HOTELS in Bali are expecting the performance of an already-weak Japanese market to decline even further this year, but are still unable to gauge the full repercussions from last week’s calamities.
Bali Hotels Association (BHA) chairman and Nikko Bali Resort and Spa general manager Jean-Charles Le Coz said: “I have checked with a couple of BHA members and the preliminary information I get is that the impact is minimal so far.
“I’m gathering information (related to the issue) and until I have accurate data, I cannot give any projection.”
Royal Pitamaha director of sales and marketing Pande Sutawan said: “The first three days following the earthquake, we received 15 roomnight cancellations, but since Tuesday, we have received new bookings of 27 roomnights for April.
“It is too early to tell whether this is a trend. I think we need to wait until the end of the month to project for the coming months.”
However, he said the Japanese share of total arrivals to Bali had dropped from 37 per cent in 2009 to 27 per cent last year due to the economic crisis.
He added that with the recent disasters, it would be hard to even maintain last year’s level of business.
– Read more in TTG Asia, March 25
