At least, these are some of the findings of a survey conducted by travel start-upValadoo.com, described as its founders as a one-stop tour and activity deal provider.

The Indonesia Holiday Travel Survey 2011 was conducted on the Valadoo Facebook fan page. Based on 521 respondents, with the majority single and between the ages of 20 and 30, the survey was aimed at understanding “how urban people in Indonesia, especially the so-called growing middle class, behave towards offering in travel via online media”, said founder Jakarespati Wiradisuria.

Respondents cited ease of use and simplicity as the main reason why they would choose an online shopping website over another. Up to 34% said they made online purchases twice a month with the most common method of payment being ATM machine/bank transfer, followed by Internet banking.

In terms of overseas destinations, the top five spots were Japan, Paris, Thailand, Maldives and Greece with 47% saying they go on at least one annual long holiday (more than three days) and 59% saying they spent between US$100 and US$500 during their holiday.

Said Jakarespati, “Among other findings, one that caught our attention in the Long Holiday section is how people perceive the importance of knowing What-to-do (Recreation & activities) slightly higher, if not on par, with place-to-stay (Accommodation).

“In the Weekend Getaway section, one that caught our attention is the average spending of the prospectus customers where more than 60% said that their average expenditure is below IDR 1million (app. $100/person), which implies low budget travel and activities deal are much preferred than premium ones.”

(See survey here)

Valadoo was launched in August 2010 with the initial idea of a Group Buying model like Groupon and Living Social. After a while, the founders adjusted the model to the current business of providing travel deals focused around Vacation, Leisure, Activity & Destinations.

Jakarespati said the shift was triggered by the rise in demand of a growing Indonesian middle class for travel and the influence of an early investor, Royalindo Expoduta, a strong player in the MICE and travel industry.

“The pain we are trying to solve is to tackle the difficulties of most Indonesian urban people in getting accessible and affordable Weekend Getaway deals around the city (for short holiday over the weekend); not to mention that, as a one-stop tour & activity deal provider, we also exist to provide Holiday Tour for longer trips, mostly during holiday season or long weekends.”

Royalindo Expoduta has since exited and the company is starting a strategic partnership with “a prominent regional e-commerce player focused on travel” which he declined to name.

There are three partners behind the venture – himself, Aris Suryamasand Bondan Herumurti 

Usage on the site shows most customers are searching for Weekend Getaways around the city, for example, Mongolian Highland camp in Bogor (around 1-2 hours road trip from Jakarta) and Caldera rafting in Sukabumi (water sport destination located near Jakarta or Bandung).

For 2012, the company plans to put more focus on brand activation, exposure and member acquisition.

With the Indonesian online travel market becoming more active – recently two start-ups entered the market (Raja Kamar and KAHA), Jakarespati said that while Valadoo’s strength would also be in content like its two competitors, it has a different target.

“While RajaKamar and KAHA (via GoIndonesia.com) seems to put more strength on hotel rooms, we put more focus on Tour & Activities. As we learned a lot from Jetsetter.com that provides customers with intensive and comprehensive information about the destination, we put guidance and detailed insight on what-we-love about the destination, what-to-do and where-to-go as our Unique Value Proposition.

“We work together with experienced travel consultants and travel writers to deliver good content/editorial to give the best to our customers.”