Rawa Bening Market Attracts Foreign Tourists

Besides local consumers, the Jakarta Gems Center or Pasar Rawa Bening, Jatinegara, East Jakarta is also in demand by foreign tourists. They usually hunt for agate, keris, and some accessories for souvenirs in their country.

Tourists who come generally from Japan, Korea, Australia, and Belgium

Rawa Bening Market Head, Subhan said the thematic market had been designated as a tourist destination by the Jakarta Creative Economy Tourism Agency (Parekraf).

According to him, many tourists who come to this market are looking for gemstones and kerises, which are heirlooms of the Indonesian nation's cultural heritage.

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"Tourists who come generally from Japan, Korea, Australia, and Belgium," he expressed, Tuesday (8/1).

Besides shopping for heirlooms, they also hunt for freshwater and seawater pearls, as well as gems such as Rubies, Sapphires, Topaz, Diamonds, Aqua Marin, and others.

After shopping, tourists usually like to spend time watching the activities of 30 stone craftsmen from the blocks on the ground floor making stone rings.

As for the information, in the Rawa Bening Market, there are currently 900 traders. They have 1,349 business premises spread across the five floors of the market