Hotel occupancy flat amid campaign

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) said on Tuesday there was no sign of an increase in room demand from local residents during the past two weeks as the general election campaign proceeded without major incident.

Association deputy chairman Said Umar Husin said earlier predictions there would be a sudden influx during the campaign period proved untrue.

"No significant number of locals have asked for rooms since the beginning of campaign six days ago," Said noted, adding that people still preferred to stay in their residences.

Speculation about a surge in hotel occupancy centered on the fear that rivalries among the 48 political parties could spark unrest similar to last May's widespread disturbances.

Locals and expatriate residents packed hotels in the capital during the rioting. Hundreds of offices and retail outlets were burned and looted during the May riots, which led to the resignation of Soeharto after 32 years in the presidency.

PHRI reported the sudden influx to hotels at the time boosted the average occupancy rate to 80 percent, a 100 percent increase from the average 40 percent.

Some association members earlier predicted an influx during the campaign and believed it would raise their occupancy rates, hit hard by a downturn in foreign tourist arrivals due to security fears.

PHRI expected the average hotel occupancy rate to reach 50 percent from the between 20 percent and 30 percent recorded during the year's first quarter.

Said believed the predicted increase for May and June was unlikely to occur if the campaign ran smoothly.

He said the presence of many foreign election observers and journalists was too small to bolster the low occupancy rate.

"That's because the number of regular guests who left the country in anticipation of riots plus those who canceled visits to Jakarta following travel advisories issued by some countries was higher than the number of these people (foreign election observers and journalists)."

He said many foreigners were afraid to visit the country because of security concerns.

The military and police force's effort to ensure the safety and security in the city by deploying armed personnel in many public places has boomeranged by raising unease among many foreigners, he said.

Said regretted the Jakarta Police chief's statement on Monday, saying the police were ready to evacuate foreigners if riots occurred during the campaign and elections period.

"The statement has only made people more worried and led them to believe that the situation has really become worse from day to day."

He predicted the occupancy rate would stay below 30 percent until September, which would be contingent on no clashes occurring during the period.

"The rate may go up to 50 percent this year only if the new appointed government could immediately start fixing up problems and maintain political stability," he said.

According to political observer Fachry Ali, the domestic political situation is the most significant factor in determining the fate of the country's tourism industry.

"The more stable the political situation, the better the tourism industry will grow," he said. (cst)