Indonesia to develop 10 “Bali-like destinations” to attract Chinese investors
Indonesia to develop 10 “Bali-like destinations” to attract Chinese investors
Indonesia sets out to lure Chinese investors with new resorts and relaxed restrictions
Plans have been unveiled in Indonesia to create 10 new major tourist destinations, with the hope of attracting increased tourism and investment from China, reports the Global Times.
At an event in Shanghai on Friday, the Ministry of Tourism of Indonesia announced “10 New Bali,” which aims to transform areas such as Toba Lake in North Sumatra and Old Town in Jakarta to hold all the appeal of Bali, which is Indonesia’s number one tourism destination.
The areas have been selected for their natural beauty, but all currently lack maintenance and conservation.
The developments will require an initial USD20 billion investment, USD10 billion of which is expected to come from private companies.
China is now one of the fastest sources of tourism for Indonesia, and the Southeast Asian country has set ambitious goals to maximize this further.
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In Indonesia, tourism ranks fourth in terms of its GDP contribution, after oil and gas, coal and palm oil. The government has set a target of 20 million foreign tourist arrivals and USD22 billion in foreign exchange earnings by 2019, which would make tourism number one GDP contributor.
Some of the priority destinations will see special economic zones, where investors will be able to enjoy non-fiscal incentives from the local government, including reduced land tax and relaxed approval for land acquisition.
“In particular, Indonesia has a lot of restrictions on foreign investment in the real estate sector, but many of the restrictions don’t apply to tourism investment,” James Hartono, president of the Indonesia Chamber of Commerce in China, said at Friday’s event.
Recently Indonesia loosened its regulations on foreign ownership in a bid to attract overseas real estate investors. This effort has so far produced negligible results.
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Source: Property Report