Jumat, 09 Agustus 2013

JAKARTA RESIDENTS FLOCK TO TOURIST SPOTS

 By Andi Abdussalam 
          Jakarta, Aug 9 (Antara) - Hundreds of thousands of Idul Fitri holidaymakers thronged tourist spots in Jakarta on Friday, the second day of the post-Ramadan, or Lebaran, festivities.
         After fasting for a month, Muslims celebrate the Idul Fitri, or Lebaran, holiday by engaging in recreational activities in open places, such as zoos, beaches, and other tourist spots.
       Among the places that Jakarta residents love to visit during this period are Ragunan zoo, Indonesia in Minature Park (TNII), Ancol Dreamland beach, and the National Monument Square (Monas).
         By 1 pm on Friday, the Ragunan Zoo in South Jakarta had recorded the entry of 51,000 holidaymakers into its premises. This figure, of course, would continue to rise because, as of 1 pm, visitors were seen thronging the ticket counters and standing in snake-like queues.
         It is expected that the number of visitors to the zoo on Friday would be similar to that of the second day of Lebaran holidays last year, which had exceeded 100,000.
         "The number of visitors today is high but we predict it will peak on Saturday (August 10) or on Sunday. Most of the visitors came to the zoo by motorcycles," Ragunan Zoo spokesman Wahyudi Bambang said.

 
         Wahyudi noted that a total of 29,103 people visited the zoo on the first day of Idul Fitri holidays last year. On the second day, the zoo saw 118,346 visitors, with attendance peaking on the third day with 142,999 holidaymakers, Wahyudi added.
         Meanwhile, in East Jakarta, at least 50,000 visitors flocked to the Indonesia in Miniature Park (TMII), up from 45,000 on the previous day.
         TMII Information Affairs Manager Suryandoro said on Friday that visitor numbers were expected to peak on August 17-18 this year. "Those days will coincide with Independence Day celebrations.     
     Moreover, Idul Fitri holiday travelers would have returned to Jakarta by then and would take their family members or relatives to TMII," Suryandoro noted.

          He predicted that the number of visitors to TMII would increase by 20 percent compared with that of the previous year, which saw 319,000 visitors. The TMII has set itself a target of attracting 350,000 visitors during the Lebaran holidays this year.
         The TMII official noted that most visitors during the initial days of the Lebaran festivities came from Jakarta and its satellite towns of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi. However, a week later, visitors from other regions, such as Serang in Banten, and Cirebon and Bandung in West Java, were expected to crowd TMII, a recreation center that represents Indonesia's 33 provinces in a miniature park.
         The TMII hosts various types of art performances and entertainment. During the August 8¿25 period, for example, it will host a drum-beating contest for the purpose of breaking a Muri (Museum of Indonesia's World Records) record, as well as feature national acrobatic attractions and national dance parades.
         In the meantime, the Ancol Dreamland in North Jakarta was also packed with visitors.
         PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol, the developer company of Ancol Dreamland, said the tourist resort welcomed a total of 200,000 visitors on the first and second day of Lebaran.
          "We have estimated that about 200,000 people have visited Ancol on the first and second day (Thursday and Friday)," PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol Communications Manager Ari Kurniawan said on Friday.
         PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol has set itself a target of hosting 1.2 million visitors during the Idul Fitri holidays this year. "Last year, about a million people visited Ancol during the Lebaran holidays. This year, the target has been raised to 1.2 million," he stated.
         Seeing the increasing number of visitors, Ari Kurniawan said, his company was optimistic about reaching its target. Visitor numbers are expected to be on the rise from August 5 to August 18 this year, he continued.
         "Of course, we expect the number of visitors to continue increasing every year," Ari added.
           In an effort to achieve its target for this year, Jaya Ancol Dreamland has prepared several forms of games and facilities, especially designed to serve visitors during the current Lebaran holidays. It has also developed several recreation spots within its premises, as well as organised additional performances which are expected to attract more visitors.
        "We are providing enough facilities and new forms of entertainment, such as Ice Age in the Fantasy World (Dufan), the Crazy Slide at the Atlantis, and the screening of 4D SpongeBob Squarepants at the Ocean Dream Samudra arena," Ari said.
        He also predicted that the number of visitors to the Ancol Dreamland recreational area would continue to increase until three days after the Idul Fitri D-Day. "I predict the increase will take place until D-Day + 3," Ari continued.
         He said his team had increased the number of tickets, ticket windows, security guards in anticipation of the influx of visitors during the Lebaran holidays this year.
         PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol Director for Development Affairs Winarto said a number of security measures had been taken to, among other things, help regulate the traffic flow in the Ancol areas.  The company is coordinating with various parties to arrange for 800 security personnel, consisting of security guards, police officers, and public order security personnel (Satpol PP).
         "We have taken these security measures to ensure visitors' security and organize the traffic flow within the recreation areas," Winarto explained.
        An entry ticket to the Ancol Dreamland costs Rp17,500, up Rp2,500 from last year's Rp15,000 per ticket.
        The prices of other tickets inside Ancol Dreamland vary. A ticket to Dufan, for example, is sold at between Rp150,000 and Rp250,000, while those for Atlantis and Ocean Dream cost Rp110,000 each.***4***

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