It’s indisputable; Indonesia is one of the world’s fastest growing emerging markets and nowhere is this more apparent than in the country’s enormous embrace of the online world.

A reported 50 million Indonesians are now proactively online, incorporating the internet into their daily lives, and this includes research and bookings for all their travel requirements. Indonesia’s increasing growth of their middle class and improving economy also means more people are travelling both domestically and internationally.

Here’s some data we’ve gathered at Wego Indonesia that give some insights into the behaviour of Indonesian travellers.

Domestic and regional destinations see biggest growth

Our figures show that traffic to Wego in Indonesia grew almost 180% in 2011, and 2012 has begun even stronger. When we examine destinations by flight search, regional destinations top the outbound list with Singapore (up 148%), Thailand (up 254%) and Hong Kong (up 228%), leading the way.

Most recently, the top 5 international destinations for Indonesians were:

1. Singapore
2. Malaysia
3. Thailand
4. Hong Kong
5. China

Domestic flights searches showed even stronger and quite incredible growth with Jakarta (up 850%), Bali (up 366%) and Surabaya (up 740%) as the destinations of choice. Jakarta, Bali and Surabaya have huge increases in visits.

There are a number of factors contributing to the growth in domestic flights searches. New airlines are entering the market and adding new routes. Low cost carries are introducing fares that make it more affordable for people to travel and encouraging users to go online to make their travel bookings.

Last minute decisions on domestic air travel

Approximately one third of Wego users search for flights within seven days of departure, 48 per cent within 14 days, and 64 per cent within 21 days, yet only 30 per cent of Indonesians search flights more than four weeks ahead of departure dates.

International flights are more likely to be searched further in advance with only 13 per cent of users selecting flights within 7 days, and 57 per cent of international flight searches for a date more than four weeks ahead of time.

Middle of the road hotels most popular

Both 3 and 4-star properties are the preferred option of Wego users travelling domestically with 26 and 27 per cent share of users respectively. These choices are reflected similarly internationally with 3-star accommodation capturing 23 per cent and 4-star stays at 25 per cent.

Indonesians are tending not to book accommodation too far in advance either with 94 per cent of domestic referrals within a week of travel dates, and 80 per cent internationally.

The real difference between domestic and international hotel bookings relates to cost. Domestically 30 per cent of users look for rooms between USD$25 and $50 per night with 78 per cent selecting rooms for under $100 per night.

The picture is a little different for overseas accommodation bookings where Indonesians are definitely spending more. Around 16 per cent of users search for rooms at more than $200 per night and 32 per cent look for rooms within a $100 to $200 price range.

This highlights that the middle class is starting to spend more on international travel.

With figures like these it’s clear that Indonesia is the market to watch. The number of travellers is increasing with people travelling more both locally and abroad.

Indonesians are becoming more comfortable researching their travel online and with more companies starting to offer locally accepted payment methods like bank transfer, more local people will be able to book online too. Indonesia is definitely moving!