Traveloka

Traveloka
Company typePrivate
Industry
  • Travel
  • ticketing
FoundedFebruary 2012 in Jakarta, Indonesia[1]
Founders
  • Ferry Unardi
  • Albert
  • Derianto Kusuma
[2]
Headquarters
Singapore
Areas served
[3][4]
Key people
Ferry Unardi (CEO)
Caesar Indra (president)
[5]
Products
  • Online travel portal
  • ticket bookings
  • financial services
ParentTraveloka Holding Ltd[6]

Traveloka is an online travel platform established in 2012 in Jakarta, Indonesia,[7] and headquartered in Singapore.[8] It operates in multiple countries,[4] including Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines,[9] Vietnam,[10] Australia,[11] and Japan.[4] Since its founding, the company has raised capital from various investors, including East Ventures,[12] Global Founders Capital,[7] GIC, the Qatar Investment Authority,[13] and Expedia.[14]

History

Founding (2012–2013)

Traveloka was founded[15] in February 2012[4][7] by three Indonesian software engineers: Ferry Unardi, Albert, and Derianto Kusuma,[16] who met while studying and working[17] in the United States.[18] Motivated by the travel difficulties that Unardi frequently experienced when visiting Indonesia, they developed a platform to simplify travel logistics.[16] Traveloka was initially launched as a travel metasearch site in September 2012,[12] with Unardi as CEO and Kusuma as chief technology officer (CTO).[19][20] The website became a full online travel agency[21] in 2013,[12] offering ticket reservations[22] and multiple payment methods.[22]

Expansion (2014–2019)

In 2014,[12] Traveloka introduced hotel bookings[23] and launched apps for iOS and Android.[12] By the end of the year, the platform reported ten million monthly visitors.[17] In 2015, the US analytics firm comScore ranked Traveloka as Indonesia's number-one flight search and booking service.[24] By 2016, the company had established offices in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines,[9] and Vietnam.[10] During this time, the platform added new features, including train tickets, food services,[23] and attraction bookings.[25]

By 2017, Traveloka offered 100,000 accommodations and partnerships with around 100 airlines.[25] New features such as online check-ins and airport transfer services were introduced.[12] In 2017, an investment round valued Traveloka at over US$1 billion, making it a unicorn company.[26] Kusuma resigned as CTO in 2018.[27] In December 2018, the company acquired three online travel agencies, all former subsidiaries of the Japanese Recruit Holdings—for $67 million.[28] By 2019, Traveloka was the largest online travel startup in Southeast Asia,[29] alongside Gojek, Bukalapak, and Tokopedia.[30] That year, a survey of 1,204 Indonesian millennials showed that 79% used Traveloka regularly.[19]

In 2019, the company opened a research & development center in Bangalore, India.[31] That year,[32] the company also moved into financial services, introducing a credit card in partnership with Bank Rakyat Indonesia[29] and Bank Mandiri[33] and launching its PayLater card.[29] Also in 2019, Traveloka[34] debuted Traveloka Xperience,[13][29] a platform for booking lifestyle activities, and a shariah-compliant health insurance program, alongside FWD Group,[35] as well as other features.[36] The company also began collaborating with government agencies and tourism boards, including the Singapore Tourism Board[37] and the Indonesian Tourism Ministry, to promote regional travel and tourism.[11]

Pandemic (2020–2022)

The coronavirus pandemic in 2020 led to a surge in refund and rescheduling requests as well as substantial reimbursements.[38] With flight bookings dropping to essentially zero due to travel restrictions,[39] in April 2020, Traveloka laid off 100 staff members,[38] and over the next half-year, refunded around 150,000 flight tickets equating to $100 million.[40] In response to the situation at large, the company introduced flexible booking options,[39] including its "Buy Now, Stay Later" option,[27] bundling flights with COVID-19 tests,[41] and expanding its "online experiences" with features such as cooking classes.[27] It also launched the Traveloka Clean Partners campaign to align with government health and safety measures[42] and facilitated[43] vaccination bookings for over 600,000 people.[39] Demand for travel accommodation was recovering by October 2020, according to Traveloka,[40] and by the end of the year, the company's travel business had returned to profitability.[44]

After reports in February 2021 that Traveloka was considering an SPAC merger in the United States,[45][46] the company halted discussions of an initial public offering with Bridgetown Holdings in September 2021.[47] In 2021, Fast Company named Traveloka one of its 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators[48] in the international category.[49] In January 2022, Traveloka was valued at $3 billion.[50][51] The company streamlined its operations in 2022, discontinuing pandemic-specific ventures such as Traveloka Mart and Traveloka Eats.[52][53]

Recent (2023-2025)

A 2023 PricewaterhouseCoopers study estimated that Traveloka had contributed USD$10 billion in Gross Value Added to Indonesia's economy between 2019 and 2022. That included $4.5 billion from tourism, or 2.7% of the sector's GDP.[54] In 2023, the company added a carbon offset option and a "sustainable tourism" filter to its app.[54] Traveloka partnered with Disney Cruise Line in 2024,[55] and by 2025, it had expanded operations into Australia[11] and Japan.[56] The app is regarded as functionally similar to Expedia.[13]

Funding

See also

References

  1. ^ "A decade of Traveloka's transformation in growing together with its customers". Travel Daily News Asia-Pacific. 14 December 2022.
  2. ^ "A decade of innovations: Traveloka's journey, from metasearch to lifestyle superapp".
  3. ^ "Indonesia's Traveloka Looks to Raise over $200 Million". 9 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d "From Metasearch Engine to Lifestyle Superapp, a Decade of Traveloka's Transformation in Growing Together with its Customers". 2 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Accor partners with Traveloka to expand its global distribution footprint". Archived from the original on 29 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Traveloka Holding Ltd – Company Profile and News". Bloomberg News.
  7. ^ a b c d "Travel portal Traveloka is first investment by Samwer brothers in Asia". e27.co. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  8. ^ Indonesian unicorns see foreign takeovers, shift HQs to SG, TechinAsia, 4 June 2025, retrieved 8 July 2025{{citation}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  9. ^ a b Baziad, Masyitha (22 September 2016). "Indonesia's Traveloka Begins South-East Asian Voyage". Digital News Asia. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Expedia makes minority investment of $350 million in Traveloka". China Travel News. 28 July 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  11. ^ a b c "Traveloka expands to Australia". TTG Asia. 4 March 2019.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g "Traveloka: rise of a unicorn".
  13. ^ a b c d "In the top flight: Everything you need to know about Traveloka (Part 1 of 2)". KrASIA. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Expedia invests $350M in Traveloka to create Southeast Asia's newest unicorn".
  15. ^ "East Ventures backs ex-Silicon Valley engineer's travel startup". e27.co. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  16. ^ a b Karimuddin, Amir (29 October 2012). "Layanan Pencarian Tiket Pesawat Traveloka Masuki Tahap Public Beta". dailysocial.id (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  17. ^ a b "Jakarta: Ripe for a tech start-up take-off". Financial Times. 21 October 2014.
  18. ^ "Traveloka ad boost for social media". Bangkok Post.
  19. ^ a b "Top Tech Exec at Traveloka Instrumental in New Wave of Growth Dies". 31 July 2019.
  20. ^ Hutapea, Febriamy (8 February 2015). "Ainun Najib Bergabung dengan Traveloka" [Ainun Najib Joins Traveloka]. beritasatu.com (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  21. ^ "Traveloka bolstering Thai market with OTA strategy". Bangkok Post.
  22. ^ a b "Ferry Unardi's journey to the top of the online travel industry".
  23. ^ a b "Traveloka adds to travel apps". Bangkok Post. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  24. ^ a b "Why Traveloka could be Indonesia's first startup unicorn".
  25. ^ a b c "Indonesian travel site Traveloka to expand tourist attraction booking service". Reuters. 2 August 2017.
  26. ^ Amindoni, Ayomi (15 February 2018). "Ekonomi digital mulai moncer, ini dia daftar unicorn dari Indonesia" [The digital economy is starting to shine, here is a list of unicorns from Indonesia]. BBC News (in Indonesian).
  27. ^ a b c "In the top flight: Everything you need to know about Traveloka (Part 2 of 2)". KrASIA. 17 March 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  28. ^ Muskita, Putra (16 December 2018). "Traveloka has bought Indonesian rival Pegipegi, two others for US$66.8m". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  29. ^ a b c d Davies, Ed (31 October 2019). "RPT–SE Asia's biggest travel app Traveloka eyes dual listing, bets on fintech". Reuters. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  30. ^ "Indonesia to Have More Than 5 Start-Up Unicorns by 2019: Minister". Jakarta Globe. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  31. ^ "Happened in Indonesia: Bukalapak launches R&D centre". Yahoo News. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  32. ^ "AirAsia to permanently withdraw sales from Traveloka".
  33. ^ Yu, Doris (18 February 2020), Traveloka, Bank Mandiri launch co-branded credit card, TechinAsia{{citation}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  34. ^ "Indonesia Digest: GOJEK partners DBS Bank; Traveloka rolls out new lifestyle feature".
  35. ^ Cordon, Miguel (12 November 2019). "Traveloka launches movie-booking service in Thailand". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  36. ^ "Traveloka seeks to capitalize on rising demand for alternative accommodation". The Jakarta Post. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  37. ^ Lim, Shawn (18 December 2019). "Traveloka creates interactive installations for tourists to experience Singapore". The Drum. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  38. ^ a b "Significant trip cancellations recorded amid COVID-19 pandemic: Traveloka". The Jakarta Post. 18 March 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  39. ^ a b c "Traveloka's recovery from nearly zero bookings during Covid-19".
  40. ^ a b "Traveloka looks to profitability amid signs of recovery from coronavirus crisis".
  41. ^ "Traveloka tops up with $250M amid the coronavirus crisis".
  42. ^ "Public's confidence in travel, outdoor activities increasing: Traveloka".
  43. ^ "Traveloka announces new COVID-19 testing service across 44 Indonesian regions".
  44. ^ "Southeast Asia's biggest travel app plans regional fintech expansion before 2021 listing". Reuters. 25 February 2021.
  45. ^ "Traveloka evaluates merger with SPAC route to go public, report says".
  46. ^ Lee, Yoolim; Chew, Elffie (11 February 2021). "Traveloka Picks JPMorgan for U.S. Listing Via SPAC". bloomberg.com. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  47. ^ "Indonesia's Traveloka to suspend merger talks with a SPAC". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  48. ^ "Introducing the 2021 edition of the 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators". fastcompany.com. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  49. ^ "Five additional outstanding international Best Workplaces for Innovators". fastcompany.com. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  50. ^ "The Complete List of Unicorn Companies". instapage.cbinsights.com. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  51. ^ "Traveloka enters ride-hailing as super app race heats up".
  52. ^ "Traveloka closes food, logistics services as travel takes off again". techinasia.com. 29 September 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  53. ^ "Traveloka joins the burgeoning e-grocery market in Indonesia".
  54. ^ a b PwC study highlights Traveloka's contribution to Indonesia's tourism ecosystem, TTG Asia, 27 September 2023{{citation}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  55. ^ Traveloka introduces Disney Cruise experiences, Bangkok Post, 1 August 2024{{citation}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  56. ^ Singaporean travel app Traveloka enters Japan market, Nikkei Asia, 29 May 2025{{citation}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  57. ^ Diela, Tabita (1 August 2017). "Traveloka Raises $500m to Develop AI, Machine Learning". Jakarta Globe. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  58. ^ "SE Asia's biggest travel app Traveloka raises $250 million as lockdowns ease". Reuters. 28 July 2020.
  59. ^ Wijaya, Megawati (29 April 2024), Traveloka Repays $300 Million Private Credit to BlackRock, Orion, Bloomberg, retrieved 8 July 2025{{citation}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.