Quake, tsunami hurt West Sumatra's tourist industry
Quake, tsunami hurt West Sumatra's tourist industry
Syofiardi Bachyul Jb
The Jakarta Post/Padang
Hotel and travel operators in West Sumatra have suffered large
losses following the tsunami in Aceh and the earthquake in Nias.
The operators say the natural disasters have scared away
tourists from West Sumatra.
"Many groups of foreign tourists have canceled their visits
following the earthquake and tsunami disasters. This has been a
huge loss for us," said Asnawi Bahar, the head of the West
Sumatra branch of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel
Agents, on Sunday night. There are at least 200 tour and travel
operators in West Sumatra.
Hotel occupancy rates in West Sumatra have tumbled since a
major earthquake struck Nias and its surrounding islands on March
28. Before the earthquake, most West Sumatra hotels were close to
fully booked during the weekends. Since the magnitude 8.7 quake,
many hotel rooms have been empty.
The Bumiminang Hotel in Padang, for example, has claimed
losses of Rp 189 million (US$21,000) since the earthquake. The
hotel's general manager, A. Rizal, said the Bumiminang, which has
160 rooms, had seen its occupancy rate fall since March 28.
The four-star Novotel Hotel in Bukittinggi has also suffered
losses. Masri, the hotel's general manager, said the hotel had
lost Rp 800 million in potential revenues over the past several
weeks.
"We should have booked revenue of Rp 1.2 billion, but because
of the natural disaster we only earned Rp 400 million in the past
few weeks," said Masri.
The situation is even worse for hotels and tourist resorts
located in coastal areas, which have been virtually empty since
the tsunami that struck Aceh and North Sumatra on Dec. 26 last
year.
The head of West Sumatra's tourism office, Yulrizal Baharin,
confirmed the situation. "West Sumatra lost Rp 213 billion in
potential revenue in the first quarter this year between January
and March."
In response to these troubles, the West Sumatra administration
will take steps to promote the tourist industry in the area,
including kicking off a tourism campaign in June called Visit
Minangkabau Year. The provincial government will also inaugurate
Minangkabau International Airport in June.