Jakarta Great Sale 2013 Aims to Draw Tourists From Asia and Middle East.

28th March, 2013

Jakarta Great Sale 2013 Aims to Draw Tourists From Asia and Middle East.

The Jakarta Great Sale Festival 2013 will kick off in June to offer discounted products in an effort to attract domestic buyers and draw tourists from Asia and the Middle East to malls in the capital. The two-week event will launch on June 1, in honor of Jakarta’s 486th anniversary. Handaka Santosa, the head of the festival, said that the festival will combine shopping, cultural and lifestyle events into one big event.

This year’s event will highlight Indonesian cuisine and traditional crafts, in cooperation with the Indonesian Female Entrepreneurs and Regional Crafts Council. This year, Handaka said, the festival has teamed up with 74 shopping centers and other partners throughout the city to offer 20 percent to 70 percent off a myriad of products. Handaka added that the event strives to draw tourists to malls across Jakarta.

“The Jakarta Great Sale Festival is also targeted to reach the Asia and Middle East areas. We expect the tourists from those areas will be attracted to come to Jakarta to enjoy the many discounts and to shop,” he said during dinner with Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama at City Hall on Wednesday night.

Basuki said the annual event encourages people to come to the city, spend money and experience all that Jakarta has to offer. “It’s better if all products are discounted, not only certain brands. With many products at a discounted price, people that come here would remember Jakarta,” Basuki said.

Handaka said he was optimistic that campaigns across Asia and the Middle East promoting the Jakarta Great Sale Festival would pay off with a massive influx of buyers. He also told Kompas.com that he wants to show Indonesians that they don’t need to go overseas to find great products at affordable prices. Handaka said that the Jakarta Great Sale Festival 2013 is expected to see 15 percent more money from transactions than last year’s event ,which reached Rp 10.7 trillion ($175 million). The organizer also said the sale would strengthen the relations among business people in the city, increase mall visitors by 20 percent and contribute to Jakarta’s tax income.

Sapta Nirwandar, vice minister of tourism and creative economy, said the Jakarta Great Sale will bring many profits to the capital city. “The event will increase Jakarta’s regional income and also increase the tourists visiting the city,” Sapta said.

By: Lenny Tristia Tambun

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