Hotel occupancy rate hits single digit in Bali<\/p>\n
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The hotel occupancy rate in Bali has dropped to a single
\ndigit, signaling that tourism in the tropical paradise is on the
\nbrink of collapse more than two weeks after the Oct. 12 bombings.<\/p>\n
"We have asked for help from the government," said Yanti
\nSukamdani, the chairperson of the Hotel and Restaurant
\nAssociation in Indonesia (PHRI), on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Yanti said the occupancy rate had become consistently worse
\nsince the bomb blasts, which killed more than 191 people, mostly
\nforeign tourists.<\/p>\n
As of Oct. 24, the occupancy rate stood at 11 percent, a sharp
\ndrop from the 70 percent prior to the bomb blasts.<\/p>\n
"But the occupancy rate has now hit a single digit," Yanti
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the occupancy rate hit the five percent mark.<\/p>\n
Separately on Tuesday, hotelier Pontjo Sutowo, who is the
\nchairman of the Indonesian Society on Tourism (MPI), said the
\noccupancy rate of the Hilton Hotel in Nusa Dua had dropped to
\nthree percent.<\/p>\n
The sharp plunge in the occupancy rate is mainly due to a
\nflurry of cancellations by visitors, especially foreign tourists,
\nin the wake of the deadly bomb blasts, said Yanti, adding that
\nabout 3,000 hotel bookings in Bali had been canceled after the
\nbomb blasts.<\/p>\n
The Bali tragedy has also affected the hotel business in other
\nparts of the country, most notably Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The hotel occupancy rate in Jakarta has dropped to 45 percent
\nfrom 50 percent prior to the Bali bombing, she said.<\/p>\n
In order to weather the crisis, hotels in Bali will launch a
\ntourism campaign to lure domestic tourists to the island,
\nespecially ahead of the religious festivities of Idul Fitri and
\nChristmas, as well as for New Year's celebrations, she said.<\/p>\n
The hotels will cooperate with airlines and travel agents to
\nprovide tourists with discounted holiday packages, she said.<\/p>\n
"The campaign is under way. This is a short-term program that
\nwill last until January before all the prices return to normal,"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
However, Pontjo voiced opposition to the campaign, saying that
\nit was not effective and would be too costly.<\/p>\n
A high discount rate would be useless as long as foreign
\ntourists still doubted the security situation in Bali, he said.<\/p>\n
"The most important thing is to motivate tourists to return to
\nIndonesia. Once there is that motivation, other approaches, such
\nas offering discount rates, could be useful," he said.<\/p>\n
Therefore, Pontjo said, he supported the current efforts by
\nthe government to revive foreign tourists' confidence in
\nIndonesia by boosting security in Bali, and to persuade the
\ncountries that had issued travel advisories on Indonesia to their
\ncitizens to revoke the warnings.<\/p>\n
Yanti warned that mass layoffs in Bali's tourism was imminent
\nunless the government lent a helping hand.<\/p>\n
Some hotels in Bali have asked workers to stay home as part of
\ntheir efficiency program to weather the difficult times.<\/p>\n
"But the government is also responsible in preventing mass
\nlayoffs," said Yanti.<\/p>\n
The government should provide incentives, including tax cuts
\nand lower electricity rates.<\/p>\n
And the 25 percent regional wage hike, which is to be imposed
\nin January next year, should be delayed to provide opportunities
\nfor business sectors to recover during the crisis, Yanti added.<\/p>\n
Some 80 percent of Bali's income comes from tourism, which
\ndirectly absorbs 40 percent of the population. The island lures
\nabout 1.5 million tourists annually.<\/p>",
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