Good sales at Istiqlal Festival

Good sales at Istiqlal Festival

JAKARTA (JP): The souvenir and food stands at the ongoing Second Istiqlal Festival of Islamic Arts and Culture are each making approximately Rp 3 million (US$1,311) per day, according to one of the organizers.

Spokeswoman Ida Nasution said yesterday that one stand belonging to the Permata Sari Foundation, which is the organizer of the festival's bazaar, makes at least Rp 2 million, "even on the quietest days".

Ida conceded that the figure of Rp 3 million is only a rough estimate. "When we ask, the stall operators only say lumayan (reasonable)," she said.

A revenue figure for the bazaar as a whole is not yet available, Ida said.

The bazaar's 150 stands are being rented out for the price of Rp 2.5 million per two-week period for the duration of the two- month-long festival, which will be officially closed by Vice President Try Sutrisno on Nov. 18.

Only 110 of the stalls are being used by souvenir vendors and other small traders. The remainder are being rented by banks, the Indonesian postal service and information services of foreign countries, Ida said.

Chairwoman of the bazaar, Ayu Resmiati, said four food stalls were closed down last week after the operators failed to observe hygiene regulations.

Ayu -- the wife of Finance Minister Mar'ie Muhammad, who is the chairman of the festival -- said the operators of the closed stalls had repeatedly ignored warnings from the organizers. (31)