Longer holiday boosts hotel occupancy in Bali<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
After posting a record-low occupancy rate in October, hotel
\noccupancy in Bali has apparently started to pick up again as one
\nindustry player claimed that the latest figure was 40 percent for
\nthe first week of December, thanks largely to a long-holiday
\nseason.<\/p>\n
Chairperson of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association
\n(PHRI) Yanti Sukamdani said since the holiday season would last
\nuntil after the New Year's celebration, there was still a good
\nchance for the occupancy rate to further go up.<\/p>\n
\"Hotel bookings have been on the rise since early this month,
\nand it tends to keep rising now that plenty of hotels have been
\nfully-booked ahead of Christmas and New Year celebrations,\" Yanti
\ntold The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
However, visitors and local businesspeople on the island
\nestimated that the occupancy rates were still extremely low.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, Yanti remained optimistic that the hotel
\noccupancy rate in the famous resort island would average around
\n60 percent for all of December.<\/p>\n
The figures should provide a glimmer of hope that the Bali
\ntourism industry, hard hit by the deadly terrorists attacks on
\nOct. 12, is on track toward recovery.<\/p>\n
Prior to the blasts, Bali's hotel occupancy rates averaged
\nmore than 70 percent.<\/p>\n
The terror attacks on the island, which killed more than 200,
\nshattered the island's long-standing image as a safe haven for
\ntravelers across the world.<\/p>\n
Mass cancellations of hotel bookings and travel tours were on
\nthe increase, sending the island's hotel occupancy rate to its
\nworst levels in decades.<\/p>\n
In just two weeks after the tragedy, the occupancy rate on the
\nisland dropped to single digits.<\/p>\n
It reached 5 percent by the end of October.<\/p>\n
This had initially signaled that tourism in the tropical
\nparadise was on the brink of collapse, which would be quite a
\nblow to the country's overall economy as Bali has been
\nIndonesia's main gate for foreign tourists.<\/p>\n
Tourism has been one of the main non-oil-and-gas foreign
\nexchange earners for the country, second only to the textile and
\ngarment industry.<\/p>\n
The island lures around 1.5 million foreign tourists annually.<\/p>\n
Last year, the tourism in Bali, with around 1,400 hotels and
\nalmost 750 restaurants, generated some US$1.4 billion or more
\nthan 25 percent of the nation's foreign exchange revenue from the
\nindustry, which totaled $5.4 billion.<\/p>\n
However, now that the occupancy rate was rapidly increasing,
\nYanti was hopeful that the island would soon be able to bounce
\nback from its slump.<\/p>\n
She attributed the current rise partly to the government
\npolicy which allows longer holidays for locals throughout this
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
\"That has definitely helped Indonesian residents to have a
\nlonger time off and better arrange their vacation plans,\" Yanti
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Just a few weeks ago, in an attempt to encourage domestic
\ntourism, especially to Bali, the government decreed a longer
\nperiod of office holidays for Idul Fitri, Christmas and New Year
\ncelebrations -- all occurring in December.<\/p>\n
This ruling applies also for banks, private offices and other
\nbusiness institutions.<\/p>\n
And the plan seems to be fruitful for the moment, at least in
\nthe case of Bali.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, AP quoted a flight booking company as saying that
\ncheap airfares were overwhelming terror jitters, with more people
\nbooking holidays to Bali and throughout the Asian region this
\nyear compared to last year.<\/p>\n
The bombs were not scaring off all holiday-makers, said Don
\nBirch, president of Singapore-based Abacus International, a
\nleading computerized reservation system for the Asian region.<\/p>\n
Instead, Bali had seen \"an uptick\" in flight bookings for the
\n2002 Christmas season compared with last year, thanks in part to
\ndeeply discounted fares being offered by airlines, he said.<\/p>\n
Birch said there was a 2 percent to 4 percent increase in
\nholiday travel throughout the Asian region compared to last year,
\nwith fare cuts driving the mini boom.<\/p>\n
\"We are seeing price-focused travelers come out of the
\nwoodwork,\" Birch said.<\/p>\n
Singapore Airlines sold 11,000 seats to Bali in 10 days
\nfollowing the announcement in November of a nearly half-price
\nround trip fare to the island, said Innes Willox, a spokesman for
\nthe airline.<\/p>",
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