KOTA KINABALU: A total of 100,000 visitors are expected to visit Logos Hope, the world’s largest floating book fair that will soon arrive in the city with its international crew.
“The floating book fair is now returning to the city with a new ship that had only been in service for two years and which is also equipped with an air-conditioned deck,” said its project coordinator, Marcel Friess.
He said the ship would be open to the public from November 18 to allow visitors to meet crew members and to purchase books.
The ship’s 400 crew members are volunteers from over 45 countries who left behind families, jobs, and the security of their homes. The crew offers a unique example of unity in cultural diversity.
Logos Hope offers an expanded selection of books of over 5,000 titles at affordable prices. It covers a range of subjects including science, sports, hobbies, and family life. With children’s titles, academic texts, dictionaries, atlases and more, the book fair is something the whole family can enjoy.
“The rest of the ‘Visitor Experience’ deck is also open for the public to explore. From the welcome area, which introduces the new vessel through a short movie and interactive displays, to the International Cafe with ice cream, drinks and snacks for sale; there is sure to be something for everyone,” said Friess.
According to him, Logos Hope would be open to the public in Kota Kinabalu Port from November 18 until December 11.
With an entrance pass of RM1, the people in the city can come and bring along their children to visit this floating book fair. No entrance fee for children under 12-year-old, but they must be accompanied by an adult.
The ship is open from 10 am till 10 pm on Tuesdays to Saturdays and from 1 pm to 10 pm on Sundays. It will be closed on Monday, November 21, December 5 as well as on Tuesday, November 29.
Logos Hope is operated by GBA Ships e.V., an international, charitable organization registered in Germany. In almost 40 years of service, the organization has welcomed 40 million visitors up the gangways in over 160 countries and territories around the world. The ship is hosted in Malaysia by NECF Malaysia.
Friess said this is the first ever visit of Logos Hope to Malaysia. After docking in Penang, Port Klang and Kuching, Sabah is the last stop for Logos Hope in Malaysia before heading to its next stop in Singapore and then to the Philippines.
The previous ship, Doulos, paid 36 port visits to Malaysia from 1990 till 2009.
When asked on competition from online books, group leader Steven Kregel, a volunteer from Netherlands, said he did not see it as a challenge as people are always buying books. It is proven by the huge number of visitors who came to the book fair.
Based on record, the dock in Penang showed the highest number of visitors with 121 203, followed by Port Klang with 92, 528 visitors, and in Kuching the number of visitors up till November 10 was 86,000.
Steven said out of 400 crew members, only five of them are Malaysian.
For this four-week long book fair, Logos Hope will be assisted by 30 to 40 volunteers from the local people in the city.