Hotels gear up to meet high demand for New Year
Hotels gear up to meet high demand for New Year
Israr Ardiansyah, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
December has come. Forget the declining number of tourists
visiting Yogyakarta due to the threats of sweeping by militant
groups in the wake of the U.S. attack on Afghanistan.
Hotels are now racing neck-and-neck to welcome the best season
in the tourist business: New Year's Eve.
No discount.
No drop in rates.
Hotels increase their rates.
Atik Wildan, Hyatt Regency Yogyakarta's public relations
manager, told The Jakarta Post the five-star hotel had set higher
rates for the peak season.
"In the upcoming peak season, the standard room rate is Rp
599,000 (US$58.70). A package including room and New Year dinner
is on offer at Rp 918,000," she said, adding that the standard
room rate is usually Rp 329,000.
The three-star Ibis Malioboro also raised the rates for its
147 rooms.
Eunike Martanti, the hotel's communications officer, said Ibis
Malioboro's two suites were on offer during the New Year for Rp
850,000 each compared to Rp 500,000 on normal days.
Most of three star to five star hotels here are almost fully
booked for the last 10 days of this month.
Scholastika Hasti, Melia Purosani's reservation supervisor,
said the majority of the five-star hotel's 299 rooms had been
booked.
"There are only a few rooms left, but we're sure they will all
be fully booked, including our presidential suite."
Hotel Santika Yogyakarta's communications officer Shodiq Dicky
told the Post that the hotel's 148 Santika Suite rooms have been
booked from Dec. 25 to early January 2002.
Many local artists will perform at these hotels for the New
Year celebration, with the exception of Melia Purosani which will
feature a Spanish cabaret group.
Era Binarti, Sheraton Mustika Yogyakarta's public relations
officer, said most tourists from bigger cities were seeking
something special in Yogyakarta.
"Visitors from Jakarta and Surabaya want to feel something
different as well as relax while they are here," she said, adding
that the five-star hotel will feature a local band and an
illusionist during the New Year's Eve dinner.
Like other hotels, Sheraton Mustika expressed its optimism for
the coming year.
"We believe the tourist business in Yogyakarta will recover
next year. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Tourism
Forum (ASEAN ATF) meeting in January could be a stepping stone to
an improved climate in the tourist industry here," said Era.
To welcome the New Year, hotels give special names to their
parties. Hyatt Regency, for example, named its party Sail with
the Kiss. Sheraton Mustika chose Love is in the Air while Ibis
Malioboro picked Color Fiesta.
But what makes Yogyakarta so attractive to people to want to
spend their New Year here and why is the demand to stage
celebrations increasing? A sociologist of Gadjah Mada University,
Heru Nugroho, said the reason was multidimensional.
"What makes people from the bigger cities wish to spend their
money for the New Year? Culturally, it's a question of
globalization. It's a global lifestyle where people like to
celebrate special events with the consumption-linked rituals," he
told the Post.
From the political-economic point of view, the phenomenon
explains the trend: to sell a culture within market expansion.
Heru said the trend can be seen by the celebrations in hotels,
television stations, cafes and concerts.
Yogyakarta will be increasingly affected by globalization, he
said.
"People from bigger cities will always flock to Yogyakarta and
spend their money here because the city has politically always
been a safe place. In addition Yogyakarta's unique and exotic
culture is an attraction to tourists. They love to come here to
see local artists perform and enjoy the traditional entertainment
and cultural rites."
"It now depends on the authorities to promote tourism. If they
can do it effectively, I believe Yogyakarta will be one of the
country's main tourist destinations, and not just for the year-
end celebrations."