City to sell Jakarta souvenirs
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
"Better late than never" certainly applies to the Jakarta administration's plan to facilitate the selling of original Jakarta souvenirs from special kiosks to be located in a number of tourist areas across the city.
About 50 different types of souvenir will be sold in the first 10 kiosks, which are expected to open in September, according to the director of the Jakarta Small and Medium Enterprises Agency, Sukri Bey.
"With the special kiosks, tourists will find it much easier to find original Jakarta souvenirs. This is part of our efforts to promote the tourism industry in Jakarta," he told the City Council's economic affairs commission during a hearing on Tuesday.
"Moreover, the kiosks can also serve as outlets where local small and medium enterprises can display their products," he said.
Two kiosks will be located in the National Monument (Monas) Park, two others at the Ancol Dreamland amusement park, one at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, one at Ragunan zoo, one in the Jakarta Historical Museum, one in Kepulauan Seribu regency, one in the Indonesia in Miniature Park (TMII), and one in the Mall Pondok Indah II shopping center.
For a Jakarta souvenirs center, the administration would use the 1,100 square meters provided for the use of small and medium enterprises by the Cilandak Town Square shopping center in South Jakarta.
Among the symbols of Jakarta that it is hoped to popularize are Monas, TMII, and traditional Betawi (native Jakartan) puppets, houses, musical instruments and costumes.
These symbols will decorate T-shirts, pins, key holders, clocks, wristwatches, mugs, dolls, and wall decorations, Sukri said.
The city has allocated Rp 1.8 billion (US$187.5 million) for the project.
During the hearing, Sukri also announced what is being called the "one village one product" program, which will be rolled out next year and involves the agency promoting a specific home industry in each area. The first project will involve the promotion of milk production in Pondok Ranggon district, East Jakarta.