Marc Steinmeyer, Accor's Regional Vice President for Operations - Asia, said that both projects had been originally planned prior to the economic crisis and initial planning and preparation had already taken place. It was the improved conditions during 1999, and the prospects for the future, that had persuaded the developers to resume construction.
 
Accor�s latest hotel is an apartment hotel in the heart of Jakarta�s prime �golden triangle� business area of Kuningan. Opened this month, Mercure Puri Imperium is the 3rd Mercure hotel in Jakarta and 5th Mercure in Indonesia, raising Accor�s total number of hotels in the country to 27. The Mercure Puri Imperium offers apartment-style space with full hotel facilities and services.  Accor now Indonesia�s leading serviced apartment operator with 5 serviced apartments throughout Indonesia.

Scheduled to open at the end of 2000 is the 136 room Hotel Ibis Pekan Bahru in East Sumatra. The hotel will service the growing demand for accommodation for companies operating in the region's rich mining, oil and gas sectors. The hotel will be the first Ibis in Sumatra and the 9th in Indonesia.

Mr Steinmeyer said that Accor's hotel results during 1999 had fluctuated, but in general were performing well ahead of occupancies recorded in 1998, both in the resort areas and in business destinations such as Jakarta and Surabaya. 

�Bali and Lombok were outstanding performers in 1999, with the major markets being the UK, continental Europe and Australia,� said Steinmeyer. "Our hotels have been very active in the international leisure market, with new brochures and product packaging the Coralia Archipelago, encouraging inbound travellers to go beyond Bali and experience other resort destinations such as Lombok, Toraja in Sulawesi, Yogyakarta and Solo in Java and Bukittinggi in Sumatra

�These areas offer remarkable potential. For instance, the diving off Manado is world class, Toraja in Sulawesi offers spectacular scenery, Lombok is seen by many as the �emerging Bali�, and tourists who want to discover something new will find the regions around Medan and Bukittinggi very stimulating. 

�Accor has been a pioneer in all these areas and with international standard accommodation now available, the infrastructure is there to cater for far greater numbers of visitors.

"Accor is very confident in the future of Indonesian tourism, and the situation has been made even more favourable by the appointment of President Wahid and Vice President Megawati Sukarno Putri. They are strong leaders with great vision for the future of Indonesia, and with Indonesia�s natural attractions and economic potential, we can see the country enjoying a long period of improving economic and political certainty, and a consequential increase in visitor numbers.�
 
Accor is the world's largest hotel and tourism group, with 3,300 hotels in 140 countries, as well as significant interests in travel agencies, car rental and corporate services.