"Airplane passengers no longer required to wear masks will certainly boost interest in traveling," Garuda Indonesia's Director of Service and Commerce Ade R. Susardi stated here on Monday.
Susardi opened the 2023 SOTF in Yogyakarta that was attended by several officials from Bank Mandiri and Yogyakarta tourism industry players.
Susardi said that his side held the SOTF before the school holiday period, as the demand for travel is higher.
"We hold this in the momentum (of the school holiday period), so people can schedule their trips with Garuda," he remarked.
Susardi said that his side had prepared all facilities and infrastructure to ensure the success of the promotional event.
"People can buy tickets at promoted prices at all Garuda travel agents throughout the region, and we are targeting Rp50 billion (US$3.3 million) of transactions," he stated.
The promotions offered by Garuda are roundtrip tickets from Jakarta to several popular destinations in the country and abroad.
For instance, a Jakarta-Singapore roundtrip ticket is priced at Rp3.2 million, while Jakarta-Tokyo roundtrip ticket costs Rp12.3 million.
Senior Executive Vice President Micro and Consumer Finance of Bank Mandiri, Josephus K. Triprakorso, said that his side supports the 2023 SOTF to bolster the tourism industry.
"This is a form of Bank Mandiri's support to develop tourism and to make it easier for Bank Mandiri customers in transacting and get discounts and cashback," he revealed.
Chairman of the Indonesian Tourism Industry Association (GIPI) - Yogyakarta, Bobby Ardyanto Setyo Ajie, said his side supports the SOTF event as it will increase domestic tourist visits, including to Yogyakarta.
"Yogyakarta has many interesting tourist attractions and tourism villages that are worthy of being visited by domestic and foreign tourists," he stated.
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Translator: Ahmad W, Kenzu
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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