Fears of possible unrest affect tourist business

Fears of possible unrest affect tourist business

JAKARTA (JP): Businesses on Jl. Jaksa and Jl. Surabaya, two of
Central Jakarta's famous tourist destinations, which were showing
signs of recovery after the mid-May riots, are back in the
doldrums ahead of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
Special Session from Nov. 10 through Nov. 13.

There are no concrete reasons as to why the businesses are
continuing to decline, but some people believe it is because of
fears over possible riots during the session.

Several businessmen on the 500-meter-long Jl. Jaksa, famous
for its inexpensive guest houses for foreign budget visitors,
said that fears of possible unrest during the session had
discouraged tourists from visiting the capital.

One Jl. Jaksa businessmen, F.H. Titaley, said he was concerned
about the impact of the series of demonstrations and the
deployment of many soldiers and police officers in strategic
locations around the capital.

"Our businesses were recovering after being hit by the May
riots as could be seen from the rising number of foreign guests
to the area in September. But recent rumors about the possibility
of a similar tragedy have caused the number of guests to drop
again," he said.

Titaley said the number of backpackers during the peak season,
including this month, for example, dropped to only 100 a day from
about 500 previously.

A hotel manager who asked not to be named said that the
occupancy rate of almost all the hotels in the area was only
about 20 percent.

"Out of the 22 rooms in my hotel, for example, only four to
five have been occupied every day recently," he said. "I fear the
situation will worsen further during the Special Session."

Yosi, an owner of a travel agency, said it was lucky that he
was not bankrupt as his income was sometimes much less than his
expenses.

"The number of transactions has dropped sharply to only an
average of three a day or sometimes none at all, from about eight
previously," he said.

On Jl. Surabaya on Saturday handicraft and luggage kiosk
owners were just sitting around; some played cards while others
repaired broken bags to resell.

"We've nothing to do so it is better to find other
activities," said Herman, who sells porcelain and a variety of
traditional sculptures.

The 400-meter-long Jl. Surabaya is famous for its flea market
that now is home to some 200 kiosks, according to the vendors
coordinator, Mumu Hidayat.

They sell everything from old lamps and sculptures to
traditional clothes, bags and jugs.

Mumu, 52, said that the number of tourists had dropped since
the May riots and that it had not recovered yet.

"Sometimes not a single tourist visits here during the
weekend," he said.

Before the riots, he said, the number of tourists exceeded 100
during the weekend.

Last Saturday, only two or three tourists were seen buying
goods.

Mumu said that most of the sellers' incomes had dropped by
more than 50 percent. "It is difficult now to get Rp 2 million
(US$230) to Rp 3 million during the peak days like before."

Another seller, Mayong, said that his business was only being
kept alive by foreign traders who continued to buy old nautical
equipment to resell in their own countries. (ind)