Sales at Sukawati art market drop by half

Luh De Suriyani ,  Contributor, Denpasar   |  Sat, 09/20/2008 11:36 AM  |  Bali

The Sukawati art market's heavy dependence on domestic tourism has been confirmed during the fasting month of Ramadan this year by a 50 percent decline in sales during August and September.

Sekar Sari, a trader at Bali's biggest art market, said the sharp drop in domestic tourists started last month.

"During the fasting month only a handful of tourists come to shop here," the owner of the Sekar Sari Artshop said recently.

The traditional art market, he said, looks to domestic tourists as foreign shoppers frequent large-scale art shops or galleries instead.

Sudiasih, a vendor from Karangasem regency who works in a Balinese clothing shop, concurred.

"I'm getting tired of trying to sell art at a time when shop owners don't want to be holding a large quantity of stock," she said.

The woman said the sharp drop in transactions had affected her turnover and her profit margin. "Closing the shop for two days can mean I have nothing to eat. God forbid I lose a whole month's income," she said.

The traders' anxiety is understandable as the Sukawati market, which is not too spacious, accommodates up to 1,059 traders of various kinds of art work.

The most popular items include key chains, clothing, bags and sandals.

Head of market management I Nengah Nawa Artama said the number of buyers during Ramadan has averaged about 400 per day, forcing traders to sell more aggressively as they tried to pull in potential buyers.

"Please, Sir, have a look, just so I can get my garus," one trader said as several prospective buyers passed by. (Garus is the fortune-bearing first sale of the business day.)

More hard-sell tactics were at play in the parking lots where a handful of vendors approach a single shopper, offering their wares: wooden carvings, cloth, hats and eyewear.

The number of traders registered at the market has reached 1,183, consisting of 770 traders inside the building, 248 set up on surrounding streets within a 1-kilometer radius and 24 food stall owners.

Nengah Nawa Artama said the drop in the number of visitors has adversely affected his levy collection from traders.

During the holiday seasons, like New Year or school holidays in December and July, he said, levies collected could add up to Rp 40.5 million (about US$4,300) per month. During the fasting month, however, it could drop to only Rp 25.5 million.

The levy has been set at Rp 30,000 per trader per month, excluding the sanitation fee and additional duties for business expansion, Artama said.

With business as slow as it was now, he said he could do nothing when many traders delayed their levy payments.

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