Spotnana and Cleartrip partnership takes off in India
Spotnana has partnered with Cleartrip to expand its travel content offerings in India, giving customers direct access to low-cost carriers such as IndiGo, Air India Express, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air. Through an API integration, Spotnana now enables multi-source airline bookings, allowing travellers and agents to build single itineraries that combine flights from Cleartrip and other providers. “India is one of the fastest-growing travel markets in the world,” said Sarosh Waghmar, Founder and Chief Product Officer at Spotnana. “By partnering with Cleartrip, we can deliver extensive travel content in India to meet the rising demand for domestic offerings.”
This integration supports the travel experience with negotiated rates, ancillary services, self-service cancellations, and GST compliance. Cleartrip’s Chief Business and Growth Officer, Anuj Rathi, emphasized that both companies are dedicated to offering “convenience, choice, competitive prices, and premium content to all travellers.”
PKFARE teams with HyperGuest to unlock 38,000 hotels
PKFARE has partnered with HyperGuest to expand its direct-contract hotel operations and boost its global inventory. Through this collaboration, PKFARE gains access to over 38,000 hotels via HyperGuest’s network, streamlining bookings and offering clients more choices and competitive pricing. HyperGuest’s CEO, Nir Yaron, emphasised the impact of this partnership, stating, “We’re thrilled to empower PKFARE’s operational excellence in hotel distribution. As our collaboration deepens, we foresee extraordinary growth and an elevated booking experience for PKFARE and its global partners.”
With HyperGuest’s technology, PKFARE can retrieve dynamic rates and monitor transaction data for greater transparency and efficiency. The company has already seen a 350% expansion in its direct-contract hotel portfolio, leading to a 450% increase in GMV across Southeast Asia. “Partnering with HyperGuest is more than just a technological enhancement – it’s a strategic move to future-proof our growth,” said Jason Sui, Co-Founder and Senior Vice President of PKFARE.
Southeast Asia’s travel market hits $73B as young travellers transition to AI bookings
According to Phocuswright’s latest research report Southeast Asia Travel Market Report 2023-2027, Southeast Asia’s travel market is on track to hit $73 billion in bookings by 2027, driven by rapid mobile adoption and AI-powered trip planning. Online penetration is set to increase from 62% in 2023 to 74% in 2027, with young travelers leading the shift toward AI concierge apps and crypto payments. The data highlights that “on-demand is everything,” as digital-native consumers expect fast, personalised booking experiences influenced by lifestyle super apps. Online gross travel bookings are forecast to surpass $50 billion in 2026 and exceed $54 billion by 2027, reflecting the region’s evolving travel distribution landscape.
Mobile-driven innovation, inspired by Chinese consumer technology, is accelerating the transition to cashless transactions and AI-powered decision-making. By 2026, mobile will account for over 50% of online travel bookings. Generative AI tools are also reshaping how young travellers discover and book trips, demanding seamless, touchless payment options. Travel suppliers are adapting to this shift, ensuring that on-demand bookers expect high-quality service, including fast, touchless transactions across the platforms they already use daily.
Access the full report here.
TikTok or YouTube? The most popular social media apps in Southeast Asia
Social media plays a dominant role in Southeast Asia, with 61.5% of the population actively engaged across multiple platforms, surpassing global averages, according to the latest Digital 2025 report by We Are Social and Meltwater.
The Philippines leads in daily usage, with users spending an average of 3 hours and 32 minutes on social media and nearly half (48.3%) watching influencer content weekly. Indonesia is also highly engaged, with 42.6% of total online activity driven by social media, and TikTok standing out as a favorite—Indonesians spend nearly 45 hours per month on the app. Malaysia follows closely with over 42 hours per month on TikTok, while Thailand ranks as YouTube’s second-most engaged market globally. Meanwhile, Singapore leads in Reddit usage, averaging nearly 4 hours per month.
Beyond entertainment, the report also points out that social media serves as a key news and brand discovery source, with over a third of Southeast Asians relying on it for news updates. YouTube remains the region’s most-used platform, boasting a user base 16% larger than WhatsApp, while Instagram leads in brand research at 62.3%, followed by Facebook (52.5%) and TikTok (51.5%). The report also highlights the rapid rise of ChatGPT, which averaged over 250 million monthly active users between September and November 2024, ranking eighth globally in app downloads. With 310 million unique visitors and 3.5 billion visits, AI-driven engagement continues to grow alongside social media trends.
(via Travel Weekly Asia)
