Jakarta to host int`l kite festival in July

At least 200 kites of various types, shapes, colors, and sizes will participate in the Jakarta International Kite Festival (JIKF) 2009 at Ancol Dream Land, north Jakarta, in July 2009.

"Various kinds of traditional and modern kites will decorate the sky above Ancol Dream Land beach," Rus Suharto, head of the attraction and event section of the Jakarta tourism and cultural office, said here on Sunday.

The would-be participating kites would come from Indonesia`s provinces and abroad, he said.

Countries which have confirmed their participation in the kite festival, included Malaysia, Japan, Australia, South Korea and several European states, he said.
"Foreign participants usually present creative kites, while Indonesians usually bring traditional kites," he said.

He assured that audience would enjoy seeing beautiful kites which were believed to be unique, too.

The international kite festival would also include an exhibition, a photo session, and a kite making demonstration, he said.

In 2006, countries like Malaysia, China, Japan, and Netherlands took part in the festival.

The festival was organized in cooperation with the domestic kite community and the Jakarta Kite Museum, in an effort to attract more tourists to visit the capital city, he said.

He said a total of 1.53 million foreigners visited Jakarta in 2008, up 26.21 percent from the target of 1.3 million.

Last year, the capital city received 15.74 million domestic tourists, from the target of 15 million.

Foreign tourist arrivals in Indonesia in the first quarter of 2009 rose around 0.46 percent compared with the same period last year.