Long weekend brings no profit for souvenir sellers

Irawaty Wardany , The Jakarta Post , Denpasar | Mon, 03/24/2008 11:46 AM | Bali

A surge in the number of tourist arrivals over the long weekend failed to significantly increase profits made by handicraft and souvenir vendors at Sanur beach, one of Bali's most popular destinations.

"I only sold one or two pieces of clothing a day this long weekend," souvenir vendor Novi said Saturday.

"Lots of domestic tourists visit this beach in the mornings and afternoons, but they rarely buy any souvenirs," she said.

That morning, Novi sat patiently at her stall which sells Balinese clothes and fashion accessories.

Other stalls were similarly quiet along the narrow concrete jogging track next to the beach -- vendors sat inside their stalls waiting for customers who did not come.

The island saw an increase in tourist arrivals over the long weekend, with domestic tourists flocking to popular destinations like Kuta, Sanur and Ubud.

"The number of tourists increased, but our sales didn't," Ranuh, another souvenir seller in Sanur said.

She suggested that the poor sales could have been caused by domestic tourists' decreased buying power.

"Economic conditions haven't been very good lately -- prices of basic necessities have increased, many people can't even afford rice -- so, many domestic tourists prefer to buy other things instead of oleh-oleh (souvenirs)," she said.

"Lately, I'm lucky if I can sell five items a day," she said.

Poor sales were also had by a Sanur department store with a dedicated souvenir section.

"The long weekend didn't bring any increase to souvenir sales," department store staff member Agus Wirawan said.

"We usually see a significant increase in sales in December, January and August," he said.

Those three months are in the tourism industry's high season, when the number of foreign visitors usually increases.

According to beritabali.com, however, Sukawati Art Market in Gianyar was packed with domestic visitors over the last three days. The number of local visitors had tripled, it said, but didn't say whether market vendors sales had tripled as well.

The market is known for its affordable prices and huge variety of Balinese souvenirs, ranging from clothes and bed covers to paintings and handicrafts.

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