Makassar's F8 Festival Drives Tourism with Culture and Community Activities

KBRN, Jakarta: The 2025 Makassar International Eight Festival & Forum (F8) is emerging as an attractive event for visitors, thanks to its focus on showcasing cultural beauty and lively community activities.

"In addition to showcasing the beauty of national culture, art, and culinary traditions, F8 is also a key driver for tourism in eastern Indonesia. All the factors that encourage tourists to attend are brought together in a single event," said Deputy Minister of Tourisme, Ni Luh in her statement, issued in Jakarta, on Friday, September 26, 2025, as quoted by antaranews.com.

Speaking at the opening of the F8 event with the theme Funtastic Eight in Makassar on Wednesday, September 24, 2025, Ni Luh said the festival returns as a meeting place for art, culture, and creative industries. It brings together eight subsectors: culinary, fashion, music, film, fine arts, literature, performing arts, and flora and fauna.

The festival, which is one of the top 10 events in the Nusantara's Charismatic Events (KEN) program, is being held in the Trans Studio Mall Makassar parking area until September 28, 2025. The F8 2025 program features a lineup of popular events. In music, visitors are treated to performances by Andra and The Backbone, Piche Kota, Rony Parulian, Geisha, and Dikta Wicaksono, in addition to other local musicians and bands.

Collaborations with the Indonesian Fashion Designers and Entrepreneurs Association (APPMI) and the Indonesia Fashion Chamber (IFC) Makassar presents a special-themed fashion show. The culinary zone features 63 curated booths from various vendors, with a total of 91 participants, 60 of whom are from the culinary industry.

A variety of cultural performances and community activities also liven up the festival. Ni Luh expressed her hope that the F8 festival will continue to innovate, grow, and elevate tourism, especially in the three priority segments of the Ministry of Tourism: marine, wellness, and gastronomy tourism. She noted that last year's F8 festival attracted 482,893 visitors over five days.

The event also involved 4,832 artists, 165 MSMEs, 48 communities, and 1,584 workers, with a total transaction value of IDR 29.8 billion.

"Events are not just celebrations, but platforms for creating jobs and new economic opportunities. For this reason, we continue to encourage every province to present the best events based on our nation's culture," she concluded.

The Ministry of Tourism uses events as a key strategy to mobilize tourists. Through the Event by Indonesia program, the KEN program curates events from various regions. Throughout 2024, the Ministry of Tourism supported 109 events in 38 provinces, attracting 8.4 million domestic and foreign tourists and generating an economic turnover of IDR 13.57 trillion (809.559.604 USD).

That program involved thousands of MSMEs, artists, communities, and event workers, with an average increase in turnover of 67% for businesses. As of September 22, 2025, 69 KEN events have been recorded, attracting 9.55 million visitors, generating IDR 700.29 billion (41.774.439 USD) in transactions, involving 10,657 MSMEs, and creating jobs for 81,311 art workers. ***