Forested avenues

 Indonesia has opened up its forests and golf courses to foreign investment, in a bid to expand its tourism offerings beyond Bali and Java.

A new regulation now allows foreign investors to own up to 51 per cent of natural attractions in forests, up from the previous 25 per cent, and fully own golf courses. Prior to this, foreign ownership of golf courses was limited to 50 per cent.

Winarno Sudjas, director of tourism business affairs of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said: ?We need to develop other parts of the country to attract more tourists and expand length of stay. Natural attractions were chosen as they meet the preference of today?s travellers. And there are many golf courses in Java and Bali but not in other areas such as Eastern Indonesia.?

The earlier regulation that limited foreign ownership in such assets was not well received by the market, said Sudjas, and warranted revision to attract more foreign investors. Details of the regulation, including locations and project types, have yet to be formulated.

Tourism stakeholders welcomed the new regulation but awaited government guidelines on the projects and sustainable tourism standards.