H

undreds of thousands of Jakartans have been thronging the city'€™s recreational sites since Monday amid the Idul Fitri holiday.

Ragunan Zoo, Ancol, the National Monument (Monas) and Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) cultural park were just some of the popular picnic sites in the city that saw a surge of visitors compared to regular operational days.

Warno, a TMII visitor from Cibening in East Jakarta, said that after attending a family gathering, he and his family decided to visit the cultural park located adjacent to his house.

He added that he enjoyed his time at the recreational site despite having to pay a Rp 130,000 (US$11.22) entrance fee for the car and 10 family members.

'€œI think my children are enjoying their time here very much because the place feels very lively during a holiday like this. If possible, I want to come back here with them,'€ Warno said.

Wahyudi Bambang, a public relations officer at Ragunan Zoo, said that the 147-hectare recreational site had recorded more than 120,000 visitors on Tuesday, the second day of Idul Fitri, up from around 100,000 on Monday. According to him, on the second day of Idul Fitri last year, it only had around 70,000 visitors.

'€œI think there will be more visitors today, as my latest data shows that there were 90,000 people at 11 a.m. while our operational hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.,'€ Wahyudi told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Wahyudi added that on regular weekdays, visitor numbers had ranged from 5,000 to 10,000, while on busy weekends the zoo could be visited by as many as 20,000 people.

'€œI hope the positive trend continues after the holiday period is over,'€ Wahyudi said, adding that the zoo management had provided more security and medical posts in anticipation of the number of visitors during the holiday.

Ragunan Zoo is the biggest open green space in the capital city located in South Jakarta with around 4 million visitors per year. With tickets costing Rp 4,500 for adults and Rp 3,500 for children, visitors can see at least 290 species of animals.

Similar to Ragunan Zoo, on the eastern side of the city, tens of thousands of Jakartans flocked TMII, causing gridlock around the recreational site'€™s gates.

Suryandoro, TMII information manager, said that there were 50,000 visitors on the second day of Idul Fitri and that the number was likely to increase on Wednesday, which according to him had reached 40,000 visitors at noon.

'€œI hope we can pass our peak last year of 67,000 visitors,'€ he said, adding that 200 police and military personnel were standing guard at TMII due to the expected influx of visitors.

Suryandoro added that the main attractions at TMII were the 33 pavilions representing the nation'€™s provinces.

'€œIdul Fitri at TMII feels like going home. We provide a place for residents who missed out on going home this year,'€ he went on.

Meanwhile, Metty Yan Harahap, spokeswoman for PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol, said that the amusement park and beach recorded around 100,000 visitors on Monday and more than 120,000 on Tuesday.

According to her, the number was much higher than last year'€™s Idul Fitri, as there were 75,000 visitors during last year'€™s second day of the Idul Fitri holiday. Metty added that Ancol provided a new program called Ecofishing located in the Ecopark area that targeted visitors who enjoyed fishing.

Monas in Central Jakarta also had tens of thousands of visitors during the holiday.

Rini Haryani, head of Monas'€™ working unit, said that at noon on Wednesday, there were 11,034 visitors, while 1,901 of them had reached the top of the monument.

'€œMonas remains a favorite destination for Jakartans or outsiders,'€ Rini said as quoted by tribunnews.com. (idb)