Makassar International Festival Attracts Nearly 1.3 Million Visitors
Jakarta. The 2017 Makassar International Eight Festival and Forum attracted nearly 1.3 million visitors, exceeding the 1-million target, the Ministry of Tourism said in a statement on Wednesday (13/09).
Makassar Tourism Agency head Rusmayani Madjid, who is also chairman of the festival organizing committee, said exactly 1,286,598 people attended the four-day festival in the South Sulawesi provincial capital.
"The number exceeded the target, which was only 1 million; our calculation is based on the count at every gate at the venue," Rusmayani said.
The festival also created a buzz with photos and videos of the event, under the hashtag #MakassarEightFestival, trending on social media.
The South Sulawesi chapter of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) reported that 38 hotels, which are PHRI members, were fully occupied by performers at the event and tourists from across the archipelago.
"The festival deserves to become an annual event […] Hotels, restaurants, street vendors and souvenir shops were all positively impacted by the event," said Adi Rasyid Ali, deputy chairman of the Makassar Regional Legislative Council.
Total transactions worth Rp 7,6 billion ($573,000) were recorded during the festival, compared with last year's Rp 5 billion.
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