Tourism Investors Bullish on Indonesia

(4/12/2004)

Foreign and domestic investments in new Indonesian hotel and convention centers are being viewed by the Government as evidence that tourism business players feel certain that their sector of the economy will fully recover by 2005.

Mr. Udin Saefuddin, Deputy Director of Marketing for the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, recently revealed that as many as seven new properties will commence operations in Indonesia by next year. "The quantity of property development now underway shows the confidence investors have in recovery of the tourism sector. They (the investors) are investing their funds after careful calculations," said Mr. Saefuddin.

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, as many as seven hotel projects are being built, with the largest number located in Bali. In Bali there is the US$ 60 million Conrad Resort; the luxury boutique Bulgari Hotel; and Caddy Villas. The Nation's capital, Jakarta, is the site of a new hotel-shopping center operated by Ritz Carlton located across from the Marriot. In Bangka Belitung, a 600-room hotel is being constructed, while in Kalimantan an Australian investor is constructing the Kalimantan Meeting Center. In Batam, ten Indonesian provinces from the island of Sumatra are joing forces to create the Sumatra Promotion Center intended to promote economic development on their nearby island.