Traveloka

Founding (2012–2013)

Traveloka was founded[10] in February 2012[4] by three Indonesian software engineers: Ferry Unardi, Albert, and Derianto Kusuma, who met while studying and working[11] in the United States.[12] Motivated by the travel difficulties that Unardi frequently experienced when visiting Indonesia, they developed a platform to simplify travel logistics.[13] Traveloka was initially launched as a travel metasearch site in September 2012,[14] with Unardi as CEO and Kusuma as chief technology officer (CTO).[15][16] The website became a full online travel agency[17] in 2013,[14] offering ticket reservations[18] and multiple payment methods.[18]

Expansion (2014–2019)

In 2014,[14] Traveloka introduced hotel bookings[19] and launched apps for iOS and Android.[14] By the end of the year, the platform reported ten million monthly visitors.[11] In 2015, the US analytics firm comScore ranked Traveloka as Indonesia's number-one flight search and booking service. By 2016, the company had established offices in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines,[7] and Vietnam.[20] During this time, the platform added new features, including train tickets, food services,[19] and attraction bookings.

By 2017, Traveloka offered 100,000 accommodations and partnerships with around 100 airlines.[21] New features such as online check-ins and airport transfer services were introduced.[14] In 2017, an investment round valued Traveloka at over US$1 billion, making it a unicorn company.[22] Kusuma resigned as CTO in 2018.[23] In December 2018, the company acquired three online travel agencies, all former subsidiaries of the Japanese Recruit Holdings—for $67 million.[24] By 2019, Traveloka was the largest online travel startup in Southeast Asia, alongside Gojek, Bukalapak, and Tokopedia.[25] That year, a survey of 1,204 Indonesian millennials showed that 79% used Traveloka regularly.[15]

In 2019, the company opened a research & development center in Bangalore, India.[26] That year,[27] the company also moved into financial services, introducing a credit card in partnership with Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Mandiri[28] and launching its PayLater card.[29] Also in 2019, Traveloka[30] debuted Traveloka Xperience,[8][29] a platform for booking lifestyle activities, and a shariah-compliant health insurance program, alongside FWD Group,[31] as well as other features.[32] The company also began collaborating with government agencies and tourism boards, including the Singapore Tourism Board[33] and the Indonesian Tourism Ministry, to promote regional travel and tourism.[34]

COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022)

The coronavirus pandemic in 2020 led to a surge in refund and rescheduling requests as well as substantial reimbursements.[35] With flight bookings dropping to essentially zero due to travel restrictions,[36] in April 2020, Traveloka laid off 100 staff members,[35] and over the next half-year, refunded around 150,000 flight tickets equating to $100 million. In response to the situation at large, the company introduced flexible booking options,[36] including its "Buy Now, Stay Later" option,[23] bundling flights with COVID-19 tests,[37] and expanding its "online experiences" with features such as cooking classes.[23] It also launched the Traveloka Clean Partners campaign to align with government health and safety measures[38] and facilitated[39] vaccination bookings for over 600,000 people.[36] 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.[41]

After reports in February 2021 that Traveloka was considering an SPAC merger in the United States,[42][43] the company halted discussions of an initial public offering with Bridgetown Holdings in September 2021.[44] In 2021, Fast Company named Traveloka one of its 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators[45] in the international category.[46] In January 2022, Traveloka was valued at $3 billion.[47][48] The company streamlined its operations in 2022, discontinuing pandemic-specific ventures such as Traveloka Mart and Traveloka Eats.[49][50]

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.[51] In 2023, the company added a carbon offset option and a "sustainable tourism" filter to its app.[51] Traveloka partnered with Disney Cruise Line in 2024,[52] and by 2025, it had expanded operations into Australia[34] and Japan.[53] The app is regarded as functionally similar to Expedia.[8]