Jakarta Fair 1999 poorly promoted: Foreigners
JAKARTA (JP): Despite being a great trade event, a lack of promotion by the organizers of the 1999 Jakarta Fair has left many foreigners unaware of the fair's existence, a few foreign visitors disclosed on Tuesday.
"Jakarta Fair is a great event. Too bad that the promotion of the event is so poor," Ahmed Ali Almualla, a trade official of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), told The Jakarta Post.
Almualla, who has visited the annual trade exhibition for the past two years, said the UAE Embassy in Jakarta learned the exact date of the fair opening only because it received an invitation to it a week before the opening.
He said if the embassy had received more information from the fair organizers, it could have promoted the fair to UAE businessmen and encouraged them to come to Indonesia and do business during the fair.
"UAE merchants are mostly interested in Indonesian furniture and garments," he added.
One of the fair organizers acknowledged on Tuesday that they did not launch a big promotion this year due to a lack of funding.
"Besides, our promotion target is more directed at local residents than at foreigners," he explained.
An Iranian jeweler, Ali Reza, shared Almualla's view and said his company had participated in all Jakarta Fairs, except last year's, when business in Indonesia was at its lowest. Reza believes that the fair is a good opportunity for his company to do business here.
Another foreigner from Germany commented on Tuesday that it was wrong of the organizers to think that the fair would not attract foreign visitors.
"We can find every domestic product here, the event is good, but unfortunately there is not enough promotion," he told the Post, adding that he would take more of his expatriate friends to the fair.
About 400 local companies from across the country are taking part in this year's fair, while nearly half of Indonesia's 27 provinces, including the troubled provinces of Aceh and East Timor, have enlivened the exhibition with their stands.
At the Acehnese stand, traditional Acehnese handicrafts and popular granite and marble stones are on display. Daily sales of handicrafts since opening day could reach Rp 1 million (US$143), according to chief of the Acehnese trade delegation, Razaly Yussuf.
The East Timor stand, which is exhibiting Sikalau (traditional fabrics) and commodities like coffee and honey, could earn Rp 600,000 per day, said Horacio, an official in charge of the stand who arrived in Jakarta from Dili just two weeks ago.
Horacio said he hoped that East Timor could join next year's Jakarta Fair as well, implying that he hoped the direct ballot in East Timor scheduled for later this month would favor integration.
The 17-day fair has many attractions, especially this week. There will be traditional performances like Debus, Reog Ponorogo and Tanjidor. A series of boxing matches, participated in by local and foreign boxers, will also be held.
On Sunday there is a Vespa Club show and a competition of news reporting in English. (04)