Bali occupancy rates worst since 1998<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana and I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post,
\nDenpasar, Bali<\/p>\n
Balinese hotels have registered thousands of cancellations one
\nweek after a powerful bomb blast ripped through Kuta nightclubs
\nand claimed almost 200 lives, sending the hotels' occupancy rates
\nto their lowest levels in four years.<\/p>\n
As of Monday evening, hotel occupancy rates averaged 29.4
\npercent from 70.18 percent before the bomb blast, said I Gde
\nPitana Brahmananda, the head of the Bali Tourism Authority.<\/p>\n
"The only time the occupancy rate was lower than it is today
\nwas during the political turmoil in May 1998," he said, referring
\nto the violent unrest in Jakarta that led to Indonesia's first
\nchange of leadership in more than three decades.<\/p>\n
But Bali may be facing its toughest year yet. The weekend bomb
\nblasts at a nightclub favored by foreign tourists has shattered
\nthe long-held view that Bali was a safe haven amid the numerous
\nsecurity outbreaks across the country.<\/p>\n
For this month alone, Pitana said, hotels had recorded 2,725
\ncancellations.<\/p>\n
"The number of 'room night' cancellations will definitely be
\nhigher because each person is likely to book a room for more than
\none night," he added.<\/p>\n
General manager of the five-star Grand Hyatt Hotel Bali Robert
\nVan Der Maas confirmed the slew of cancellations which he
\nattributed to security fears.<\/p>\n
He did not say how many had dropped their plans to stay at his
\nhotel, admitting only that it would be lower than last year's
\noccupancy rate.<\/p>\n
"Just five days after the bomb blast, we had lost over 8,000
\nroom nights," said Maas, who is an executive at Casagrande,
\nBali's five-star hotel association.<\/p>\n
Levie Martin, a public relations manager at the five-star
\nSheraton Lagoon in Nusa Dua, said his hotel's occupancy rates had
\nfallen to a mere 14 percent, way below the average rate Pitana
\ncited.<\/p>\n
"It's a historic low for our hotel, which even in the days
\nafter September 11 recorded a 90 percent to 100 percent occupancy
\nrate," Martin said. "We'll have to do something big to get out of
\nthis mess."<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, the managing director of local travel agency PT
\nPacific World Nusantara, Ida Bagus Lolec, said that 5,500 people
\nhad canceled their trips to Bali, a number that would keep the
\nagency's books free up to July next year.<\/p>\n
Out of this number, 2,500 were individual travelers while the
\nrest were registered with groups, he said at a news meeting.<\/p>\n
"One of these groups had just arrived in Bali last week, but
\nafter the blast they left straight away for Australia. They've
\ncanceled the rest of their trip indefinitely," said Lolec, who is
\nalso a member of the Bali chapter of the travel agency
\nassociation.<\/p>\n
Bali Tourism Authority head Pitana said the situation would
\nworsen until November, after which foreign tourists would start
\ntrickling back, as December was the island's traditional peak
\nseason.<\/p>\n
"What we're suffering from is the impact of travelers'
\nemotional reactions," he said, adding that by December "the
\nmajority of our markets will realize that the explosion doesn't
\nmean there is a violent conflict among the Balinese."<\/p>\n
However, to get that message across, he said his office would
\nlaunch a massive promotional program.<\/p>\n
Maas agreed, saying that his organization would focus on ways
\nto restore Bali's tainted image.<\/p>\n
"The perception has changed. Bali is no longer considered
\nsafe," he said, adding that Casagrande planned large campaigns to
\nregain tourists' confidence.<\/p>",
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