IKN Nusantara operations: The igniter of hospitality business in Kalimantan Timur
This article has been translated by PwC Indonesia as part of our Indonesia Infrastructure News Service. PwC Indonesia has not checked the accuracy of, and accepts no responsibility for the content.
Bisnis Indonesia - Operasional IKN Nusantara: Pemantik Bisnis Perhotelan Benua Etam
20 June 2024
By M. Mutawallie Syarawie
The optimism of President Joko Widodo about staying in Nusantara Capital City (IKN) in July and holding the 79th Independence Day ceremony there in August is believed to recover the hotel industry in East Kalimantan in the second half of this year.
Besides that, there is the National Musabaqah Tilawatil Quran (MTQ) that will be held in September this year. Therefore, hotel business players in East Kalimantan are preparing to welcome a wave of visitors in the second half of 2024.
Moreover, Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) Chairperson Sahmal Ruhip revealed that his association has been regularly collaborating with stakeholders over the past two months to ensure no detail is overlooked in making these events a success.
He believes there is significant potential for hotel businesses in the province to benefit from the influx of guests attending these events.
However, Sahmal reckoned that the government’s strategy was appropriate, as they only invited some guests to IKN for the 79th Independence Day ceremony on 17 August 2024, alleviating the burden on hotels in East Kalimantan.
“The Independence Day event this year is expected to be more manageable, as it will be held not only in East Kalimantan but also in Jakarta. This will reduce the number of honoured guests. These guests typically have specific standards regarding accommodations,” he explained when contacted by Bisnis on Wednesday (19/6).
However, these major agendas in IKN are not the only igniter for the hotel business in East Kalimantan in the second half of this year.
Sahmal forecasts there will be 5,000 guests visiting IKN in the second half of 2024.
The number of hotel rooms and guest houses is around 6,000 units in Balikpapan and Samarinda.
Sahmal is optimistic about these upcoming events recovering the hotel sector in East Kalimantan.
He reckoned that these events would trigger a domino effect, pushing players in East Kalimantan to improve their services, especially regarding room provision.
“For example, there are 8 additional rooms in Djang Jaya Hotel,” he explained.
However, he hopes for improvements to enhance the hotels in East Kalimantan.
For instance, Sahmal views Balikpapan as the gateway to IKN.
Therefore, he added that it was crucial to ensure infrastructure availability, including clean water resources.
He hopes for a reliable water supply from the local Regional Drinking Water Company (PDAM) to provide quality water for the guests.
Accelerative
Meanwhile, the tourism sector in East Kalimantan is currently experiencing accelerated growth. The data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) from January to April 2024 shows a year-on-year (YoY) increase in the number of foreign tourists.
The number of tourist visits to East Kalimantan from January to April 2024 reached 1,426 individuals. This number increased by 100.56% from 711 individuals in the previous year.
According to BPS, the occupancy rate of star-rated hotels in the region has recovered from 53.62% in April 2023 to 54.87% in April of this year.
This trend is supported by the increase in foreign tourists, particularly in March, from January to April 2024.
This is attributed to the decision of East Kalimantan Provincial Government to prepare comprehensive strategies and programmes to develop the tourism and creative economy sectors approaching the operation of IKN.
East Kalimantan Tourism Agency Head Ririn Sari Dewi revealed that her agency was committed to optimising facilities and infrastructure in existing destinations.
Besides that, she added that her agency was also developing new destinations by involving local residents to create a strong synergy between the government and industry players.
“This strategy covers enhancing the competitiveness of tourism attractions, services for tourists, and providing field assistance for tourism players,” he said in his official statement.
Recently, East Kalimantan Provincial Government has been focusing on enhancing nautical tourism in Berau Regency.
Acting East Kalimantan Governor Akmal Malik said that the regional government and the central government would continue enhancing accessibility and infrastructure on Maratua Island to facilitate the mobility of tourists.
“Now, it is only a matter of how we open the access so that it can be reached easier and faster, while organising the infrastructure,” he said.
On the other hand, Garuda Indonesia has chosen Kalimantan as the location for their Thematic Dish Meal Presentation programme to introduce Nusantara through the culinary richness of Kalimantan.
PT Garuda Indonesia West Domestic Region Group Head Fitria Ruswita revealed that dishes from the region was less recognised, such as Soto Banjar. She explained that the programme was meant to introduce new dishes to the market and gather insights about the palates of passengers.
“This will encourage them to visit more destinations in Indonesia, which will grow local economies, especially in the hotel sector after the pandemic,” he said.
