While OTA bookings make up a sizeable portion of Meliá Makassar’s business, the one-year-old hotel is stepping up cooperation with local inbound operators to increase international guest numbers.
Since opening last year, the 135-key business hotel has been attracting mostly Europeans who arrive in the South Sulawesi capital for their trip to Tanah Toraja – many of whom are FITs who booked through OTAs – Guillermo Bastarrica Mora, hotel manager, told TTG Asia during a recent visit to Jakarta.
“We are going to work more with the local travel companies to boost (the number of) international leisure travellers choosing to stay with us,” he said adding that the hotel would also start being active in trade shows.
Yayan Suryana, director of sales and marketing at the hotel, elaborated: “We will participate in ITB Berlin next year, as the longhaul travellers seem to be the market for South Sulawesi when it comes to leisure.”
And although the corporate market already contributes the bulk (20 per cent) of its domestic business, there is still room for growth, Yayan said.
Yayan explained: “Makassar’s economic growth (this year) is 7.9 per cent, higher that the country average, which is only 5.2 per cent. A lot of developments are taking place in the city.”
Apart from the country’s major business capital of Jakarta, Surabaya also has the potential to grow as a source as some Indonesian and international companies base their East Indonesia regional office in the city, according to Yayan.
In Asia, Japan and South Korea represent promising markets for business travel growth, Yayan added.
