Hotel occupancy rates up in eastern Indonesia

The hotel industry in eastern regions of Indonesia has experienced a bumper year during 2011.

The Indonesia Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) said that average hotel occupancy rates in eastern Indonesia were 60 percent, up by 10 percent compared to last year.

Association chairwoman Sarwo Budi Wiryanti Sukamdani said hotels in eastern Indonesia would be rivaling those in main cities such as Jakarta, Yogyakarta, Bali and Batam, which had occupancy rates at 65 to 70 percent.

“Most visitors were from Singapore, Australia and Japan,” she said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Friday.

Sarwo attributed the increase to the growing mining industry as foreigners visited eastern Indonesia cities such as Makassar in South Sulawesi, Jayapura in Papua and Mamuju in West Sulawesi, staying atstar-rated hotels.

“Foreign guests, like Russians for example, usually search for hotels with rates of at least US$500 per night. That equates to two-starhotel rates in their home country,” she said.

Sarwo was confident that occupancy rates of hotels in eastern Indonesia could reach 65 percent next year. (swd)