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Jakarta Fair, commercial venture, not folk festival
“I need to make it clear that this is a commercial event,” PT JIExpo marketing director Ralph Scheunemann stated.
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Visitors pack the Jakarta Fair in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, on June 7. (kompas.com/Vitorio Mantalean)
W
ith visitors looking for bargains and the management aiming to make billions of rupiah in revenue, the annual Jakarta Fair can hardly be regarded as a folk festival.
As the biggest and longest-running fair in Southeast Asia, the Jakarta Fair showcases over 1,500 stands from 2,700 companies, offering huge discounts for various goods from clothing to automotive products.
Since its opening on May 22, this year’s event has seen people shopping or enjoying themselves with rides and attractions.
One visitor, Aisyah, 39, told The Jakarta Post recently that it was much cheaper to buy good quality products during the fair compared with supermarkets and other outlets.
Another visitor, Anissa, 18, agreed that while she came to look around and enjoy the attractions, the discounts available at the annual fair were what drew her the most.
But the ticket price this year has become a subject of criticism. Surat, 44, a regular visitor to the fair, said that he thought the entry fee of Rp 25,000 (US$1.80) was too high for a pesta rakyat (folk festival).
Similarly, Dimas, 31, also expressed his disagreement regarding the high admittance price.
