Regarding the Plan to Levy Tourism Funds on Airplane Tickets

The government plans to add tourism fees to plane tickets. How have stakeholders responded?

KOMPAS/PRIYOMBODO

Visitors queue up at one of the travel agency booths participating in a travel exhibition in Gandari City mall, South Jakarta, on Friday (25/8/2023). Various offers such as cheap airfare for the 2024 school holiday season are among the visitors' targets.

The Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment is proposing additional charges on airplane tickets for the Indonesian tourism fund or Indonesia Tourism Fund. This proposal is currently being studied by the government.

A meeting regarding this matter was held by the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment on Wednesday (24/4/2024). So far, the government has not announced any concrete schemes.

"Don't worry, this plan will not burden the community with higher ticket prices. It is still under study and we are aware of public input that ticket prices are already high, so we will not add to the burden," said Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno at a weekly press conference in Jakarta, Monday (22/4/2204).

So, what is the response from relevant stakeholders, especially the community? The following are the aspirations of those contacted on Sunday (28/4/2024).

ARSIP PRIBADI

Corporate Strategy of Panorama Group AB Sadewa (48) said that they have not received any socialization regarding the increase in airfare prices for tourism collections when contacted from Jakarta on Friday (26/4/2024).

Corporate Strategy of Panorama Group AB, Sadewa, stated that they have not received the socialization of the increase in airline ticket prices for tourism levies. Even from several tourism associations, there are still many who have not received information regarding this plan.

Tourism business operators are already aware of the plan to establish the Indonesia Tourism Fund (ITF). However, they are not aware that the funding will be taken from airplane tickets.

"If the increase in ticket prices is high enough, it will certainly burden the community. This is also far from the hope that tourism levies can increase the tourism sector. Instead, prices that are too high can suppress tourist movements," said Sadewa.

Although tourism fees are imposed on foreign tourists, he believes that this aspect should be included in the tourist visa component. Therefore, foreign tourists will not be confused by the many cost components.

ARSIP PRIBADI

Tri Wahyuni ​​(31), private employee, Bekasi.

Tri Wahyuni, a 31-year-old private employee who lives in Bekasi, West Java, disagrees with that idea. She believes that such a plan would be counterproductive to efforts to develop tourism in Indonesia.

“As someone who loves traveling, I think this discourse is very annoying. It's said that the price of a plane ticket has already been calculated, there are taxes, insurance contributions, and additional fees. "There are already additional costs, they are still being added," he said.

In 2022, Tri continued, the Business Competition Supervisory Commission (KPPU) had already determined that seven airlines were involved in ticket cartels. This year, the alleged cartel has reemerged.

"What if the government focuses on solving that issue first? They say they want to boost tourism, increase the number of tourists, and promote tourism in remote areas, but who would want to travel if airfare prices alone are expensive, amidst other rising costs," he said.

ERIKA KURNIA

INACA General Chair Denon B Prawiraatmadja.

The Chairman of the Indonesian National Air Carriers Association (INACA), Denon Prawiraatmadja, stated that airplane passengers travel for various reasons. Some of them are for business and official purposes, family or personal events, as well as for vacation or tourism. This means that tourism is just one of the various types of airplane passengers.

He considers that the tourism levy added to the airline ticket's price component can have an impact on increasing the burden for passengers and airlines. The tourism levy in the ticket component can increase the price of airline tickets for passengers.

"Thus, the imposition of tourism fees on airline tickets would be counterproductive as it would cause ticket prices to rise, the number of passengers to decrease, and the airline business conditions to decline. The government's air transportation connectivity expansion program would also be unattainable," said Denon.

BM LUKITA GRAHADYARINI

Satria Eka Putra, the owner of the PT Rajo Teguh Wijaya development company, is also the Chairman of the West Sumatra Regional Board of the Indonesian Real Estate Association (REI).

Property developer in West Sumatra, Satria Eka Putra, believes that tourism levy on airplane tickets is a trial-and-error policy. This policy is not based on clear studies. However, long-term policy implemented by the government cannot afford to be experimental. The impact will be significant.

"The collection or tourism fee, no matter how much, if imposed on all airplane passengers, will certainly face opposition. This is because not all airplane passengers travel for tourism purposes. It should be questioned, to what extent has the government obtained data/studies on the composition of tourism passengers, local passengers, and business travelers, on each flight," he said.

The collection of fees under the pretext of tourism development is not fundamental, according to him. There is an impression that the government equates infrastructure development with straight market development, including tourism.

However, the development of tourism is not only about the budget for infrastructure development, but also about the quality of goods/services offered. If the products have good quality, of course the market will form naturally and people will come back again.

"To boost the tourism market, flight costs should be made more efficient so that a tourist destination market can be formed. People will be willing to stay longer and spend more. Imposing additional tourism fees will have the opposite effect, as people will refrain from traveling for tourism. This is a psychological factor of the market," he explained.