The building of three-star hotels around Lake Toba will be banned by the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan.
Speaking on the matter, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Uno explained that the ban was targeted to focus investors on five-star hotels. He emphasised that Lake Toba needs this type of accommodation. This is because there are currently plenty of homestays and also a three-star hotel that is already run and managed by the community.
“We are now focussing on the five-star hotels because the three-stars are already available and have been managed in several areas. However, there are no five-star hotels yet,” he stressed.
The comments were part of a reflection on the F1H2O championship, which was hosted at Lake Toba last weekend. The area around the late saw a huge demand for five-star hotels for participants and attendees.
“A five-star hotel is a must and we don’t have any at all in the Lake Toba area. We need more available accommodation in that area, especially since we want to initiate several international events. Many of the F1H2O participants also asked about this,” said Uno in a press conference on Monday 27th February 2023.
Even with the plans to build five-star hotels, Uno appealed to all homestay managers on Lake Toba to continue improving their services. He also said that Live on Board is being prepared on Lake Toba, as was previously implemented in Labuan Bajo.
“Homestays must improve their quality. We will continue to coordinate and it is clear that an international standard hotel is needed in the Lake Toba area, including Live on Board, which we encourage to operate soon as well,” added Uno.