During his visit to the Kauman batik village to commemorate National Batik Day on Saturday, Mayor Raka pointed to the urgent need for improving road access to the batik village.
"Kauman batik village infrastructure should be improved, and we should repair the damaged road as it is the main access to the village," he stated.
The mayor is committed to allocating a portion of the municipal budget for the batik village's improvement in the next budget year.
Besides improving road access to Kauman batik village, Mayor Raka also proposed to designate several points on the Slamet Riyadi Road, the city square, and the Vastenburg Fort, as parking centers for tourists.
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"Once tourists park their car at the designated spot, they could use a cycle rickshaw or electric shuttle bus we have prepared to go to the batik village. Our main concept for the batik village development is to allow the tourists to roam freely on foot while shopping for batik or enjoying foods there," he said.
Meanwhile, head of the Kauman Batik Tourism Village Association, Gunawan Setiawan, expressed his appreciation for the municipal government's support for the batik village.
"We also have discussed many things with the mayor, and we are optimistic Surakarta's economy will recover in no time," he said.
According to Setiawan, the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected business activities at the Kauman batik village, as sale and attendance rates declined significantly.
"Nowadays, most tourists only take photos and selfies at the batik village, and our daily transaction value is only in the Rp500 thousand–Rp1 million (around US$35–70) range," Setiawan said.
To mitigate the decline in offline sales, around 40 remaining batik entrepreneurs at the village have decided to use the online marketplace, he added.
"We are very appreciative towards the Kauman batik village teenagers assisting us to promote our products in the online marketplace," he remarked.
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Translator: Aris Wasita, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Suharto
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