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REGIONAL Vice President-Asia Pacific STR Jesper Palmsqvuit assesses that the occupancy or occupancy rate of luxury hotels in Indonesia has returned to what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic with a higher level of resilience.
“So, this is something that must be responded to very positively and make projections for the future high,” said Palmsqvuit at a media meeting in Jakarta, Tuesday (05/11), 2026.
Palmsqvuit said that domestic tourists’ interest in luxury tourism in various tourist destinations is currently continuing to grow. This can be seen through STR’s data, which states that luxury hotel occupancy in Indonesia in the 12-month period to March 2026 has matched pre-pandemic achievements, reaching 64%.
This figure exceeds the performance of other hotel segments which is still below pre-pandemic levels, which is around 59%. Apart from that, he said that hotel room rates in Indonesia had also increased by more than 40% compared to 2019.
One area that he said is experiencing good growth in the luxury tourism sector is Bali. Referring to research data conducted by C9 Hotelworks, Bali currently contributes around 25% of the market value of branded residences (luxury residential properties) in Indonesia.
There are more than 70 active development projects spread across a number of tourist areas such as Canggu, Berawa, Uluwatu, Seminyak and Sanur.
Responding to this, Harmoni Bali Director Edward Kusma highlighted that in order to develop Bali’s potential more optimally, the government needs to overcome a number of problems such as the widespread dumping of rubbish in tourist destinations and access to clean water in the South Bali region.
The government, he said, is also advised to finalize infrastructure development in several areas, so that the branded residence sector connected to hotel services can be maximized.
He also mentioned other facilities that were considered to make it possible to increase the duration of stay in Bali, such as the construction of schools and international hospitals.
Meanwhile, Director of Pacific Asia Horwath HTL Matt Gebbie added that the growth of the luxury tourism sector in Indonesia is not only a matter of increasing the number of tourists, but also changes in market demand patterns.
“To be able to open more tourism locations in Indonesia, first of all, we need access. It is easy for luxury tourists to come there, because it is easier to help more people come, and in the end, it will give us what we want, namely higher occupancy rates for destinations there,” concluded Gebbie. [antaranews]
