Graham Hills

This trend is reflected in the growing number of Indonesian travel businesses partnering with Wego Indonesia, said its managing director Graham Hills.

“While Wego’s inventory includes diverse travel options globally, the continuing build of local content featuring familiar Indonesian brands resonates very effectively with our market.”

The company has also inked partnershop agreements with several local businesses that include Tiket.com, Ticktab.com, PegiPegi.com, Hoterip.com, Tiket2.com, Gonla.com (coming soon), as well as international hotel chain Swiss Belhotel.

Airlines are also moving into to capitalise on Indonesia’s online growth. One is Kuala Lumpur based hybrid airline, Malindo Air, which has signed a partnership agreement with Wego

“Malindo Air has advised of plans to fly into Bali and six other major Indonesian hubs from their base in Kuala Lumpur,” said Dean Wicks, Wego’s chief flights officer. “Middle Eastern carriers, Qatar Airways, Emirates, Eithad and Saudi, are also increasing their flight frequency to the country, which show. It’s clear to all that as both a source and feed destination Indonesia is leaping ahead.”

Currently Wego’s accommodation inventory in Indonesia consists of 10,720 properties. In the last six months 797 unique flight route searches were performed with booking leads valued at US$28.5 million, increasing 7.1% over the same period last year.

“New providers are offering local payment options such as bank transfers and internet banking, which have historically impacted the business given the low credit card penetration,” added Hills. “Wego Indonesia has been a valuable source for the country given our expansive global audience reach. Having said that, the quantity of domestic bookings is significant and outbound searches are up 90%”