Fair yet to attract more visitors

Fair yet to attract more visitors

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta

The 2004 Jakarta Fair organizers said on Saturday they had
recorded a significant increase in visitors over the first two
days compared to last year's figures.

Project director Ralph R. Schuneman said as of Saturday
evening, the fair had drawn between 50,000 and 60,000 visitors.

"The fair saw about 19,000 visitors on opening day. On the
second day, it saw some 23,000," he said, explaining that these
indicated respective increases of 20 and 16 percent from last
year's turnout.

The annual event at the Jakarta Fairground in Kemayoran,
Central Jakarta, was officiated on June 17 by President Megawati
Soekarnoputri and will last until July 18. The fair is one of
many activities being held to commemorate the capital's 477th
anniversary, which falls on June 22.

The organizers predicted the fair would attract 2.2 million
visitors, or 70,000 people daily, and generate transactions of up
to Rp 250 billion (US$26.6 million).

The prediction is well above the 2003 figures of 1.7 million
visitors and Rp 208 billion in transactions.

Several vendors at the fair, however, claimed they had yet to
see as many visitors as last year.

Ucok, a bag vendor at Pasar Gambir Kemayoran inside the
fairground, said sales were low during the first two days, due to
the lack of visitors.

"Last year, I sold 30 bags a day. The first two days, I was
lucky to sell 10," he said. "You can see that other stands also
have more attendants than buyers."

Ucok, who has had a stand at the fair since 1999, pointed to
this year's space allocation and poor promotion as the main
reasons for the lack of visitors.

The organizers have allocated different areas for its 800
exhibitors based on their products: Hall A and Hall B are for
electronic appliances and furniture, while Hall E and Pasar
Gambir Kemayoran are for retail clothing and food.

"Last year, all the retail vendors were located in one place,
so visitors didn't have to go from one place to another to shop,"
he said. "Promotional banners were also put up in every corner of
the city so people knew about the fair and came."

Sabrawi, a vendor selling kerak telor (traditional cake made
from glutinous rice, eggs and coconut) behind Hall E, said he,
too, had found sales low.

"I can't hope to make a profit yet. I'm just trying to make
ends meet now," he said.

Sabrawi and other food vendors have rented space for between
Rp 5 million and Rp 10 million, and fiercely compete with each
other to woo customers.

Commenting on the vendors' remarks, Schuneman said it was
normal for the fair to pick up momentum gradually before finally
kicking into gear.

"But we are optimistic that visitors and sales will eventually
increase and fulfill the target," he said.

Schuneman explained further that three new attractions were
expected to attract more visitors: the Shouzou lantern pavilion,
the Negeri Dongeng (Fairyland) children's pavilion and the
Shaolin kungfu show.

The fair is open from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Rp 8,000 per person
on weekdays, and from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Rp 10,000 per person
on weekends. Additional fees apply to select attractions inside
the fair.