Indonesia’s tourism is expected to recover in December from the bomb attacks in two Jarkarta hotels last Friday, the chairwoman of Indonesia Hotel and Restaurant Association Yanti Sukamdani said on Friday.
“We will conduct programs to rescue our tourism industry. Hopefully, we will recover in December and in January next year situation will be back to normal,” Yanti told reporters.
The programs consist of rehabilitation, consolidation and road shows, which will be conducted until October, she said.
Yanti said Indonesia would experience drop in traveling activities in August due to fasting month of Ramadhan and in September due to Muslim festivity of Lebaran.
“But in October onward we hope that we will be busy again. We expect the ITTF could bring buyers from foreign countries. We hope that government will sponsor this event because that time would be the last chance to get many tourists this year,” said Yanti.
According to the association’s data, hotels’ occupancy rate in June was 70 percent and then dropped to 54 percent following the bomb blasts.
“But, I think it’s normal. Our association did not receive significant check-outs,” she said.
Two bomb blasts rocked JW Marriot and Ritz Carlton hotels in Mega Kuningan business district in South Jakarta last Friday, taking nine lives and injuring some 60 others.