Bali hotels expect high occupancy during Xmas

Bali hotels expect high occupancy during Xmas

Wasti Atmodjo, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Headlines | Mon, December 09 2013, 9:49 AM



A special dinner is the top program offered by the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) for the Christmas and New Year holiday, as it expects 80 percent hotel occupancy.

The association’s Bali chapter chairman, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati, said that hotel bookings usually were made long before the date as demand rose for the end-of-year holidays.

Bookings are made ahead of time, especially by tourists preferring a particular location, and as hotels offer special prices for bookings before peak season.

Oka predicted that the peak would come in two one-week periods; before Christmas and after New Year.

“We expect this year’s Christmas and New Year holidays will boost hotel occupancy to 75 to 80 percent, assuming that the country’s and Bali’s situation is stable,” Oka said.

“The increase will probably focus in southern Bali, like hotels in Kuta, Nusa Dua, Sanur, Denpasar and Ubud,” he said.

Oka said the peak of incoming tourists would be around the end-of-year, as most Christians would prefer to stay at home with their families for Christmas.

“Based on our experience, the peak is around 26 to 28 December. Christians go on holiday only after gathering with their families,” he said.

Similarly, Bali’s Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (Asita) head, Ketut Ardana, said that the October to mid-December period was considered normal season, with a normal range of incoming tourists.

The difference this year was due to the island hosting the APEC Summit, the Bali Democracy Forum and the World Trade Organization (WTO) conference, causing more people to come to Bali.

Ardana said that Bali had never seemed to experience a low season over the last three years.

“The number of tourists coming to Bali has been high throughout the last three years, with the addition of those coming for international events. The number rises in July-August and at end of year,” he said.

Ardana said that tourists coming on end-of-year holidays were domestic, as well as international. As for foreign tourists, he said a special holiday was given to workers, as well as students.

The same went for domestic tourists, although, he said, the holidays only occurred on the actual day, except for New Year, which had two days added (before and after).

“That’s why foreign tourists can stay up to a week, mostly until the first week of January,” he said. “Meanwhile, domestic tourists mostly stay for only three to four nights.”

Ardana said the offers in almost every hotel for this year were similar to those in previous years, ranging from special dinners with live music or cultural performances.

Ardana acknowledged that hotels normally charged a higher price at this time of year.

“Hotels at least apply a 20-percent increase on normal rates,” he said. “Most hotels tie their guests in by including special dinner packages, with quite a high price, in every booking. But guests usually understand this.”

“As usual, Kuta will be flooded with visitors. Kuta is not only a center for entertainment, but also accommodation,” he said.

Every year, Bali is a top tourist destination for New Year’s Eve celebrations. Besides that, the island offers various kinds of hotels with relatively low prices, it is the place for variety of entertainment.