[ad_1]
JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo said complex bureaucratic procedures for organising events in Indonesia, especially concerts, were the reason why Southeast Asia’s largest economy could not host many international artists.
He cited pop star Taylor Swift as an example. Singapore Concert Not Indonesia.
“Why is Singapore always able to successfully host these events? It’s because they provide efficient services in attracting these artists, coupled with strong support from the government in terms of convenience, safety and other factors,” CNN Indonesia quoted Mr Widodo as saying at the launch of the digital licensing service event in Jakarta on Monday (June 24).
Singapore was the only Southeast Asian stop for Taylor Swift’s “Times Tour” earlier this year, with all six concerts from March 2 to 4 and March 7 to 9 sold out. According to media reports, Singapore has A deal with Swift Making Malaysia the only Southeast Asian stop on her world tour.
Widodo said a significant number of Swift’s listeners in Singapore are Indonesians. Spotify data shows that Swift has 2.2 million listeners in Indonesia.
He further stressed that the Singapore government’s full support in facilitating access and ensuring the security of international events was a key factor.
“I asked the (local) organisers and they said our permit process was too complicated,” Mr Widodo said.
He further stressed that Indonesia’s cumbersome licensing system was a serious impediment to attracting more international events, citing the annual Mandalika Moto GP in West Nusa Tenggara province as an example.
According to Widodo, event organizers needed 13 different licenses and letters of recommendation to hold the event.
Elaborating on the economic impact of losing the opportunity to host an internationally renowned event, Widodo said money was flowing from Indonesia to Singapore, causing Indonesia to suffer economic losses.
“So there is capital outflow, Indonesian money is going to Singapore,” he said, according to the Jakarta Globe. “We are not only losing money on concert tickets, but we are also losing money when people spend money on hotels, transportation, food and beverages.”
Economists estimate that Swift’s concerts could contribute up to S$500 million ($369 million) in tourism revenue to Singapore’s economy.
Widodo said similar situations had occurred before. Singapore hosts British rock band Coldplay In January this year, the band performed for six consecutive nights. Last November, the band played just one night at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta as part of its Music Of The Spheres world tour.
Widodo stressed that Indonesia needs to simplify the licensing system to make it easier for organizers to hold events involving foreign artists, and hoped that the process could be streamlined in the future.
“With the upcoming digitisation of permits, I hope it will be more than just a web service, but will actually provide administrative convenience, increase certainty, reduce bureaucracy, reduce costs, and be more open and transparent,” he said.
[ad_2]
Source link
