Organizers revise down visitor target due to transportation

JAKARTA (JP): With 11 more days to go before closing, organizers of the Jakarta Fair have reduced their visitor target from two million people to 1.5 million.

Nugroho Aditomo, corporate communication officer of PT Jakarta International Trade Fair, blamed poor public transportation to the fairground in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, for the lower than expected turnout at the month-long fair, which ends on July 9.

The organizers are offering a Rp 5,000 to Rp 10,000 incentive to public buses operating nearby to make a short detour and pass by the fairground, but so far there have been no takers, Nugroho said.

They have also arranged shuttle buses to take people from nearby bus stops to the fairground.

Lack of public transportation has been cited as one the main reasons for the lack of enthusiasm among Jakartans to attend the annual fair, held to commemorate the 473th anniversary of the capital which fell on June 22.

Visitor numbers to the fair have dropped in line with the economic crisis of the last two years, from a record 2.5 million people in 1997, to 980,000 in 1998 and 700,000 last year.

With the country's economy picking up again this year, the organizers were optimistic that this year's event would draw more people.

They were counting on some 1,000 public buses and public minivans making a daily detour from their ordinary routes to bring people to the fairground.

Since the administration moved the venue to the site of the former Kemayoran airport from the Monas Park in Central Jakarta in 1992, the event has increasingly lost its appeal among ordinary Jakartans. The lack of access by public transportation has compounded the problem.

"The previous location allowed people from all walks of life to visit the fair," Toli, a worker at softdrink stall, said.

Many visitors have complained that the admission fees of Rp 3,500 per person during the week and Rp 5,000 at weekends were too expensive and defied the official billing of the event as a "Party for Jakartans".

Nugroho however said the ticket price, which includes life and accident insurance, was comparable with tickets at Taman Mini Indonesia Indah and Ancol Dreamland.

Nugroho said the Jakarta International Trade Fair hoped that access to the fairground would improve in the coming years with the construction of a nearby toll road and a plan to widen the roads around the complex.

These road projects will make the fairground even more desirable as a site for businesses, recreation and homes, he said. (06).