TEMPO.CO, Bukittinggi - The haze from the peat land and forest fires in Riau has affected the occupancy rate of hotels in the West Sumatran city of Bukittinggi by 60 percent, according to the Indonesian Restaurant and Hotel Association (PHRI) of Bukittingi branch.

Guests with hotel reservations for meetings or vacation have cancelled their visits to the city after the haze from Riau has also blanketed the West Sumatra since a month ago.

Tourists have also cancelled their plan to Bukitttingi as many flights to Padang were either delayed or cancelled due to the haze.

"The last one week has been especially so severe. The haze has been so thick that the children were unable to go to school. I hope President SBY’ visit to Padang and Riau could solve the issue," said Chief of the Bukittingi PHRI, Syafroni Falian, yesterday.

In fact, Syafroni said Bukittinggi has so far become one of the MICE (meeting, incentive, conference and exhibition) destinations in the country for both local and international events. Most of the hotel guests come to the city for business meetings or government meetings, he said.

There have not been many guests coming to town in March but more visitors are predicted to come in April.

"However, we are afraid that due to the haze, they will cancel their visit and choose other haze-free destination," said Syafroni.

In recent days, the number of visitors to Bukittingi has been bigger than those to Riau. Some of the visitors are the people who tried to escape from Riau’s haze, which has got thicker and thicker. "Haze that hits Bukittingi is also thick, but not as thick as it is in Riau," said the PHRI chief.

FEBRIANTI