Bali tourism players, especially hotel operators, do not dare to speculate much about tourist visits at this time. The US dollar exchange rate against the rupiah continues to strengthen. This Uncle Sam’s currency strengthened against the rupiah daily to monthly. “For hotels where room prices are set in rupiah, it doesn’t seem to have much of an effect. It’s different from room prices using US dollars, there will definitely be an influence,” said General Manager (GM) Sales of FuramaXclusive Bali, Wayan Sumandia, Tuesday (Oct 31).

Indeed, in November the market fell again. Average hotel occupancy is starting to fall again, and tends to be in low season until mid-December 2023. This includes FuramaXclusive Resort and Villas Ubud and FuramaXclusive Ocean Beach Seminyak, whose hotel occupancy is still down. “We also still don’t know how the hotel business will look like in 2024. There are several things that we are worried about with the current world situation which of course has an impact on tourism in general and Bali tourism in particular,” said the Chairperson of the Bali Villas Association (BVA) of Badung Chapter.

Sumandia admitted that he is a little worried about the trend of fever or decreasing market demand next year. This concern is felt because the global crisis in European countries is still ongoing, as the conflict between Israel and Palestine in the Gaza Strip is increasingly heating up. Moreover, the Russia–Ukraine war is still ongoing as well and has an impact on other countries. “This has been seen, especially in terms of fuel shortages which have resulted in an economic crisis and rising food prices,” explained the administrator of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) of Badung Chapter seriously.

Not to mention the domestic political year that will occur at the beginning of 2024 will certainly affect tourist visits, especially domestic tourists. “Honestly, what worries me personally is the saturation of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia and especially Bali. I am worried, for example, regarding comfort and safety issues for tourists there will not be any significant changes,” concluded this man from Karangasem. (BTN/015)