"Millennials prefer experiences rather than [material goods]," said Tourism Minister Arief Yahya at the opening of the Garuda Indonesia Travel Fair (GATF) 2018 on Friday.

Arief shared that in the past three years, the number of visitors to GATF had increased 30 percent and sales were up 100 percent, showing that people preferred leisure over material goods.

In response to the trend, Antara reported that the ministry is developing 100 digital destinations in 34 provinces across the archipelago.

These destinations are said to feature creative and picturesque spots that can be shared on social media.

Read also: Tourism Ministry to promote nomadic tourism in Indonesia

Prior to this, the Indonesian Charms Generation (GenPI), a community that promotes tourism on social media, had developed the Karetan Market in Semarang, Central Java; Pancingan Market in Mandalika, West Nusa Tenggara; Baba Boentjit Market in Palembang, South Sumatra and Siti Nurbaya Park in Padang, West Sumatra.

These markets not only showcased the area’s uniqueness, but also picturesque spots to visually attract visitors.

The digital destinations concept was among the ministry’s strategies to attract 17 million foreign tourists and 275 million domestic tourists in 2018. (jes/kes)

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