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Tourism investment stymied by ‘strange regulations’: BKPM
Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Bahlil Lahadalia reiterated President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s “do not disturb investors!” message during a recent trip to Banyuwangi, East Java.
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The rare blue fire at Ijen crater, Banyuwangi, East Java. Banyuwangi, increasingly a popular tourism destination in Indonesia, is still seeing red tape and "strange regulations', which have disrupted investment in the tourism sector across the country, Coordinating Investment Board (BKPM) chairman Bahlil Lahadalia said. (Shutterstock/File)
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trict regulations and inefficient bureaucracy continue to impede investment into the tourism sector even as Indonesia looks to the sector as a new engine of economic growth through the development of special economic zones and super priority destinations.
Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Bahlil Lahadalia reiterated President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s “do not disturb investors!” message during a recent trip to Banyuwangi, East Java.
“Many investors are attracted to the tourism sector but become entangled in strange regulations,” Bahlil said last week in Banyuwangi, as quoted in a press release from the agency.
Banyuwangi, an increasingly popular destination thanks to natural wonders such as the blue flames of Ijen crater, has reaped the rewards of tourism development, with the sector providing a big boost to regional government revenue and per capita income, allowing many people to lift themselves out of poverty.
The government is looking to replicate Banyuwangi’s success in other parts of the country, with presidential regulations issued to establish six tourism special economic zones (SEZs) including in Likupang in North Sulawesi and Singhasari in East Java.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration has also identified five super priority tourist destinations, namely Likupang, Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Borobudur temple in Central Java, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara and Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara.
