Batam hotel industry has bright future<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Prospects of the hotel industry in Batam have
\nbecome brighter, now that the construction of a number of new
\nfacilities have been completed.<\/p>\n
"We are confident that investments in the hotel industry have
\na bright future," said President of the Royale Eastern Business
\nHotel, Tommy Lim, as quoted by Antara.<\/p>\n
Among the infrastructure facilities which are expected to give
\na boost to Batam's hotel industry are the completion of Batam's
\nHang Nadim airport, the expansion of the bonded zone between
\nBatam and Galang Baru Island, the development of Bintan Island
\nand the future liquefied natural gas mega-project on Natuna
\nIsland.<\/p>\n
Lim was optimistic that by 1997, Batam's rapid development
\nwould lead to an investment boom in the hotel industry.<\/p>\n
Secretary of the regional office of the Association of
\nIndonesian Hotels and Restaurants, Adi Koesnadi, acknowledged
\nthat as a growing region, Batam, near Singapore, was still open
\nto more investments in the hotel business.<\/p>\n
"Investments in the industry are still needed to anticipate
\nBatam's development, which will have a direct impact on and
\naccess to the nation's economy," he said.<\/p>\n
Although Koesnadi acknowledged that the hotel industry had a
\nlong-term payback period, it could be more profitable if it was
\nmanaged by professionals and high-quality human resources.<\/p>\n
Batam, which was designed as an industrial, trade, seaport and
\ntouristic center, currently has 20 star-rated hotels with a total
\nof 2,479 rooms and five non-star-rated hotels with 273 rooms.<\/p>\n
The average hotel room occupancy on the island is about 55
\npercent, but several hotels have an occupancy rate of up to 80
\npercent.<\/p>\n
Husni Ilyas, head of the Batam Authority's tourism office,
\nsaid that investments in Batam's hotel business have not yet
\nreached a point of saturation.<\/p>\n
"So far, not a single hotel in Batam has closed down due to
\nlosses. The only thing that has happened is a takeover in the
\nhotel management," he said.<\/p>\n
Husni added, however, that the average tourist length of stay
\non the island reached only 2.4 days, due to a lack of tourist
\nattractions.<\/p>\n
Last year, Batam received almost 900,000 foreign tourists, a
\nrecord so far, most of whom came from Singapore.<\/p>\n
"Tourism industrialists have no other choice but to increase
\nthe number and the variety of tourist attractions to woo domestic
\nand foreign travelers," Husni said. (pwn)<\/p>",
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