From Bengkulu to Traveloka: How Caesar Indra is fulfilling his dream of “making the developing world better”
“Local is our DNA, so is DIY,” he says, but can that playbook scale as Traveloka expands
When I asked Caesar Indra how a kid growing up in Bengkulu, a small mountain village on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia ended up being president of Traveloka, Indonesia’s poster child of online travel, h [...]
Cruise chiefs hail comeback, urge travel agents to embrace digital – it’s now or never
CRUISING is back – with Cruise World Asia 2022 held in-person in Singapore for the first time in three years – and cruise chiefs in Asia urged their travel agent customers to embrace digital, given the acceleration in digital consumer behaviour during the pandemic.
This shift to online is hap [...]
Rakuten’s domestic strength will hold it steady as Japan reopens
Supply gap, shift to online and cashless among changes sweeping through Japan’s travel market
Rakuten Travel strengthened its hold in the domestic market through the pandemic, increasing its share of domestic travel nights per month from around 15-16% to 20% in 2022, and that consolidation shoul [...]
Follow mummy’s advice, work with OTAs and embrace new economy asset class: Miguel Ko on the future of hospitality
Amid the bad news, investors pick bright spots – Japan leads the way
Hoteliers who follow their mother’s advice “to share”, learn to embrace the “new economy asset classes” and learn to work with OTAs are the ones who will win in the new world of hospitality, said Miguel Ko, chairman of [...]
A knotty challenge in Cempedak (and elsewhere): Massaging tech into touch
Key learnings from WiT Singapore 2022 and their impact on talent and local communities
EVEN the heavy downpour could not dampen my excitement at returning to the private island of Cempedak, three years since my last visit. I wondered what the all-bamboo, adults-only resort would look [...]
Travel is back, Asia’s rising, here’s what to watch out for in the new world
TRAVEL is back and so is Asia – was the resounding sentiment at WiT Singapore 2022, which gathered more than 400 delegates from close to 30 countries in the first physical reunion of the online travel industry in Asia Pacific in three years.
With the theme of “Hello, New World”, the more th [...]
Traveloka secures $300m financing from INA and other investors
TRAVELOKA has secured a financing facility of $300 million from Indonesia Investment Authority (INA), BlackRock (through a private credit fund it manages), Allianz Global Investors (through funds managed by them), Orion Capital Asia (through funds and accounts managed by them), and other leading glo [...]
Expedia launches Open World Accelerator Programme
Expedia Group has launched Open World™ Accelerator, an initiative that builds on its Open World vision to power partners of all sizes with the technology and supply needed to thrive in the travel market.
This new initiative is designed to advance innovation in the travel industry, by supporting [...]
Klook sees surges in searches, bookings amid second wave of Asia reopening
New platform features, lots of deals and the return of TravelFest as it turns 8
TRAVEL and experiences platform, Klook reports seeing accelerated cross-border travel growth in Asia/Pacific with one of its strongest quarters (over 300% QoQ growth) as it celebrates its eighth anniversary.
It says [...]
Web3 will disrupt payments but 2C2P is prepared to face the future
“What we see now is not what it will be; it will be good for consumers,” says founder Aung
AUNG Kyaw Moe, founder and CEO, 2C2P is well aware that Web3 could disrupt his 19-year-old B2B payments business but like the entrepreneur and survivor that he is, he’s facing it head-on because he beli [...]
