Hotel sector gloomy in tourist center

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Hotel occupancy rates in this touristic town rose to 30 percent for June and July, still considerably lower than the 45 percent rate recorded for the same period last year and not enough to lift the industry out of its doldrums, an official said over the weekend.

The head of the provincial tourist office, Sugeng, said the number of visitors here had sharply declined since January, when the rate dropped 31.07 percent compared to January 1997. In February, the number of tourists visiting this ancient town dropped 57.35 percent compared to the same month the year before, with March clocking in a 67.23 percent fall, April a 61.3 percent drop and May a whopping 75.11 percent nosedive.

"During June and July, however, we saw an increase," Sugeng said. "If there are more cars parked in front of hotels, that means more visitors."

A hotel operator, however, said the increase in hotel occupancy rates in June and July was due to the recent school vacation. "We had more domestic visitors because of the school holiday, but foreign tourists were still rare," he said.

Sugeng said Yogyakarta now had 9,000 hotel rooms -- 3,000 of which were star-rated. In order to reach a 50 percent occupancy rate by visitors staying for two days, Yogyakarta needs to lure 472,600 foreign tourists and 1,575,360 domestic visitors yearly.

Last year, only 277,000 tourists visited the town.

The tourist industry has been suffering over the past two years due to trip cancellations for various reasons, from reports of rioting and forest fire smog to the economic downturn in general.

Sugeng said his office had suggested that Adisucipto Airport be opened for international flights. "The number of visitors here depends on those visiting Bali and Jakarta. In order to increase the number of visitors, we should let foreign tourists fly directly here," he said.

Stefanus Indarto, the chairman of the local branch of the Indonesian Association of Hotels and Restaurants, supported Sugeng's proposal.

"The existing infrastructure is adequate to turn Adisucipto into an international airport," he said.

Sugeng also said he had urged the Ministry of Communications to increase flight frequency from Yogyakarta by Fokker-100s to 10 times per day, to Bali 4 times a day and to Surabaya 3 times a day. "If this suggestion is met, I'm sure the number of visitors to Yogyakarta would increase," he said. (23)