At least 60 hotels across Bali are being put up for sale due to continued decline in occupancy rates, as the province reportedly hemorrhages about IDR10 trillion (US$711 million) in losses monthly amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rai Suryawijaya, who heads the Badung chapter of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), said the number of hotels may continue to rise.
“Because the occupancy rate is very low, only between five and seven percent […] [Hotel owners] are also unable to pay their debts to the bank. Though there’s been some leniency, they still have to pay,” Suryawijaya said.
Suryawijaya did not specify which hotels in Bali are up for sale, but noted that the list comprises hotels of various star ratings.
The tourism industry in Bali has lost up to IDR10 trillion a month since the beginning of the pandemic, the Tourism Agency said this week, and many businesses are struggling to survive alongside official efforts to tackle the public health crisis.
“The numbers will rise, it is possible. There’s a big possibility that if [the COVID-19 pandemic] continues longer, many will go bankrupt,” Suryawijaya said.
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