Pontjo reelected chairman of hotel association

Pontjo reelected chairman of hotel association

BEKASI, West Java (JP): Hotelier Pontjo Sutowo was unanimously
reelected yesterday to a third term as chairman of the Indonesian
Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) for 1997-2001.

Pontjo, owner of several luxurious hotels and resorts, was the
lone candidate during the association's three-day national
conference which ended yesterday.

"I'll continue working to improve the competitive edge of
hotels and restaurants in Indonesia," he said after the closing
of the association's 12th national conference at Hotel Horison
Bekasi.

Hoteliers could avoid price competition through improving the
quality of their services, he added.

"Price competition is a logical consequence of the market
mechanism, but we have to avoid unhealthy marketing tactics," he
said.

When opening the conference last Friday, President Soeharto
expressed concern over the current tariff war among star-rated
hotels in Indonesia.

Soeharto said the unhealthy competition, caused by oversupply
of hotel rooms, could damage the country's tourism industry and
would only benefit foreign travel agencies.

The country targeted some 168,341 rooms until 2004, but the
current supply has reached 200,000 rooms.

Pontjo said that there were two ways to avoid a tariff war
spreading among star-rated hotels.

"If there's an excess supply of rooms, we have to balance it
by attracting more visitors to Indonesia. We will use the
Internet service to promote our tourist industry and hotels," he
said.

He said a council in charge of setting minimum rates and
controlling room rates would not be helpful or effective.

Pontjo, who will celebrate his 47th birthday on Aug. 17, has
30 days to set up PHRI's new board of executives.

"PHRI will also give more attention to small hotels and
restaurants as there are still many complaints, not all of which
are legitimate, that PHRI has paid little attention to them," he
said.

PHRI currently groups 4,350 members, including 2,851 hotels
and 1,224 restaurants, as well as owning companies and catering
services.

Official data shows there were 8,689 hotels, including 725
star-rated hotels, in the country as of May this year. (icn)