Stop terrorism, please!

Stop terrorism, please!

T. Sima Gunawan, Contributor, Jakarta

Stop terrorism. That is the call of most people, including
hoteliers, as they are all fed up with terrorist attacks that
bring pain and misery to many.

After the prolonged crisis that struck Indonesia in 1997, the
country again received another blow with the Bali bombings in
2002. The tragedy that killed 202 people, mostly foreign
tourists, shocked the whole world and almost paralyzed the
tourist industry.

Hotels in Bali, Jakarta as well as other areas of the country
experienced a sharp drop in occupancy rates. Travelers canceled
their trips, hotel rooms were empty and other facilities like
restaurants, cafes and meeting rooms were also vacant.

Then SARS further damaged the industry, even though not as
badly as was experienced by Singapore, Hong Kong and China.

And then, slowly but surely, the economic wheel in the country
began to turn, thanks to the hard work of all. It may not
business as usual, but the situation is much better. Tourists and
business travelers from around the world have recently began to
return to Jakarta, and hotels have started to enjoy robust
business.

Things, however, do not always run as expected. Last year, the
city was rocked by a bombing at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta,
which claimed 12 lives. And just last month 10 people were killed
in a bomb blast in front of the Australian Embassy here. The
effects of the two explosions in Jakarta were not as tremendous
as the Bali bombing. For a moment, the hotel business was
shocked, then the vigorous business quickly recovered.

The years from 2001 to 2003 indeed were a nightmare for
hoteliers, but this year the hotel industry has bounced back.

The Jakarta Hilton International Hotel, JW Marriott Jakarta,
Gran Melia, Gran Mahakam, Sari Pan Pacific, Shangri-La Jakarta,
Hotel Borobudur Jakarta and other star-rated hotels in the
capital are currently enjoying positive developments, thanks to
the improving political and economic situation in the country.
And there is hope for a better future like what they experienced
before 1997, especially if the issue of security is addressed
properly.

"Stop terrorism and that will increase tourism, as simple as
that," the general manager of the Hotel Sari Pan Pacific, Christo
Diamandopoulos, said.

Emeraldo Parengkuan, director of public relations and
communications at the Jakarta Hilton International Hotel, gave a
similar comment, recalling the depressing impact of bomb attacks
that resulted in the issuance of travel bans from several
countries.

"After the Bali bombings, it took two years for the industry
to recover and the number of travelers had dropped by more than
50 percent. As for the bombings in Jakarta, it made the occupancy
rate decrease by 5 percent for about two weeks," he said, adding
that the hotel was doing quite well this year.

Mellanie Solagratia from the JW Marriott added that the impact
of the bomb attacks in Jakarta did not last long because people,
both locals and foreigners, had become more mature in facing such
incidents.

Unlike many hotels in Bali, which target tourists, the guests
of five-star hotels in Jakarta are mainly business travelers,
both locals and foreigners. The main target of the Sari Pan
Pacific, Hotel Borobudur and Gran Mahakam, for example, is the
domestic market.

"Our primary market is business travelers mostly from the
local/domestic market, followed by the Asian market," Sylvain
Julien, general manager of the Hotel Gran Mahakam, said.

He said the hotel, which has enjoyed an above 73 percent
occupancy rate each month from June until September this year,
was focusing on the domestic market because it still had more
potential compared to the foreign market, especially the European
market.

But many other business hotels have more foreign guests,
mostly executives of multinational companies from other Asian
countries. And the hoteliers believe that they can still maintain
the target considering the improving conditions in the country.

"Our foreign guests keep coming because Gran Melia Jakarta is
a five-star hotel targeting business travelers from corporate
companies who are also loyal guests. For many years, they have
stayed at our hotel during their visits to Jakarta," said Hana
Hoed, the hotel's public relations manager, adding that many of
the guests were foreigners from Southeast Asian countries.

Ratna Sjamsiar Idris, director of communications of Shangri-La
Jakarta, also expressed optimism that foreigners, as well as
Indonesians, would stay in the hotel, which has an occupancy rate
of between 40 percent and 60 percent.

"With our reputation as a member of the group of great hotels
with a strong Asian culture, Shangri-La Hotels & Resort is the
choice for foreign guests who travel to Indonesia. And there has
even been a significant increase in the number of expatriate
guests who have long lived in Asia and know Asia," she said.

JW Marriott, too, does not have any plans to change its target
because it is a business hotel with guests from various countries
who come to Jakarta to have business meetings with their local
partners. Local guests, who comprise about 20 percent, usually
spend the night on the weekend and use the hotel's facilities for
non-business purposes like weddings, dining or relaxing.

The encouraging developments in the hotel industry and the
tight competition among the hotels has enhanced their spirit to
work even harder. With professional staffs, they have improved
their service and have come up with various strategies to attract
guests: offering interesting room rates and packages, food
promotions and high-tech facilities, maintaining good relations
with other parties, improving the brand image and implementing
tight security measures.

As hotels in general are experiencing significant growth this
year, it seems the hotel industry is now returning to the good
times before the crisis hit in late 1997.

With hard work, coupled with the promises of the new
government to make every effort to improve the economy, hoteliers
have every reason to hope for a bright future.