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Jakartans flock to tourist destinations over long weekend
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Long holiday – Tourists flock to the Bogor Botanical Gardens during the long weekend from Thursday to Sunday. From the park, they can enjoy the beauty of the Bogor Presidential Palace as seen in the picture. (thejakartapost.com/Elly Burhaini Faizal)
R
esidents of the Greater Jakarta spent the long weekend from Thursday through Sunday at prominent tourist destinations, such as Ancol Dreamland Park, Bogor Botanical Gardens and City Hall.
Operators of the tourist attractions said they had anticipated a rise in visitors during the long weekend.
Rika Lestari, spokeswoman of city-owned PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol, which manages the Ancol Dreamland Park in North Jakarta, said that the park offered various holiday programs for visitors.
“We organized a barongsai [lion dance] competition in collaboration with the Indonesia Dragon and Lion Dance Association, with a youth and sports minister trophy awarded to the winner of the competition,” she said.
To ensure that celebrations ran smoothly with the influx of tourists, Rika said, Ancol Dreamland Park had prepared 30 medical staff members, 206 cleaners and 141 security officers.
Rika said the number of visitors enjoying the long weekend at Ancol Dreamland Park from Thursday to Saturday usually reached 262,000 people. It was estimated that around 322,000 visitors went on vacation over the long weekend.
Desy Tampubolon, a tourist from Medan, North Sumatra, said she preferred to enjoy the long weekend at Ancol Dreamland Park, saying the park was much better than any other in North Sumatra.
“My friend suggested that I come here. The Dreamland Park is interesting for me,” Desy told thejakartapost.com on Saturday.
Dreamland Park visitors could also enjoy a special live music performance on Lagoon Beach, which judging from the observations of thejakartapost.com was greatly enjoyed on Saturday.
Meanwhile in Bogor, West Java, 16,598 visitors flocked to the Bogor Botanical Gardens on Thursday and Friday.
“There were 7,968 and 8,630 visitors on Thursday and Friday, respectively,” Bogor Botanical Gardens staff member Upun Punijar said as quoted by Antara.
He said the figures showed a significant rise in visitors because during weekends, there were only around 3,000 to 4,000 visitors per day, while during weekdays only around 1,500 to 2,500 people visited the tourist attraction.
Meanwhile, the Jakarta administration opened a City Hall tour on Saturday, allowing visitors to watch a public speaking event organized by Ikatan Abang None Kepulauan Seribu, a foundation gathering ex-winners and participants of the Abang None Jakarta competition from the Thousand Islands regency.
“As of 2 p.m., 827 people have visited City Hall,” Jakarta General Affairs Bureau head Agustiono Dharmawan said as quoted by beritajakarta.com at City Hall on Saturday.
Unfortunately, amid the long weekend celebrations, five tourists reportedly died when a boat they were fishing from sunk to the west of Panggang Island, North Thousand Islands district, on Saturday.
“Abdul Wahab, the boat’s owner reported to me at 4 a.m. that the boat sank while they were fishing,” Thousand Islands’ Fire and Rescue Office member Edi Rudianto said as quoted by beritajakarta.com on Saturday.
Edi said that there were seven tourists fishing on the boat when the incident occurred. “Five of them died while one survived the incident. One tourist is reportedly still missing,” he said. (rez/ebf)
