Any investor uncertainty surrounding Indonesia’s February 2024
general election is unlikely to have a big impact on the tourism sector,
according to Pandu Sjahrir, founding partner of AC Ventures and
managing partner of Indies Capital.
Speaking at the 8th Tourism Hotel Investment and Networking
Conference (THINC), which recently took place at Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua,
Pandu said the hotel sector in Indonesia remained attractive for
investors as the number of tourists, both foreign and domestic,
continued to increase.
“It has been pretty good year and there’s significant room for growth
and hotel penetration,” said Pandu, one of Indonesia’s most influential
business leaders.
He noted that the government has been serious about its focus on the
tourism industry. Apart from infrastructure development and implementing
policies for high-quality, sustainable, and digital-based tourism
industries, Pandu said the government is working to enhance the quality
of human resources.
Pandu said AC Ventures started investing in the tourism sector at the end of 2020, and was optimistic about its potential.
His company has invested in international rather than domestic hotel
brands, “but saying that, there are some really good home-grown hotel
brands from Indonesia, like Aman”.
“[In hospitality sector] we invest mainly in hotel management
companies. We like to be value-adding, we like to be partners,” added
Pandu, whose clients include Swiss-belhotel and Alcatel-lucent.
Three and four starred-hotels with quality services and consistency in specific markets are AC Ventures’ main interest.
AC Ventures' Pandu Sjahrir (right) sharing his insights on hospitality investment at THINC 2023 with Panorama Group’s Budi Tirtawisata. Photo Credit: Hotelivate
“The four- and three-starred hotel is awesome. If you look at supply
growth, demand occupancy rate, and hotel penetration, it all looks
good,” Pandu said.
Data shows that from January to June 2023, hotel room occupancy for
starred hotels reached 53.7% while for non-starred hotels the figure was
at 24.5%. It grew 3.4% and 0.6% from last year, respectively.
Efforts have also been made by the government to attract more
tourists by accelerating the development of infrastructure and
transportation, as well as revitalising more tourist destinations.
The Indonesian government is developing five super-priority destinations
as a part of efforts to make the tourism industry one of the new
drivers of economic growth. The destinations are Toba Lake in North
Sumatra, Borobudur in Central Java, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara,
Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara and Likupang in North Sulawesi.