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ational flag carrier Garuda Indonesia says that despite the current economic turbulence its business is on the up and up.

Garuda Indonesia commercial director Handayani said on Tuesday that the airline saw demand for flights take off during the first eight months of the year amid the fluctuating rupiah and sluggish economy.

'€œDuring a cooling economy, people usually choose to travel either to seek new business opportunities or simply to relax,'€ she told a press briefing in Central Jakarta.

She added that as of June, her firm booked more than 13 million passengers, or 19.15 percent higher year-on-year. The company expects to welcome aboard around 25 million passengers by year-end. Last year, Garuda Indonesia carried around 21.5 million passengers.

Handayani also stated that Garuda Indonesia group'€™s market share in Indonesia, which includes that of low-cost arm Citilink, also expanded to 44 percent as of June, up from last year'€™s 38 percent.

Around 45 percent of its sales volume came from international routes, with countries that require no visas for Indonesians, such as Southeast Asian countries and Japan, being the favorite destinations.

The recent Visa Global Travel Intentions Study 2015 found that Japan had gained popularity among Indonesian travelers. Around 21 percent of 501 respondents surveyed in January-February this year planned to visit Japan, compared with only 9 percent in 2013.

Last year, the East Asian country exempted visa requirements for Indonesians visiting the country.

On June 9, President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo issued a regulation allowing foreigners from 30 countries, including Japan, to enter Indonesia, at specific immigration check points, without visas.

'€œThe government visa-exemption policy is a chance to increase inbound traffic,'€ Handayani said, adding that to boost outbound flights, her company held the biannual Garuda Indonesia Travel Fair (GATF), the country'€™s biggest travel fair.

This year'€™s second GATF is slated to be held in 12 cities nationwide. The fairs will kick off on Sept. 25-27 in Jakarta; Bandung, West Java; and Makassar, South Sulawesi.

They will also be held on Oct. 2-4 in Medan, North Sumatra; Palembang, South Sumatra; Denpasar, Bali; Yogyakarta and Semarang in Central Java; Surabaya, East Java; Balikpapan, East Kalimantan; Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi; and Jayapura in Papua.

Garuda Indonesia expected to welcome 72,000 visitors and take in around Rp 150 billion (US$10.33 million) from the fairs, with Rp 138 billion of this expected to be reaped in Jakarta alone, said Handayani.

The fair'€™s first phase, which took place in April, booked sales of Rp 107 billion and attracted 48,000 visitors.

In the upcoming GATF, Garuda Indonesia will team up with state lenders Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) and Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI). '€œThe cooperation is a form of state-owned enterprises synergy to anticipate global competition in the respective industries,'€ said BNI customer management and marketing division general manager Grace Pong Samma.

The lender expects to book transactions worth Rp 84 billion through its electronic data capture (EDC) machines during the event comprising credit card transactions amounting to Rp 50 billion, debit card transactions of Rp 7 billion and other lenders'€™ cards amounting to Rp 27 billion.

BRI, which is joining the fair for the first time, expects to book Rp 25 billion to 30 billion in transactions.

'€œ[Joining the GATF] is a part of our business development to tap deeper into consumer banking and the urban market despite our image as a micro-banking lender,'€ said BRI marketing communication executive vice president Firman Taufick. (prm)