T

housands of hotel and restaurant workers in Bali will go to nearby polling stations on April 9 during working hours, with the island's all-important hospitality industry not likely to cease operations for polling day.

I.B. Sidharta Putra, chairman of the Sanur Development Foundation, told The Jakarta Post that hotels and other businesses could not afford to stop their operations for even a day.

"We've called on owners and managements of the island's hospitality industry to give their employees time to go out and vote, without neglecting their services to their customers. It can be managed, I'm sure," Putra said.

The hospitality industry has long been the island's major economic driver, with almost two-thirds of the island's total workforce of around 1.2 million people working in tourism-related industries, including hotels, restaurants, travel agencies and other businesses.

The government has declared April 9 a public holiday. Schools, government and private offices and other institutions across the country will be closed that day to allow voters to go to the polls.

There are 85 five-star hotels in Bali, and more than 100 other star-rated hotels.

"Each four- or five-star hotel employs between 500 and 1,000 workers," said Putra, who owns the Griya Santrian Hotel in Sanur.

April 9 is also the day that Balinese Hindus observe one of their most important religious ceremonies, Panca Wali Krama, at Besakih Mother Temple.

Sugeng Purnomo, communication and marketing director of the Laguna Hotel in Nusa Dua, said the hotel would implement flexible working hours.

"Some employees will get a day off, but those who deal directly with customers must arrange their working shifts accordingly," he said.

Djinaldi Gosana, executive director of the Bali Hotel Asso-ciation, which monitors the 85 five-star hotels, said it would be business as usual for all member hotels.

"We will certainly allow time for our employees to go to the polls. Not many workers have to return to their villages to vote, I think," he said.