City to sell Jakarta souvenirs
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.