THOUSANDS of people continued to flock to the International Convention Centre (ICC) yesterday as the Sultanate's favourite annual event, the ninth Consumer Fair (CF9), entered into its third day.

Amassing more than 50,000 visitors over the past three days, The Brunei Times visited the exhibitional event yesterday and spoke with some members of the public to gain better insight into their attraction towards the consumer craze.

"I think it's the excitement of going somewhere other than the usual places like Gadong and Kiulap," said 23-year-old Izzad Yussof who was there on the account of having most of his free time on Fridays.

He said that when he attended the previous consumer fairs, it was more towards looking at the products and displays but not purchasing despite the affordability.

"I understand why Bruneians come and buy here since prices are low," he said.

"But for me, I'm here to buy food. I love the (goods) local home bakeries come up with like cupcakes, brownies and all that."

Izzad added that he was more than happy to walk home with a few purchases comprising small delicacies.

Another visitor, Nazirah Wahidzuddin, was there to exercise her purchasing power and look for bargains.

"We always come to the consumer fair for the electronic goods especially since I have been saving up to buy a new television set," said Nazirah.

The 28-year-old said that it was also a good opportunity for her to bring her nephew to the fair for its many attractions especially catered to children such as the House of Snakes, the kiddie rides brought in by Uni Arcade and the Kids World theme park.

One of the notable highlights of the fair was the chance to participate in the Red Bull "Win-A-Car" lucky draw which drew a huge crowd of visitors including Nurul Syafina Reza.

"There are quite a lot of people wanting to win the car but I'm more interested to participate in the Monkey Run obstacle race where we can win $1,500 and also represent Brunei in the regional Grand Final in Penang, Malaysia this July," she said.

Twenty-four-year-old Aziya Khair stated that she just wanted to buy some accessories to decorate her room and try out the food at the expo.

"I was surprised to see that there were a lot of food businesses in Brunei (participating in the fair) especially since most were quite tasty. The fair has a wide range of products to offer to people of all ages," said Aziya.

The ongoing Consumer Fair Part 9, which opens from 10am to 10pm, will come to a close this Sunday. Organisers are expecting to surpass the 100,000 visitors mark over the five-day operation at ICC, Berakas.

The Brunei Times