East Java Tourism News

Mega-projects pull investors into new hotels

September 16th, 2008

Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Oil and gas exploration and infrastructure development projects have attracted national and international investors to build new star-rated hotels in the provincial capital, a business researcher said.

Aslakhul Umam of PT Building Construction and Interchange (BCI) Asia’s Surabaya office said, seven star-rated hotels representing a total investment of Rp 1 trillion are to be built here within the next two years thanks to these big projects.

He was referring to oil and gas exploration in Bojonegoro and Tuban by the United States leading oil company ExxonMobil Ltd., the ongoing Surabaya-Mojokerto toll road project and the Suramadu bridge construction project connecting Surabaya and Bangkalan (Madura), expected to be completed next year.

“The projects, which employ local and foreign employees and executives, will need new hotels because of the limited capacity of the existing ones,” Aslakhul said.

The new hotels will include the Oval Hotel by PT Surya Karang Indah, the Aston Hotel by Aston International, the Meritus and City of Tomorrow Hotels by PT Arya Duta and two other hotels by the Ciputra World group.

The hotels, which are part of the 115 new hotels being built across Indonesia in the next few years, are expected to start operation between 2009 and 2010, Aslakhul said.

“The development of Surabaya city will become phenomenal with the presence of the new hotels,” he said.

Aslakhul further said that the current renovation of the Juanda International Airport and the opening of new flights to a number of developed countries have also contributed to the increasing demand for star-rated hotels in the city.

“The tourism sector has developed significantly with the increasing number of foreign tourists visiting the province,” he said, adding that the sector had grown by around 20 percent in the past two years.

The number of foreign tourists, mainly from China, Japan, the United States and Europe, according to Aslakhul, has increased from some 3,000 in 2006 to around 4,500 in 2007. The figure is expected to reach about 6,000 this fiscal year.

Chairman of the Association of East Java Star-rated Hotels and Golf Clubs, Yusak Anshori, predicted a bright future for the hotel industry in the province due to the deregulation of business permits and intensive promotion of the tourism sector in Asia and Europe.

“Java is competing with Bali and West Java to attract foreign investors and tourists to invest in and visit numerous tourist destinations in the province,” he said.

Secretary of the local chapter of the Association of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants (PHRI) Atmantoro said the municipal administration should take part in this trend by deregulating the parking bylaws.

“It should give more incentives to hotel managements to manage their own parking systems to help maintain their daily operations and attract visitors,” he said.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Entry Filed under: East Java News