Articles tagged “southeast asia”

After a great deal of will they or won't they, Thailand has finally decided to simplify travel for visitors. But in the absence of some of its most important source markets, like China and Russia, the country has its sights set on Indian tourists.

The confidence of the hospitality sector in Indonesia seems to be getting stronger as the archipelago relaxes arrival restrictions. As hotly anticipated properties now announce opening dates, Indonesia is clearly emerging as a key market in Southeast Asia's hospitality ecosystem.

It's good to be cautious, but Thailand may pay the price of being cautious to a fault. Having already lost out on the first-mover advantage, will the delay in reopening deal a major blow to the already-fragile economy of Southeast Asia's biggest tourism hub?

Although the American Hotel & Lodging Association is adamant that companies should resume large-scale business travel, hotels can't rely on it to drive their recovery. Corporate executives don't see the sector making a full rebound anytime soon — if ever.

The online travel market in Southeast Asia is a promising market, a rapidly growing region with a digitally engaged and highly aspirational middle class that is currently underserved. The industry dynamics are ever-evolving with OTAs endeavoring to do things differently in order to maintain and grow their slice of the market.

The Southeast Asian online travel market is a crowded space. The industry players strive to strike a fine balance between creating the appropriate inventory mix, appealing prices and an easy-to-use interface with plenty of local offerings to distinguish themselves.

In an intensifying superapp rivalry in Southeast Asia, Gojek handed its Thailand business to AirAsia Digital in the face of competition from Grab. While these leading superapps battle, AirAsia Digital is being taken more seriously. After all, it has airplanes and a profitable logistics business to add to the mix.

The Grab-Altimeter Growth Corp. 2 merger immediately becomes one of the highest profile such transactions in travel. Grab already dominates its superapp sector in Southeast Asia, and the funding infusion should help it get stronger.

Traveloka is strengthening its local offerings with a potential public listing in its future, either through a traditional IPO or a red hot SPAC. The approach may be paying off as the company works to bolster its operations for a post-pandemic world, but how much more localization can the app offer?

The pandemic has brought about a permanent and massive digital adoption in Southeast Asia. This structural change should be good for online travel. But first it has to swallow a great deal of bad.