Accor postpone plan to build five new hotels in Indonesia
Accor postpone plan to build five new hotels in Indonesia
JAKARTA (JP): International hotel chain Accor Asia-Pacific
Corporation has put on hold the construction of its five new
hotels in Indonesia due to the economic crisis.
Company Director and Group General Manager in Indonesia Marc
A. Steinmeyer said on Wednesday that the country's economic
slowdown had adversely affected his company's business here in
terms of revenue and forced it to postpone some of its projects
due to difficulties in the financing.
Steinmeyer said the five hotels were supposed to open in 1999,
but considering the country's current situation, it was
impossible to continue their construction.
"We will carry on the construction of the projects in the next
two or three years, as soon as the situation improves," he told
The Jakarta Post after a news conference.
Steinmeyer said the projects being postponed were the five-
star Sofitel Jakarta, the four-star Novotel Aceh and Novotel
Semarang, Central Java, three-star Ibis Airport Jakarta, and Ibis
Cilegon, West Java.
Accor, partly owned by Paris-based hotel management giant
Accor SA, operates hotels under several brand names, including
Sofitel, Novotel, Mercure and Ibis.
The company currently operates 24 star-rated hotels with 4,053
rooms and five apartments with 476 units throughout Indonesia.
Steinmeyer said that his company was still bullish on
Indonesia as the tourist industry had huge prospects.
"We're not here just for five years, we're here for a long
time and we want to become a part of life to Indonesians.
"Although for one or two years Accor will not continue its
development in Indonesia, we will continue with our investment
here when the situation allows."
He said Accor would maintain its network here and continue to
promote Indonesia abroad.
"That's why we will have a Miss Novotel contest next month and
the Cuisine contest next year," he added.
Accor announced on Wednesday its Miss Novotel, tourism
ambassador 1998 contest, jointly organized with the Let's Go
Indonesia program marketing and promotion campaign to further
promote Indonesian tourism overseas in order to enhance the
awareness and revitalization of the tourist and travel industry
in Indonesia.
The Miss Novotel contest has been run in the 11 provinces
where Novotel manages properties since July. The grand final will
be held at Novotel Bogor, West Java, on Dec. 5.
The winner will help Accor promote Indonesian tourism
abroad.
The Cuisine contest next year will select the best cook to
promote Indonesian traditional and modern cuisine in European
countries.
Accor currently runs 13 Novotels in Indonesia, eight
properties under the Ibis banner and five under Mercure. The
company's first hotel in Indonesia was the Ibis Kemayoran which
opened in 1994.
Accor has become one of the largest hotel chains in the Asia-
Pacific region, with it biggest growth coming in Indonesia, China
and India.
Besides Accor, leading overseas hotel management chains in
Indonesia include Sheraton which manages some 3,500 rooms, Hyatt
and Shangri-La with some 2,500 rooms each. (gis)