TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

AccorHotels eye emerging tourism destinations

Indonesia’s plan to develop new emerging tourism destinations has caught the attention of global hotel management chain AccorHotels as the company seeks to open more establishments in those locations

Farida Susanty (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, July 23, 2016

Share This Article

Change Size

AccorHotels eye emerging tourism destinations

I

ndonesia’s plan to develop new emerging tourism destinations has caught the attention of global hotel management chain AccorHotels as the company seeks to open more establishments in those locations.

AccorHotels chief operating officer for Malaysia-Indonesia-Singapore Garth Simmons said on Thursday that the company was looking at the Belitung area, in which Tanjung Kelayang was now listed in the government’s priority destinations.

“We are about to have a new hotel in Belitung now, probably in a mid-scale area,” he told The Jakarta Post.

Simmons acknowledged the new destinations did not yet have established infrastructure such as in big cities and that became an important factor to consider in its future investments.

“You sign it [the agreement to build hotels], you get ready, but you time it because the infrastructure is not built yet,” he said.

The Tourism Ministry previously claimed the pace of infrastructure development at the new destinations had actually been faster than expected, with the upcoming construction of various facilities.

Many of the infrastructure projects supporting the areas are included in the national strategic-project list, based on Presidential Regulation No. 3/2016, thus highlighting the importance of the new emerging tourism destinations.

The government has targeted 12 million foreign tourists to visit the country this year and 20 million visits by 2019. The new destinations are expected to help attract them.

Meanwhile, AccorHotels is also in the process to manage a new upscale Pullman hotels in Mandalika, Lombok, in West Nusa Tenggara.

The hotel operator is one of four investors that already have announced their plans to build five-star hotels in Mandalika. The Pullman project is estimated to cost around Rp 400 billion (US$30.53 million) and will be built by state-owned Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) that manages the area.

Hotel development is currently being seen in 85 sites across the archipelago. Most of them are still located in Java as the island has the highest demand as of now.

AccorHotels’ long-term program shows that it plans to build at least 200 hotels by 2020. So far, it has opened eight new hotels, including one in Surabaya, East Java. Works on 17 other hotels are underway and they are scheduled to begin operations in 2017.

It will build two new luxury hotels under brands Swissotel and Raffles in Bali, following its recent big acquisition of luxury hotel management company FRHI Hotels and Resorts this year. FRHI oversees hotels such as Fairmont, Raffles and Swissotel.

At present, there are only three existing hotels under those brands in Indonesia, including a Fairmont hotel in Senayan, Jakarta.

Simmons said that the company would take into account various considerations before expanding into the luxury hotel market due to limited suitable places.

Bali and Jakarta are the two prime markets now. “There are some niche markets that we are looking into at the moment.”

He also maintained that the company would assist the government on its foreign tourist target. However, tourism currently makes up for a small part of AccorHotels’ portfolio as the business is still dominated by government and corporate events.

It will still focus on the mid-scale market this year, as well as making use of the occupancy rates that is picking up after last year’s economic slowdown.

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.