Garuda Indonesia encourages travelers to go digital.
The national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia returns with the second phase of its biannual travel fair (GATF) slated to run until Sunday.
Targeting 80,000 visitors, the event is being held simultaneously in 18 regions, including in Jakarta, Bandung, Surakarta, Semarang, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Makassar, Pontianak, Balikpapan, Banjarmasin, Denpasar, Medan, Pekanbaru, Batam, Manado, Biak and Jayapura. Among the participants are 45 travel agents, 11 hotel groups, five national tourism organizations, three tourism attractions and six travel equipment companies.
The fair offers various promotions, such as 80 percent off during Happy Hour, best deal programs, cashback and a Twitter photo competition.
Having commenced on Friday, visitors were seen lining up in front of the Jakarta venue, the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), in Senayan prior to the opening. The Jakarta Post saw them enthusiastically enter the exhibition hall once the gate opened.
(Read also: Garuda Indonesia offers more access to reach East Nusa Tenggara)
Themed "Digital Experience", GATF aims to educate travelers on planning and booking their journey using Garuda Indonesia's mobile app and website. The airline is also sponsoring bloggers and vloggers to travel to eight out of 10 priority tourist destinations, which include Lake Toba in North Sumatra, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara and Tanjung Kelayang on Belitung Island. "Social media is supported by bloggers, therefore are giving them the opportunity to explore the destinations," Garuda Indonesia president director M. Arif Wibowo told a press conference in JCC on Friday.
Meanwhile, Tourism Ministry Arief Yahya hopes to see the next GATF on a digital platform. "The more digital, the more global," Arief reasoned, adding that an online travel fair would be more affordable as well as easier to hold. It will also provide extra benefits as it can be accessed from around the world and will help attract foreign tourists to visit the country.
"Obviously, GATF is good for business. However, we need to make sure the inbound [tourism] is greater than the outbound," he said. (kes)
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