Hotel Occupancy in Denpasar Improves Ahead Of Christmas

Denpasar (Antara Bali) - The Indonesian Association of Hotels and Restaurants (PHRI) Denpasar, Bali, said hotel occupancy rate in Denpasar began to rise ahead of Christmas and New Year holidays after shrinking on eruption of Mount Agung.

"We have to be optimistic hopefully there would be no cancellation of hotel reservation,"  chairman of Denpasar PHRI Ida Bagus Sidharta Putra said here on Tuesday.

According to Ida Bagus the occupancy rates of 31 hotel members of PHRI in Denpasar had increased by an average of 15 percentage points in the past week.

Gradually the hotel occupancy rate is expected to rise to 65-70 percent until January, 2018, he said, adding hotels had received growing orders for room reservation from foreign tourists.

Currently, the occupancy rate of hotels in the city had dropped to only 15 percent from normally 80 percent before the volcano began to show volcanic activities over the past two months.

Many tourists especially foreign tourists have cancelled visit to one of the world's favorite tourist destinations after the repeated explosions of Mount Agung spewing volcanic ashes  and thick smokes to the air disrupting flight schedule to and from Bali.

The authorities have sought to assure tourists  that it is safe to visit Bali beyond the radius of 8-10 kilometers from the crater of the angry volcano.

Hotels offer tourists free lodging for one night if they could not leave the island on airport being closed as a result of volcanic ashes. (WDY)