TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - PT Garuda Indonesia has earned Rp223 billion at the Garuda Indonesia Travel Fair (GATF) which was held twice this year on April 11-13 and September 12-14 at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Jakarta.

Garuda Indonesia sales and marketing director Erik Meijer said the transaction value in the September's event is 115 percent higher than in April’s. "We recorded sales of Rp70.8 billion in April, while in September it is Rp152.2 billion," Meijer said.

The large transaction value is because people’s needs for holiday are high and going on vacation has become a lifedata-style.

Meijer said the sold promo tickets could be used a week after the event until June 2015. "Vacation at the end and beginning of the year is one of the reasons why the transaction value was large," he added.

GATF also facilitates people to obtain information about tourist attractions and supports the government in developing national tourism industry.

However, Meijer said people’s interest in domestic vacation was still low. "[It is] about 27 percent of the transaction value in September 2014." The rest 73 percent is for international flights.

The most favored destinations for domestic vacations are Palembang, Surabaya, Denpasar and Makassar. "[For international destinations], Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok are still favorites among Indonesians to go on holidays," said Erik.

HUSSEIN ABRI YUSUF