Indonesia Welcomes Its First Indoor Snow Theme Park

Grocery retailer Trans Retail Indonesia has officially opened Trans Snow World, the first indoor snow theme park in Indonesia. (B1 Photo/Primus Dorimulu)

Indonesians no longer have to dig deep into their pockets to travel to faraway ski resorts just to enjoy the snow, now that grocery retailer Trans Retail Indonesia has officially opened Trans Snow World, the first indoor snow theme park in Indonesia.

Located at Trans Park Juanda in Bekasi, Trans Snow World is easily accessible to Bekasi residents and only a few hundred meters away from Bekasi Station.

Trans Snow World was officially opened on Sunday (24/03) by Chairul Tanjung, the founder and chairman of diversified conglomerate CT Corp. He was accompanied by his wife Anita Tanjung. Businessman and former Indonesian ambassador to Poland Peter F. Gontha also attended the opening.

"This is the first [indoor snow theme park] in Indonesia and I choose [to build it in] Bekasi," Chairul said.

The 6,500 square-meters Trans Snow World can accommodate up to 1,000 visitors at a time. It offers various activities and attractions including skiing, jet skiing, cable cars, snowman building and ice skating.

The theme park uses state-of-the-art technologies from Italy, Germany, China, South Korea and Japan to give visitors an authentic snow experience.

"It's just like in Europe," a visitor on Sunday said.

Tickets to the theme park cost Rp 200,000 ($14) each on weekdays and Rp 275,000 on weekends. On weekdays, a crowd of 10,000 are expected and twice as much on weekends.

Tickets are available in two-hour slots, starting from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and can be purchased at the door or online.

Trans Snow World is officially open for public on Monday.

Surviving in E-Commerce Era

Chairul said retail industry in Indonesia has been hard hit by the rapid rise of e-commerce. Shifting focus away from just shopping and diversifying its offerings will be key for Trans Retail Indonesia's survival. 

"The Transmart concept is to combine entertainment, shopping and food in one destination," Chairul said. Transmart is a subsidiary of CT Corp’s Trans Retail Indonesia.

Chairul said visitors have responded well. "We are aware there has been a decline in our retail business, but since we've started using a different concept, the result has been significant growth," he said.

Retail stores that still stick to old concepts and conventional strategies will continue to see diminished sales and will not be able to survive, according to Chairul. He also pointed out that social media have led people to choose places to eat based on how "instagrammable" they are—hence the Trans Snow World.

"The [retail] concept has to change. We have to move from stores that sell goods to becoming a bonafide destination and an experience. If not, retail will not survive," Chairul said. (JakartaGlobe)