Surabaya DPRD: Rujak Uleg Festival Forms a People's Economic Ecosystem

Visitors thronged the Rujak Uleg Festival site at the Surabaya Expo Center (SUBEC) on Jalan Kusuma Bangsa last weekend, reaching around 12,000 people. Surabaya (ANTARA) - Deputy Chairman of the Surabaya DPRD, Laila Mufidah, has appreciated the implementation of the Rujak Uleg Festival, deeming it capable of forming a new ecosystem to stimulate the people’s economy. “Visitors who crowded the Rujak Uleg Festival location at the Surabaya Expo Center (SUBEC) on Jalan Kusuma Bangsa last weekend reached around 12,000 people,” Laila said in Surabaya on Monday. According to her, the economic circulation in this annual event is estimated to reach Rp1.2 billion, in line with the high enthusiasm of the public from Surabaya and surrounding areas who attended the festival. She stated that the Rujak Uleg Festival has developed into an annual tourism destination that attracts thousands of visitors from various regions. “This Surabaya specialty food has an authentic taste that is always anticipated by the public,” she said. Nevertheless, Laila assessed that the organisation of various festivals should not stop merely at the merriment of the event but must also be able to provide added value for the community. According to her, the current national and global fiscal conditions require the public to have new economic spaces that can stimulate small businesses and the people’s economy. “Festivals like Rujak Uleg and events that bring in thousands of visitors are highly anticipated. Besides being tourism, the main thing is how to stimulate the people’s economy sustainably,” she said. Therefore, the Rujak Uleg Festival is seen as a momentum to build a new economic ecosystem that provides broad benefits to the community. “Not only certain groups benefit from the event, but everyone must feel its economic impact,” she said. For this reason, she encouraged the regular and sustainable organisation of other derivative festivals that impact the community’s economy. “Festivals that impact the people’s economy must be expanded,” Laila said.