Public Participation Must Be Improved

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Flags of the participating 2018 Asian Games countries are installed at a corner on the Sunter River, Senen Subdistrict, Jakarta, Tuesday (10/7/2018). A number of kampungs in Jakarta have been cleaned up to welcome the Asian Games.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Concerns over minimal public participation in the upcoming Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang exist. Poor public promotion as well as problems in ticket sales and Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) regulations are the major causes of these concerns. These problems must be resolved so that the international sporting event runs smoothly.

For instance, some are protesting that ticket prices are too high, which may discourage people from watching the Games. The Youth and Sports Ministry said it had requested clarification from the 2018 Indonesia Asian Games Organizing Committee (Inasgoc) regarding ticket prices.

“This is our concern as the Asian Games should be an event for the people. Inasgoc should think about this as the event is not held exclusively for profit,” ministry secretary Gatot S. Dewa Broto told Kompas on Tuesday (10/7/2018).

Gatot said the ministry was worried that the ticket prices would result in low attendance at sports venues. Consequently, the Games would not be as successful as intended.

At Kiostix online ticket sales portal, tickets for the Games’ opening ceremony are priced between Rp 750,000 (US$52.24) and Rp 5 million. Meanwhile, tickets for the closing ceremony are priced between Rp 450,000 and Rp 2 million. These ticket prices are lower than those for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, which ranged between Rp 1.2 million and Rp 8.4 million.

However, it needs to be noted that Incheon residents have a higher purchasing power than Jakartans. In 2014, Incheon’s minimum wage was Rp 67,000 per hour. Assuming that people work for 40 hours a week, the city’s residents get at least Rp 10.7 million per month. In contrast, Indonesia’s highest minimum wage is Jakarta’s Rp 3.6 million.

Ticket prices for a number of sports are priced higher in this year’s Asian Games than those for the 2014 Games in Incheon, including for badminton, soccer, basketball, hockey, equestrian, canoeing, track cycling, softball, squash and wushu.

Yuni, 24, from Tebet, South Jakarta, said that ticket prices for the Games’ opening ceremony were absurdly expensive. “I had planned to watch the opening ceremony. However, after I found out how expensive the tickets are, I cancelled the plan,” Yuni said.

ANTARA FOTO/WAHYU PUTRO A/

Technical introduction for the 2018 Asian Games’ official photographers takes place at the Aquatic Venue at the Gelora Bung Karno area, Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday (10/7/2018). Antara news agency as the official media of the 2018 Asian Games event is ready to ensure the success of the Asian sports competition.

In the 2014 Games in Incheon, the opening ceremony and many sports matches could not attract visitors. Reports from the Arirang media network said that tickets were sold out in only 10 of the 36 sports.

Inasgoc director of ticketing Sarman Simanjorang said he was looking for solutions to the problem. Despite having finalized ticket prices, Inasgoc is open to the possibility of offering free admission to unpopular sports. Inasgoc will also provide Jakarta students with free tickets. Some 20 percent of all tickets will be allocated for students.

Lack of integration

Apart from the high prices, Asian Games ticket sales are not yet integrated with tour packages in Indonesia. Players in tourism in Palembang said that they were worried that such a lack of integration would make it hard for travelers to arrange their travel plans in Indonesia during the Asian Games.

The head of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies’ (Asita) South Sumatra branch, Anton Wahyudi, said that there had yet to be any cooperation between the association and the Asian Games ticket provider. He said he believed that integrating Asian Games tickets with travel packages would make things easier for travelers – this way, travelers would not need to purchase separate tickets for tourist destinations.

Indonesian Hotels and Restaurants Association (PHRI) chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani said he did not know how many international sports fans would visit Indonesia to watch the Games. “The organizing committee has yet to provide us with information on what countries supporters are coming from and which sports they will watch,” he said.

ANTARA FOTO/MUHAMMAD ADIMAJA

Men’s water polo teams from Indonesia and Serbia conduct a joint training session at the Aquatic Stadium, Gelora Bung Karno complex, in Senayan, Jakarta, Tuesday (10/7/2018). The joint training session was held in preparation for the upcoming 2018 Asian Games.

This makes things difficult for travel businesses to earn a profit from the Games, despite the numerous requests for combined packages of Asian Games and tours from partner businesses in Malaysia, China and Japan.

Organization

These problems have created doubts over the Games’ overall organization. The Inasgoc revenue directorate’s deputy of administrative affairs at the Games, Hasani Abdulgani, said that organizing the event could not be seen as similar to setting up a shop to sell products.

He said that the money disbursed to build Asian Games infrastructure was not comparable to the amount in revenues from sponsors, tickets and souvenirs; however, Indonesia could gain international recognition from the Games, as a successfully organized event would boost Indonesia’s reputation and potentially attract foreign travelers and investors.

The government has allocated Rp 5.2 trillion (US$361.6 million) from the state budget for the Asian Games, including to build sports venues, organize the areas surrounding the venues and build public transportation.

Asian Games revenue from 43 sponsors has reached Rp 1.6 trillion, comprising Rp 780 billion in cash and Rp 869 billion in goods and services. Inasgoc looks to obtain Rp 50 billion from ticket sales and Rp 15 billion from souvenirs.

Apart from these problems, promotion efforts have yet to bore fruit across the country. In many parts of the capital, the Games are only promoted using plastic banners hung on trees by the road.

(KEL/RAM/DRI/IRE/HLN/DEA/NDY)