Last month, Jakarta celebrated its 488th anniversary. The capital, which was established by Indonesian national hero, Fatahillah, in 1527, is definitely getting old. But despite being home to more than 10 million people, the city never slows down.
New high-rises pop up on every corner of the city. And each of them outdoes the previous in size and grandeur. Major developments are currently underway, promising that the city is on track to become one of the most glam and sophisticated in Southeast Asia.
To celebrate its birthday, the city’s modern landmarks and shopping malls again present the Festival Jakarta Great Sale (FJGS). FJGS has been held annually since 2008.
“FJGS has always been an important highlight of the city,” said Ellen Hidayat, chairwoman of the executive committee of FJGS 2015. “And it’s going to be much bigger and better this year.”
This year, the event is organized by Association of Shopping Mall Management in Indonesia (APPBI), in collaboration with 12 other shopping and tourism-related associations in the country.
Until mid-July this year, 78 malls in Jakarta will offer discounts on their merchandise by up to 70 percent.
The event is also supported by Jakarta’s Tourism Office and featured in its official calendar of events.
“Our office fully supports FJGS,” said Purba Hutapea, chief of Jakarta’s Tourism Office. “We hope to attract more local and international tourists with the event.”
Jakarta is targeted to attract three million tourists this year — a 25 percent increase on tourist arrivals last year, which were about 2.4 million.
“And FJGS is indeed a great way to attract more visitors to the city,” said Purba.
Among the top five international tourists visiting Jakarta are Malaysians, Chinese, Singaporeans, Japanese and South Koreans. And their main reason of visit is to go shopping.
“Malaysians love our Muslim attire, as they have very good quality at affordable prices,” said the chief of the tourism office.
Besides Malaysians, according to Purba, the Chinese, Japanese and South Koreans are currently eyeing our fashion products.
FJGS is also targeting Indonesian shoppers.
“Indonesians have a habit of going to Singapore for shopping, as Singapore usually offers more products of international brands at cheaper prices,” said Ellen Hidayat. “But it’s a different story this year.”
Ellen and her team have recently surveyed the malls in Singapore during the currently ongoing The Great Singapore Sale.
“With today’s foreign exchange rate [between the Singaporean dollar and the rupiah], the prices of the branded products in Jakarta are actually a lot cheaper,” said Ellen. “So, this year, we hope that the locals will choose to shop in Jakarta instead of going to Singapore.”
Ellen believes that FJGS and a series of fun activities organized in the malls during the event will see an increase in visitors by 30-40 percent to the city’s malls.
The executive committee of FJGS 2015 hopes to achieve a total transactions of Rp 14.3 trillion this year, or about a 10 percent increase from last year’s transactions of Rp 13 trillion.
It seems a high aim during Indonesia’s current economic slow-down, but the chief of Jakarta’s economic bureau, Adi Ariantara, remains optimistic.
“FJGS, which is held during the school holiday season, as well as the fasting month, will surely encourage people to spend more,” said Adi. “And hopefully, it will also instigate positive economic growth for us.”
A series of attractive events have been prepared to draw more visitors to the malls during FJGS 2015.
One of them is Jakarta’s iconic Midnight Shopping events. During FJGS this year, a total of 19 shopping malls will take turns to hold ‘Midnight Shopping’ on weekends.
“It’s one of the most awaited events during FJGS, as the malls will usually offer a series of entertainment, as well as special prizes for shoppers,” said Ellen.
This year, Jakarta’s shopping malls also open their doors to traditional craftsmen and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) belonging to the National Handicraft Council (Dekranasda) of Jakarta.
During FJGS 2015, these craftsmen and SMEs are allowed to offer their products at stalls dedicated to them along the corridors of the malls.
This year, BayWalk Mall, Puri Indah Mall and Grand Indonesia Shopping Town will host these craftsmen and SMEs.
“In the future, Dekranasda will work together with all shopping malls in Jakarta and encourage them to dedicate a special section within their malls for the craftsmen and SMEs in their regions,” said Veronica Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, chairwoman of Dekranasda Jakarta.
But the excitement of FJGS 2015 is not only felt within the glitzy malls and shopping centers of Jakarta.
For the first time ever, the event will also be held in traditional wet markets in Jakarta.
“We want every layer of the community to feel the excitement of FJGS,” said Djangga Lubis, director of PD Pasar Jaya, government-owned company that manages traditional wet markets in Jakarta.
There are currently 153 traditional wet markets in Jakarta. But only 10 are featured in FJGS this year.
“These 10 markets are those that are most ready, in terms of cleanliness and comfort, to present the ‘Pasar Murah’ (Affordable Market) bazaars during FJGS this year,” said Djangga. “And these 10 markets also represent Jakarta’s five main regions.
Among the 10 wet markets are Pasar Santa in South Jakarta, Pasar Gembrong in Central Jakarta, Pasar Pos Pengumben in West Jakarta, Pasar Cibubur in East Jakarta and Pasar Koja Baru in North Jakarta.
During FJGS 2015, these traditional wet markets will take turns to present ‘Pasar Murah’ on weekends.
The items offered during Pasar Murah are staple food items, including rice, eggs and meat. These items will be offered discounts of about 20 percent.
It seems that FJGS is indeed getting more solid this year. Unfortunately, the growth of shopping destinations has yet to be supported by proper infrastructure development that could further push the city to become a destination that is on par with neighboring countries such as Singapore.
Recognizing this issues, Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama ensured during the opening night of FJGS 2015 that projects are underway.
“We’ve just designed seven routes for the Light Rapid Transportation (LRT), which will connect major shopping centers and hotels in Jakarta,” said Basuki. “We’re also buying a lot of new buses for Jakarta as we plan to provide 24-hour bus transportation in the capital,” said Basuki.
Ahok also plans to develop 12 new traditional markets in Jakarta to accommodate street-side peddlers.
“On top of these traditional markets, we’ll also build apartments for rent at affordable prices for the peddlers,” he said.
With these plans, Jakarta promises to be a much nicer city to visit and live in.
“We’re planning to save Rp 10-15 trillion from corruption each year and use the money to build more infrastructure, parks and public facilities for Jakarta,” said the governor.
“Once they are in place, we can confidently announce that Jakarta is a shopping paradise to the whole world,” said Basuki.
The artist impression of the Aeon Sriracha shopping centre.
