Jakarta Hotel Demand Drops On Marriott Bomb;Outlook Bleak

JAKARTA (Dow Jones)--Demand for rooms at Jakarta's biggest hotels has slumped after the suspect terrorist bombing at the J.W. Marriott Hotel last week, as businessmen and tourists put off travel to Indonesia amid renewed fears of terrorism in the world's most populous Muslim nation.

International hotels in Indonesia's capital are currently filling just 35% of their rooms, compared with 45% before the Marriott blast that killed at least 11 people and hurt nearly 150 others, said George Benney, chairman of Jakarta International Hotel Association, Monday.

Many multinationals have banned staff from traveling to Jakarta, he said. And though business may improve later this year if political security is restored, the outlook remains clouded by concerns of social unrest in the run-up to next year's presidential elections.

"Next year we'll likely see flat growth. People now are more concerned about the elections after the bombing," Benney, who is also general manager of the Mandarin Oriental in Jakarta, told reporters at a press conference.

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