Tourists advised to stay outside Nusa Dua

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bali next year will occupy various facilities within the Nusa Dua tourism enclave managed by BTDC (Bali Tourism Development Corporation), thus regular tourists have been advised to stay outside the area.

Since its establishment, the BTDC-managed Nusa Dua resort area has been designated an accommodation center. It is located relatively far from residential and business areas, thus is quiet, away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

Dozens of star-rated hotels that include thousands of rooms and meeting venues are being prepared for next year’s summit, with some still under construction. All of these are high-class facilities.

Purnama Damayanti, BTDC’s public relations officer, said there were 20 hotels, one museum, one conference center (Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center), and a golf course being prepared for the event. The accommodation consists of 3,643 rooms, comprising 3,512 regular hotel rooms and 131 villas.

By next year, there will be an additional 1,080 rooms consisting of 929 hotel rooms and 151 villas.

An additional 713 rooms will be built after next year. The new accommodation is being provided by extensions to current hotels, as well as the construction of new hotels.

Damayanti said that all the facilities would be used to serve the APEC delegates, including heads of state.

While the exact number of arriving delegates has not been confirmed, there will be thousands of them.

“For such matters, hotels usually coordinate with travel agents and the guests directly,” Damayanti said.

Separately, secretary of the Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association for Bali, Perry Markus, explained that the BTDC area had regularly been selected as the venue for various national and international level meetings, including UNFCCC in 2007 and the ASEAN Summit last year because the area could suitably accommodate thousands of people.

He said the hotels had been used to handling such large-scale events and could manage their room allocation, allowing a portion for the delegates, as well as for regular tourists.

“Every hotel has connections with travel agents in Indonesia and overseas. Reports on how they organize such events have always been good.”

He said Nusa Dua had always been chosen by upscale foreign tourists because of its facilities, such as four- and five-star hotels that ensured the tourists’ comfort and convenience.

Perry continued saying that outside the BTDC area were various types and levels of accommodation, including in the popular locations of Jimbaran, Kuta, Sanur, Denpasar and Ubud.

“So it would not be a problem. Hotels outside BTDC are also ready to accommodate tourists,” Perry said.

The APEC summit will take place around October or November, which is not peak season for holidays in Bali.

However, Perry added, based on tourist arrival data during the last couple of years, these days Bali was almost always crowded with tourists throughout the year.

I Ketut Ardana from the Travel Agents Association for Bali shared the same views as Perry, saying, “Bali is large, and there is still available accommodation of all classes outside Nusa Dua resort. We also have village tourism. This is a perfect time to introduce accommodation centers outside the BTDC-managed area.”

Sourced: thejakartapost