JAKARTA. The first phase of the Garuda Indonesia Travel Fair (GATF) recorded Rp 457 billion (US$ 34.2 million) in transactions, surpassing the Rp 380 billion target.

The annual travel fair was held from March 10 to 12 in 24 cities across the country by national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.

Transactions were mostly for trips to Jakarta, Lombok, East Nusa Tenggara and Denpasar, Bali.

"We hope the next [phase] of GATF this year will be even more successful," Garuda Indonesia VP corporate communications Benny S. Butarbutar said in an official statement, adding that the success reflected the high demand for reasonably priced airline tickets.

Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo were popular international destinations, while Denpasar, Yogyakarta and Surabaya took the crown for domestic destinations.

Garuda sold promotional tickets at the event, with Jakarta-Singapore return tickets selling for Rp 400,000. (bbn)

Editor: Sanny Cicilia