Bali hotels hopeful as reservations continue

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 10/08/2005 1:03 PM  |  Business

Chisato Hara, The Jakarta Post/Denpasar

As Hindu Balinese observed the Galungan festival and Muslim Balinese welcomed their fasting-month of Ramadhan, shops, restaurants and cafes -- excepting those closed for the dual holidays on Tuesday -- were open for business as usual.

While the bombings of Oct. 1 at Kuta Square and Jimbaran Bay in Bali have had an impact on hotel and tourism, the general effect has been minimal relative to the devastation of Oct. 12, 2002, that nearly incapacitated the industry, and the overall feeling that prevails appears to be one of cautious optimism.

""The psychological effect of this bombing is completely different from the bombing of 2002,"" said on Tuesday Bali Tourism Board chairman Bagus Sudibya.

""There has been no sudden rush in departures within the last three days; only about a 5 percent increase in the departure rate. It seems the world can accept more that terrorism is a part of our lives ..""

In 2002, the industry experienced a drop in occupancy from 90 percent to 10 percent over the three days immediately following the bombings at the Sari Club and Paddy's Caf.

The industry has also experienced a 10 percent to 15 percent decline in arrivals. But perhaps more indicative of the tourism response including domestic tourists is that reservations continue to come in for October, the Idul Fitri (Lebaran) holiday season in November and even for December.

Siswo Susetyo, director of rooms at Hard Rock Hotel, Kuta Beach, said the 418-room hotel, which caters mainly to domestic guests, had experienced only a 5.5 percent increase in short-term cancellations. ""This is very unusual ..."" noted Siswo. ""While we have had some cancellations, we still expect 85 percent occupancy (for the Lebaran period).""

The hotel has steadily upgraded its security system since 2002, expanding their security force and installing additional equipment, such as metal detectors at every entrance and installing 9 CCTV security monitors. It will also soon have sniffer dogs specializing in bomb detection.

""The government must do more to secure Bali and the livelihood of the Balinese, which is 85 percent dependent on tourism; Bali is not owned by Indonesia, but by the world,"" Siswo said.

At the five-star Hotel Padma, located along Legian Beach about 2 km north of Kuta Square, the figures were slightly different, considering its 90:10 ratio of foreign to domestic guests.

Director of Sales and Marketing Wiwin Ong said, ""Only three of 405 rooms left early,"" but only to relocate to a ""quieter"" establishment in accordance with advisories issued by the guests' respective governments.

However, their cancellation figures stood at 15 percent, and the hotel expected to see a 20 percent increase in cancellation by the week's end. Meanwhile, they are still receiving about 50 new bookings a day for the October to November period, compared to a rate of 100 prior to Oct. 1.

The Hotel Intercontinental Jimbaran, located a few hundred meters to the north of the bombing at Jimbaran Bay, also recorded very few early departures.

For two days immediately following the blasts, the Intercontinental waived Internet and international calls for all guests, so that they could let their families know they were safe; three days later, Director of Marketing Heather Cornish noted that staff and guest morale was ""good"".

At Discovery Shopping Mall, a mall and beachfront arcade known as the leading shopping complex in Kuta, all shops were open for business. Tenancy and communications manager Willem Andry said the complex had increased the number of security personnel by 100 percent and limited the number of entry points. It had also implemented regular checks of visitors through the metal detector, whereby previously, these were conducted at random.

At the popular Water Bom recreational park, about 500 meters from Kuta Square, families could be seen enjoying a respite from the tropical heat.

The turnout ""has been surprising"", commented Director Sales and Marketing D. Riana Bismarak. ""Today, about 400 foreign tourists have come,"" she said.

On a normal day, the park sees an average of 500 visitors, both foreign and domestic.

It, too, has raised its security measures, although mandatory baggage and car checks have been in place for the past years.

Travel agencies were also doing their part to ease the impact by taking measures, such as delaying the cut-off date for resale of canceled packages.

""It is because of this positive attitude (among visitors and industry players) that we have to do whatever we must to create a new security for Bali,"" said industry head Bagus.

Under this initiative, based on a traditional, grassroots security system residents and staffers from establishments in tourist areas will be trained by the police to monitor their areas. The pilot system is set to be implemented in Badung regency, comprising Kuta, Legian, Seminyak and Nusa Dua -- home to 80 percent of all tourism on Bali -- and in Denpasar regency, which includes Sanur.

In addition, the industry has proposed that 50 percent of the expected Rp 300 billion (US$30 million) in visa-on-arrival earnings be channeled toward the island's security.

""The Minister of Home Affairs has fully agreed to this idea, and is set to propose this to the legislature,"" Bagus said.

Meanwhile, the heads of flagship Garuda and the Japanese Association of Travel Agencies is en route to the island to discuss recovery, looking at the next three months; and the government is shifting many functions to Bali, as it did in 2002.

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