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Surakarta, on its way to being a MICE City

In the midst of the Euro-Asia World Heritage Cities Conference and Exhibition in Surakarta in October last year, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda promised to make Surakarta a new convention city in the country after Jakarta and Bali

Blontank Poer (The Jakarta Post)
Surakarta
Thu, February 26, 2009

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Surakarta, on its way to being a MICE City

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n the midst of the Euro-Asia World Heritage Cities Conference and Exhibition in Surakarta in October last year, Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda promised to make Surakarta a new convention city in the country after Jakarta and Bali. Wirajuda said that the prerequisite was that the city should have a convention room that could hold 4,000 people.

The Surakarta city administration did not disregard the foreign minister's statement. Its mayor, Joko Widodo, immediately intensified approaches to and lobbying of investors, especially to develop the property sector for convention, exhibition facilities and hotels. "We already have a number of investors who are interested in projects as they see that the city is in good shape," Joko Widodo told The Jakarta Post.

Jokowi, as he is often called, said he would provide investors with incentives. "What is most urgent for Solo (the popular name for Surakarta) is an exhibition building," he continued.

Various infrastructure has been built to make Solo a MICE city since 2006 when Jokowi was appointed the city's mayor. At that time, he instructed the Surakarta Tourism Board to collect information and data on the city's rich culinary and culture centers. The data gathered indicated the existence of dozens of culinary centers and about 400 art and culture studios in the city.

Then on April 13, 2008 a night culinary and food center, Gladag Langen Bogan (Galabo), was established in the center of the city, not far from Surakarta Palace. Here, at least 60 percent of the 100 food stands are outlets of famous food stalls that have become the city's culinary icons.

For musical performances, the city was proud to present the Solo International Ethnic Music Festival (SIEM) in 2007 and again in 2008. This year will see the International Performing Arts Festival in Solo, which will be held every two years, alternating with SIEM. "The plus point of Solo, among other things, is its richness in culinary and arts performances," said Jokowi.

Today, the city's parks have Wi-Fi facilities. Balekambang Park, which was previously falling into disrepair, has been turned into a mini botanical garden. Meanwhile, Tirtonadi Park, near the Tirtonadi Bus Terminal, has become a public space and a water park is planned for it.

On Jl. Slamet Riyadi - one of the city's main streets - there is now a city walk with beautiful parks, again with free Internet facilities. The city walk is connected to an antique market in Windujenar (formerly called Triwindu Market), and a night market specializing in souvenirs, Ngarsapura Market, is very close by.

The city's major events greatly contribute to the increase in hotel room occupancy. "For the past several years, we have enjoyed more than an 80 percent occupancy rate," said Vita, PR manager of Hotel Lorin.

Handono S. Putro, executive assistant manager of Novotel Hotel Solo, made a similar comment. He said both the hotel's rooms and meeting rooms were in great demand. "At our hotel network, Novotel and Ibis, the occupancy rate is between 68 and 90 percent," he told the Post recently.

Its function rooms are always occupied for at least three days in a week. "Besides companies, NGOs also often hold meetings and workshops at our hotel," he added.

The numerous cultural events and meetings naturally increase demand for accommodation, but the Solo administration also considers them a potential driver for small and medium businesses. That is why the administration also concentrates on the establishment of a number of culinary and souvenir centers to induce local creativity.

"The impacts are felt by everyone in the city, including pedicab and taxi drivers. The Klewer batik market as well as the batik centers in Laweyan and Kauman is likewise enjoying robust growth in sales," said Jokowi.

Among the various major meetings and events held in Solo are, for example, the All Indonesia Annual Mayors Meeting in the middle of 2008, which was followed by WHCCE. This meeting was attended by about 2,000 people. Next year the city will host the Asia Pacific Ministerial meeting.

During the National Convention of the Indonesian Administration Association (APEKSI) last year, the batik market and centers were crowded with customers. Batik producers in Laweyan, for example, said their sales increased multi-fold compared with sales on normal holidays. "My batik sales were extremely good at that time," said Gunawan Nizar, the owner of Putra Laweyan batik shop.

The city is also planning to hold the Batik Fashion Week with an emphasis on local traditional elements. The next event on the list is the Solo Batik Carnival, which was first held two years ago.

The city's spatial arrangement, which is public oriented, has prompted better economic growth for the city. "Last year, bank transactions reached Rp 12 trillion, while outside the banks money circulation was about Rp 3 trillion. This is an incredibly large figure for a small city like ours," said Jokowi.

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