The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Having long been known as a festival for the city's lower-to-middle class residents, the 2007 Jakarta Fair is reaching out to more upmarket visitors, organizers said Friday.
The marketing director for the organizer, PT Jakarta International Expo (JIEXPO), Budi Santoso, said the company had been working hard over the past year to improve the quality of facilities at the event in order to entice more visitors to the month-long shopping and entertainment festival.
""This year we are using a new state-of-the-art international standard multipurpose hall, Hall D, which we just recently completed,"" Budi said.
""The construction was designed by a well-known Australian architect specializing in exhibition halls and is equipped with American-made acoustics.""
He said the hall covered 12,000 square meters of space, allowing more stall holders to take part in this year's event.
JIEXPO has also worked hard to alleviate the security concerns and traffic congestion that has kept some away from earlier fairs, Budi said.
""We are enlisting the police bomb squad to sweep the area before and after all events,"" he said.
""There will also be a special ad-hoc team to handle pickpockets and beggars.""
JIEXPO was also cooperating with the city's transportation agency and the TransJakarta busway to avoid traffic jams, he said.
In addition to improving venue facilities and security, the fair ""will also have a computerized admission ticket management system, using smart cards instead of paper coupons,"" Budi said.
""Computerizing the system will help us better monitor our visitors and participants, which also means that they will be more selected this year,"" he added.
With less than a week left to prepare, Budi said around 50 percent of construction was still yet to be done. But he said preparations were still on schedule, with hundreds working day and night shifts to finish before the June 14 opening.
""In terms of participants, 95 percent of the 45,000 square meter fairground is already occupied,"" Budi said.
""In terms of visitors, we are expecting no less than 3 million people for the whole 32-day event.""
The 2007 Jakarta Fair is scheduled to take place from June 14 to July 15 in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta.
More than 1,500 small, medium and large-scale enterprises are registered to participate at the 2007 Jakarta Fair, which will promote automotive accessories, electronics, furniture, food, and traditional handicrafts and garments from provinces throughout Indonesia. (09)
