TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Chairman of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) Haryadi Sukamdani, said that hotels in East Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, is currently facing difficult times because of the recent earthquakes. Within the past few days, aftershocks continue to occur and the disaster has claimed at least 515 lives.

"Currently, we can say hotel occupancy rate [in East Lombok] is very low," Haryadi said during the National Seminar of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) on Tuesday, August 21, 2018. "Because the land condition is still unstable, so people are still afraid," Haryadi continued.

Despite the unfortunate event, Hariyadi said that he has no information and refused to disclose the exact number of occupancy rate in the region. "I feel uncomfortable to talk about it," Hariyadi said. However, Hariyadi confirmed that hotel occupancy rate in the region is extremely low because the main customers, which are foreign tourists, continue to decrease following the recent series of aftershocks.

Previously, hotels in the regions had also experienced difficulties because of the Mount Agung eruption in Bali in July 2018, which caused an earthquake. However, the disaster does not carry on for long and losses can be mitigated immediately. "Because [conditions] are relatively stable afterward, so it's okay," Hariyadi explained.

Hariyadi said that he has no certain information on how long the hotels in Lombok can recover due to the unpredictability of following disasters. Consequently, many tourists prefer to move to Bali, which is relatively safe and far from the earthquake location.

FAJAR PEBRIANTO