Bali's hotel occupancy rates tumble after latest bombing

Antara/Denpasar

The latest Bali bombing has severely affected the hotel industry on the resort island, with occupancy rates diving to below 40 percent from 70 percent to 80 percent.

Since the Oct. 1 bombing in which 23 people died, including three suicide bombers, the occupancy rate at the five-star Inna Grand Bali Beach has dropped from 80 percent to 30 percent, hotel spokeswoman Ida Ayu Dewi Apriyani said on Friday. The hotel has 523 rooms. Guests in the government-run hotel normally came from Asia-Pacific countries, such as Australia, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

Separately, a spokesperson of the five-star Putri Bali Hotel in the plush Nusa Dua area, Dwi, said the hotel's occupancy rate had dropped to 39 percent from 80 percent. The hotel has 384 rooms and usually gets bookings from Germany, Great Britain, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

Meanwhile, a marketing staff member at the Ramada Bintang Hotel in Kuta, Surya, said the occupancy rate at the hotel had tumbled to 33 percent from 82 percent.

It is not the first time that tourism on Bali has slumped because of a bombing. The tourist industry was hit hard by the 2002 Bali bombing in which 202 people died. The situation improved after a major publicity campaign to restore Bali's image was launched, but the Oct. 1 bombing has again struck at the heart of the island's tourism.