Articles tagged “indonesia”

The online travel market in Southeast Asia is a promising market, a rapidly growing region with a digitally engaged and highly aspirational middle class that is currently underserved. The industry dynamics are ever-evolving with OTAs endeavoring to do things differently in order to maintain and grow their slice of the market.

The Southeast Asian online travel market is a crowded space. The industry players strive to strike a fine balance between creating the appropriate inventory mix, appealing prices and an easy-to-use interface with plenty of local offerings to distinguish themselves.

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and Hong Kong investor Richard Li are emerging as frontrunners with their Bridgetown Holdings venture to help this fast-growing travel startup finally list.

Traveloka is strengthening its local offerings with a potential public listing in its future, either through a traditional IPO or a red hot SPAC. The approach may be paying off as the company works to bolster its operations for a post-pandemic world, but how much more localization can the app offer?

Traveloka says that transactions are back to pre-crisis levels in Thailand and Vietnam, two of its key markets. The resumption of domestic tourism is a hopeful sign for the sector.

So the good news is Komodo Island won’t be closed. The bad news is a “membership” fee, which could be as high as $1,000, will be introduced. Indonesian authorities never cease to goof up on one of its most important tourism attractions.

A final, clear decision on whether Komodo Island or Komodo National Park will be closed must be made, and ample time given to businesses should it be a go. What a mess.

Without doubt, Indonesia is one economy in Southeast Asia that has made much progress. But its 2032 bid for the Olympics still comes as a surprise. While the event may force the country to build much-needed infrastructure, it may also break its bank. With poverty still widespread, that would be a shame and could backfire.

A sense of betrayal, conflict of interest, and constant changes at the global hotel chain all contributed to the breakup of Radisson Hotel Group’s joint venture with Panorama Group to expand Radisson brands in Indonesia. It seems to be a story on how not to do a partnership.

Grab’s partnership with Indonesia’s tourism ministry, the first of its kind between a national tourism body and a ridehailing platform, reveals one of the initial ways it is trying to become Southeast Asia’s super app for a plethora of travel services.