the government’s planned fuel price increase, The Jakarta Globe reports.
Bali relies heavily on tourism for revenue and jobs, and hotels on the island are bracing for their operational costs to go up along with the fuel prices.
According to the chairman of the Bali chapter of the Association of Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants (PHRI), Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardhana Sukawati "the increase is really basic. The hike will range between 10 and 15 percent."
Perry Markus, secretary of the PHRI in Bali, said "the energy costs make up 30 percent of a hotel’s operational cost and we’re only increasing rates by half of that.”
The government plans to raise fuel prices starting in April, which will force hotels in Bali to raise rates during the low season.
Tjokorda, who is also the head of Gianyar district, said budget hotels would suffer a serious blow from the fuel-price hike.
"The break-event point (BEP). before the first Bali bombing was 30 percent, and now it’s only 45. It has been really slow and now there’s this fuel price hike,” he said.
