Hotel industry executives have denounced a plan by the Bali administration to hike their water fees tenfold, complaining the move will hurt the island’s tourism industry badly.
Hotels and restaurants on the resort island are currently charged between Rp 2,000 and Rp 7,500 ($0.22 and $0.83) for every cubic meter of groundwater they extract.
Under the rate hike stipulated in a gubernatorial decree, they could soon be paying Rp 20,000 to Rp 30,000 per cubic meter.
Perry Markus, secretary general of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association’s (PHRI) Bali chapter, said on Wednesday that the rate hike was unacceptable because the administration had not developed its tap water network optimally.
“They haven’t done anything in this regard, and now all of a sudden they’re springing this groundwater rate hike on us,” he said.
He added that if the move went ahead, hotels that were already paying a hefty Rp 100 million a month for water could expect to pay Rp 1 billion.
“Raising the rate would have an unfavorable impact on the island’s tourism industry,” Perry said.
“Hotels can’t be expected to just willy-nilly raise the cost of rooms to make up for the water price increase.”
Anger Over Water Rate Hike in Bali | The Jakarta Globe
Hotels and restaurants on the resort island are currently charged between Rp 2,000 and Rp 7,500 ($0.22 and $0.83) for every cubic meter of groundwater they extract.
Under the rate hike stipulated in a gubernatorial decree, they could soon be paying Rp 20,000 to Rp 30,000 per cubic meter.
Perry Markus, secretary general of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association’s (PHRI) Bali chapter, said on Wednesday that the rate hike was unacceptable because the administration had not developed its tap water network optimally.
“They haven’t done anything in this regard, and now all of a sudden they’re springing this groundwater rate hike on us,” he said.
He added that if the move went ahead, hotels that were already paying a hefty Rp 100 million a month for water could expect to pay Rp 1 billion.
“Raising the rate would have an unfavorable impact on the island’s tourism industry,” Perry said.
“Hotels can’t be expected to just willy-nilly raise the cost of rooms to make up for the water price increase.”
Anger Over Water Rate Hike in Bali | The Jakarta Globe