awmakers and business associations have urged the government to set up an Indonesian tourism board to promote the country as a travel destination and support the industry.
House of Representatives Commission VII, which oversees industry, medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs), the creative economy and tourism, pushed the government to form a tourism board akin to those in Singapore and Malaysia during a working committee meeting involving tourism players on Thursday.
“A tourism board will be the executor of regulations from the Tourism Ministry and the government,” Commission VII vice chairman Lamhot Sinaga said during the meeting at the legislative complex in Jakarta’s Senayan area.
He added that the board would be responsible for implementing several tasks to support the tourism industry, including promotion, event organization, sustainable infrastructure development and advocating policies.
Lamhot suggested that the board manage its own funds to reduce industry reliance on the Tourism Ministry’s limited budget and that it secure additional funding, for instance from tourism levies.
The Tourism Ministry’s initial budget allotment for this year at Rp 1.48 trillion [US$90.05 million] has been cut to Rp 884.9 billion as part of a wide-ranging austerity measure across state institutions.
“We think that these funds, from the state budget and [collected tourism levies], will be managed by the tourism board for promotional activities to ease reliance on the state budget,” he said.
