At WiT Japan & North Asia 2025, Caesar Indra, President of Traveloka, took to the stage with the calm confidence of a man who’s weathered many storms, seen the travel tech tides shift and lived to tell the tale. Thirteen years after joining Traveloka to build its flight product, Caesar is now steering Southeast Asia’s leading travel platform into new territory, all while keeping one foot grounded in the region’s reality.
“If you use history as a mirror, you can understand the rise and fall of things,” moderator Yeoh Siew Hoon (Founder, WiT) reminded the audience. Caesar’s early memories reflect that ethos: a scrappy startup team fighting for access in a traditional industry that initially dismissed them as “just kids.” But persistence paid off.
“Nothing is ever given. If we want things to happen, we need to plan it, execute it, and keep showing up,” Caesar said.
The epic of Traveloka
From its roots solving a simple but painful problem – how to book a flight in Indonesia without getting overcharged – Traveloka has grown into a regional powerhouse, recently launching its “Epic Sale” campaign in Japan and Australia.
The surprise? Domestic travel in Japan performed just as strongly as outbound.
“We expected international bookings, but saw a good balance with domestic Japan travel,” said Caesar. “That tells us we’re starting to resonate.”
He attributes part of this success to the new behaviours driven by social media. The era of travel “trends” has given way to travel “fads” – short-lived but high-impact waves of interest sparked by viral videos or influencer posts.
“Destinations like Sapa in Vietnam or Chongqing in China suddenly become hotspots. We have to respond fast,” he noted.
“My daughter’s been using ChatGPT since she was 13. For her, chat is a natural interface. That’s how travel booking will evolve, chat-based, voice-led, and invisible.,” said Caesar Indra, President of Traveloka (Right), in a session moderated by Yeoh Siew Hoon (Founder, WiT)
How it stays true to being local
Despite the regional expansion, Caesar remains committed to what he calls “deep localisation”.
Japan is a case in point. While the Traveloka brand may still be unfamiliar to Japanese travellers, the company has taken a respectful, ground-up approach – building local partnerships, integrating with payment systems like JCB, offering Japanese-language customer service, and collaborating with JETRO and JNTO to understand the market’s nuances.
“Being local means unlearning what we know and relearning what the Japanese customer needs,” he said. “We position ourselves as a gateway to Southeast Asia, but we must also earn trust here.”
Next gen, next moves
When asked what the younger generation of travellers is teaching him, Caesar didn’t hesitate.
“They’re impatient and they want everything to work seamlessly.”
To meet that demand, Traveloka has invested heavily in automation, with 90% of flight changes now handled through self-service, and 75% of customer issues resolved by its AI-powered chatbot. AI isn’t just a buzzword at Traveloka, it’s operational muscle.
He’s also watching how Gen Z (and soon, Gen Alpha) interacts with tech: “My daughter’s been using ChatGPT since she was 13. For her, chat is a natural interface. That’s how travel booking will evolve, chat-based, voice-led, and invisible.”
And while social commerce is still “not mainstream yet”, Traveloka is experimenting with bookable experiences driven by creators and reels.
From growth-at-all-costs to focus and profitability
The pandemic marked a turning point for Traveloka’s mindset. Once driven by “growth at all costs,” the company now pursues profitable growth, investing in automation and being more selective about capital allocation.
“COVID taught us to grow efficiently, allocate capital better, and focus on things that matter.”
The result? Traveloka has been profitable for the past couple of years and continues to grow in the double digits.
Long tail, big promise
Traveloka is doubling down on long-tail destinations and content, especially as the new generation demands more remote, off-the-beaten-path experiences.
“Alternative destinations are on the rise, and we’re responding by aggregating supply while ensuring quality. Presenting products is easy – delivering good ones isn’t.”
A travel concierge, not just an app
So, what’s next? If Caesar gets his wish, Traveloka will evolve into something that doesn’t even feel like an app.
“I hope Traveloka becomes a personal travel concierge, where planning, rebooking, and problem-solving happen invisibly behind the scenes.”
And what would Caesar be doing if he weren’t building the future of travel?
“I wanted to be a guitarist in a rock band,” he grinned. “Now, maybe an amateur chef.”
