Screenshot of Garuda Orient Holidays’ website
INDUSTRY players in Bali have expressed their regrets over the closure of Garuda Orient Holidays (GOH) in Australia, albeit acknowledging that it will have little impact on business.
The news came in a statement earlier this week, with Beanca Daluz, general manager of GOH Australia saying the closure was due to “the changing nature of the industry, which has made it difficult for travel companies to survive”.
“OTAs have permanently altered the business model and more people are making their own arrangements online, forcing traditional arrangers redundant,” she added.
Hoteliers who have been partnering with GOH however, said the announcement did not really take them by surprise as the business has been in decline in recent years.
I Nyoman Astama, general manager of Bali Niksoma Boutique Beach Resort, said: “We regret that an Indonesian company overseas, an arm of the national carrier, has to stop operations.”
Astama added: “In the 1990s, about 90 per cent of travellers booked through tour operators, today, OTAs are leading with 70 per cent market share. Travellers used to depend on their travel consultants to decide on travel. Now they look at online ratings.”
Concurring, Alice Matulessy, director of sales & marketing at Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel, Bali, said: “The business model has changed and wholesalers who fail to adjust themselves will not survive.”
Still, most in the trade believe that GOH’s closure will not dampen Bali’s tourism numbers.
“We do not foresee any impact on arrivals as travellers just change their booking channels,” said Gufron, director, Alpha Hotel Management and general manager of The Sense Hotel Seminyak.
Ismullah Lahsin, corporate general manager of Sun Island Bali Group agrees, saying that he is actually sanguine given that Australia had just recently gotten visa-free entry into Indonesia.
GOH has assured customers that those who have purchased holidays with them that arrangements will still be honoured or refunded if they wish.
For those who have paid a deposit, they can elect to pay in full before May 31 or receive a full refund.
