Recreational sites crowded, city deserted

The Jakarta Post , JAKARTA | Sat, 04/11/2009 10:48 AM | City

As legislative candidates kept their eyes on the quick count results of the general elections, city residents spent their long weekend after election day flocking to the city’s recreational sites.

More than 40,000 people visited the Ancol leisure complex, also known as Taman Impian Jaya Ancol, in North Jakarta on Friday, which wasalso the Christian Good Friday holy day.

“We had 35 percent more visitors than during weekdays. We are hoping to see 80,000 to 100,000 more visitors come over the weekend,” Budi Karya Sumadi, the president director of PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol that runs the Ancol leisure complex, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

To reward city residents who participated in the elections, Ancol management offered visitors with ink-stained fingers a 50 percent discount on entrance tickets to three theme parks – Dunia Fantasi, Atlantis Water Adventure and Gelanggang Samudera.

“In the last two days, some 40 percent of our visitors showed us their ink-stained fingers,” Budi said, adding Ancol would repeat the two-day promotion during the upcoming presidential elections.

Elsewhere in the city, more than 10,000 visitors flocked to Ragunan Zoo, South Jakarta.

“We hope the weather will stay fine like today, so more visitors come,” Wahyudi Bambang, Ragunan PR officer, told the Post, adding the zoo operator expected to see more than 20,000 visitors on Saturday and Sunday.

Established in 1966, the 135-hectare Ragunan Zoo is home to more than 3,000 animals from 260 species. At Rp 2,000 (18 US cents) to Rp 3,000 a ticket, the zoo has become one of the city’s cheapest recreational sites.

Meanwhile in East Jakarta, the operator of the Indonesian Miniature Park (TMII) said they saw no significant increase in the number of visitors after the elections. On Friday, the park recorded more than 7,000 visitors.

“The numbers are the same as during the week. Maybe because we didn’t offer any special discounts or organize a special event this weekend,” said TMII PR officer Jerimias.

The normally crowded city of Jakarta was eerily quiet after the election day, as many residents from out of town left the city earlier to vote in their hometowns and many other permanent residents left the city soon after voting.

However, many malls were packed with holiday makers.

The Jakarta Police’s traffic management centre (TMC) reported no congestion in the city’s thoroughfares and seven inner turnpikes on Friday.

Less than a dozen police officers supervised Good Friday’s mass at the Cathedral, which was attended by some 2,500 city Christians.

“Road access to the city’s recreational sites is also undersupervised,” TMC coordinator Comr. Indra Jafar told the Post.

Although more people will visit those sites at the weekend, Indra said there would be little traffic in the city. (hwa/iwp)