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Govt to expand 'floating hotel' project in 2017
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Tourism Minister Arief Yahya speaks to journalists after the launch ceremony of Hotel Indonesia Group (HIG) in Jakarta on Sept. 29. (JP/Anton Hermansyah)
T
he Tourism Ministry is poised to adopt the concept of a “floating hotel”, a ship converted into a 200-room hotel and lying off shore, to boost maritime tourism spots across the archipelago next year.
Last year, the ministry and state-owned ship operator Pelni launched a pilot project by modifying six of Pelni's passenger ships into cozy floating hotels, equipped with hotel-standard rooms. Next year, the project will be expanded by involving other state-owned enterprises.
"But that is not enough, we have a lot of maritime tourism destinations. Aside from Pelni, we’re also pushing state-run port operator Pelindo to contribute. The market is captive and high end," Tourism Minister Arief Yahya told The Jakarta Post during Hotel Indonesia Group’s (HIG) launch ceremony in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Indonesia is short of 220,000 hotel rooms at 222 tourism spots. Along with the floating hotels, the ministry is also encouraging more homestays to fill the accommodation need in many thriving tourism spots.
"It takes five years to build a star-rated hotel. State-owned developer Perumnas can build the homestays and state-owned banks can provide the loans," he said, adding that the government was in the process of drafting a regulation on homestays, which is expected to be complete in 2018. (ags)
