Traveloka
Traveloka is a Southeast Asian online travel platform for booking flights, accommodation, transport, attractions, activities, and related financial and travel services.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
Traveloka is an online travel company founded in Jakarta in 2012 by Indonesian software engineers Ferry Unardi, Albert, and Derianto Kusuma. The business began as a travel metasearch website intended to make flight planning easier for travelers visiting Indonesia. It evolved into a full online travel agency in 2013, enabling customers to reserve flights directly and use a range of local payment methods. The company is headquartered in Singapore and has developed a regional presence across Southeast Asia, with later expansion into Australia and Japan. The founders’ initial concept was shaped by the difficulty of comparing and purchasing travel tickets for trips to Indonesia. Traveloka initially concentrated on flight search, but its scope broadened rapidly. Hotel reservations were introduced in 2014, alongside mobile applications for iOS and Android. The platform subsequently added train tickets, airport transfers, attractions, food-related services, online check-in, and lifestyle activities. Its Traveloka Xperience product extended the business beyond core transportation and accommodation by allowing users to reserve entertainment, recreation, wellness, and other activities. Traveloka became one of Indonesia’s most prominent digital travel businesses during the middle of the 2010s. By 2015, comScore ranked it as Indonesia’s leading flight search and booking service. By 2016, the company had offices in several Southeast Asian markets. In 2017, it reported access to approximately 100,000 accommodations and partnerships with about 100 airlines. A financing round that year valued the company above one billion US dollars, placing it among Southeast Asia’s technology unicorns. Investors and financial backers have included East Ventures, Global Founders Capital, GIC, the Qatar Investment Authority, and Expedia, with Expedia becoming a minority investor in 2017. The company expanded its ecosystem in 2018 and 2019. In December 2018, it acquired three online travel agencies that had previously been subsidiaries of Japan’s Recruit Holdings. In 2019, Traveloka opened a research and development center in Bangalore and moved into adjacent financial services through credit-card partnerships with Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Mandiri and the introduction of PayLater. It also launched a health-insurance program with FWD Group and worked with tourism authorities, including the Singapore Tourism Board and Indonesia’s tourism ministry, to encourage regional travel. The COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted Traveloka’s core market. Flight bookings fell to nearly zero in the early phase of travel restrictions, while customers requested refunds and itinerary changes at an exceptional rate. Traveloka reported refunding roughly 150,000 flight tickets, representing approximately 100 million US dollars, over the following months. The company reduced staffing, introduced flexible booking options, promoted a buy-now-stay-later product, bundled some travel purchases with COVID-19 testing, and expanded online experiences such as cooking classes. Its Traveloka Clean Partners initiative was designed to support health and safety requirements, and the company also facilitated vaccination bookings. Travel demand began to recover during 2020, and Traveloka reported that its travel business had returned to profitability by the end of that year. Traveloka considered a potential US public-market transaction through a special-purpose acquisition company in 2021, but discussions with Bridgetown Holdings were halted later that year. In 2022, the company streamlined operations and discontinued pandemic-era initiatives including Traveloka Mart and Traveloka Eats. It was valued at approximately three billion US dollars in January 2022 and later raised 300 million US dollars from a lending consortium. Bloomberg reported in 2024 that Traveloka had repaid that borrowing one year ahead of schedule using internal funds. In more recent years, Traveloka has emphasized broader travel discovery, sustainability, and international reach. A 2023 PwC study estimated that the company contributed 10 billion US dollars in gross value added to Indonesia’s economy from 2019 through 2022, including 4.5 billion US dollars associated with tourism. Traveloka added carbon-offset functionality and a sustainable-tourism filter in 2023, partnered with Disney Cruise Line in 2024, and had expanded its operations into Australia and Japan by 2025. Its business model is broadly comparable to that of large online travel agencies such as Expedia, while its strongest historical position remains in Southeast Asian travel commerce.
History
Traveloka was established in Jakarta in February 2012 by Ferry Unardi, Albert, and Derianto Kusuma, Indonesian software engineers who had studied or worked in the United States. Unardi’s repeated difficulty arranging travel to Indonesia helped motivate the founders to create a simpler way to search for and organize flights. Traveloka’s first product, launched in September 2012, was a travel metasearch service. Unardi served as chief executive, while Kusuma became chief technology officer. In 2013, the company changed from a comparison-oriented service into an online travel agency that allowed users to reserve tickets directly. The addition of multiple payment methods was important to its early Indonesian growth. Traveloka expanded its inventory in 2014 by introducing hotel reservations and mobile applications for Apple and Android devices. By the end of that year, the company reported ten million monthly visitors. In 2015, comScore identified Traveloka as Indonesia’s leading flight search and booking service. Regional expansion accelerated between 2016 and 2019. Traveloka established offices in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, while broadening its service range with train tickets, airport transportation, food-related offerings, attraction reservations, online check-in, and activity bookings. By 2017, its platform listed about 100,000 accommodations and worked with roughly 100 airlines. The same year, a 350 million US dollar investment round involving Global Founders Capital, GIC, the Qatar Investment Authority, and Expedia placed the company’s valuation above one billion US dollars. Expedia became a minority investor. The financing was intended to support technology development, including machine learning and artificial intelligence, as well as hiring and investment. In December 2018, Traveloka acquired three online travel agencies that had previously belonged to Recruit Holdings. The transaction was reported at 67 million US dollars. Kusuma left his chief technology officer position in 2018. In 2019, Traveloka opened a research and development center in Bangalore and added several adjacent businesses. Traveloka Xperience became a dedicated channel for attractions and lifestyle activities. The company also entered financial services through PayLater and credit-card partnerships with Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Mandiri. With FWD Group, it introduced a shariah-compliant health-insurance program. Traveloka also cooperated with tourism authorities and destination organizations to promote travel within the region. The pandemic created the most severe interruption in the company’s history. International and domestic restrictions caused flight bookings to fall almost completely in early 2020. Customers requested refunds and changes on a large scale, creating operational and cash-flow pressure. Traveloka laid off approximately 100 employees in April 2020 and subsequently reported processing refunds for around 150,000 flight tickets, with a combined value of about 100 million US dollars. The company responded with flexible booking policies, a buy-now-stay-later product, travel packages connected with COVID-19 testing, and online experiences such as remote cooking classes. Traveloka Clean Partners promoted health and sanitation practices, while the company facilitated vaccination bookings for more than 600,000 people. Accommodation demand showed signs of recovery by October 2020, and Traveloka stated that its travel business had returned to profitability by the end of the year. Traveloka explored a public-market route in 2021. Reports indicated that it was considering a merger with Bridgetown Holdings, a US-listed special-purpose acquisition company, but discussions were halted in September. The company was recognized by Fast Company in 2021 in its international list of best workplaces for innovators. In January 2022, its valuation was reported at approximately three billion US dollars. Traveloka also streamlined its operations, ending pandemic-specific initiatives such as Traveloka Mart and Traveloka Eats. A 300 million US dollar lending round followed in 2022; Bloomberg later reported that the loan was repaid early using internal funds. Traveloka has continued to develop as a regional travel marketplace rather than limiting itself to air tickets and hotels. A PwC study published in 2023 estimated that the company contributed 10 billion US dollars in gross value added to Indonesia’s economy between 2019 and 2022, including 4.5 billion US dollars from tourism. In 2023, it added carbon-offset functionality and a sustainable-tourism search filter. A 2024 partnership with Disney Cruise Line expanded its travel inventory, and by 2025 the company had entered or expanded operations in Australia and Japan. Traveloka remains a private online travel platform headquartered in Singapore, with its historical center of gravity in Southeast Asia.
- 2025
Expansion into Australia and Japan
[1]Traveloka’s operating footprint includes Australia and Japan in addition to its established Southeast Asian markets.
- 2024
Disney Cruise Line partnership
[1]Traveloka partners with Disney Cruise Line to expand its travel offering.
- 2023
Sustainability features added
[1]The platform introduces carbon offsets and a sustainable-tourism filter.
- 2022
Post-pandemic restructuring
[1]Traveloka discontinues pandemic-specific ventures including Traveloka Mart and Traveloka Eats.
- 2021
SPAC discussions are halted
[1]Traveloka stops discussions concerning a proposed merger with Bridgetown Holdings.
- 2020
Pandemic response and travel-service redesign
[1]The company processes extensive refunds and introduces flexible booking, online experiences, testing-related packages, and health-safety programs.
- 2019
Bangalore research center opens
[1]Traveloka establishes a research and development center in Bangalore, India.
- 2019
Expansion into financial services and experiences
[1]Traveloka launches Traveloka Xperience, PayLater, credit-card partnerships, and a health-insurance program.
- 2018
Three online travel agencies acquired
[1]Traveloka acquires three former Recruit Holdings travel-agency subsidiaries.
- 2017
Traveloka becomes a unicorn
[1]A major investment round values the company above one billion US dollars.
Products and positioning
A mobile-first, integrated online travel platform focused on convenient booking, broad payment access, and localized travel services across Southeast Asia and selected international markets.
Air travel · 2012
Flight Booking
Traveloka’s original and historically central service enables users to search and reserve airline tickets. The platform aggregates flight choices, supports online booking, and was designed around payment methods suited to Southeast Asian customers. Over time, it added features such as online check-in and travel-related ancillary services.
Accommodation · 2014
Hotel Booking
Introduced in 2014, hotel booking expanded Traveloka beyond air travel. The service provides access to accommodation inventory across its regional markets and became one of the company’s core online travel-agency categories.
Rail travel
Train Tickets
Traveloka added train-ticket reservations as part of its effort to localize and broaden ground-transport booking. The category complements flights and hotels, particularly for domestic and regional journeys.
Activities and attractions · 2019
Traveloka Xperience
Traveloka Xperience is a booking channel for attractions, entertainment, recreation, wellness, and other lifestyle activities. It represents the company’s move from conventional trip components into destination experiences and local leisure commerce.
Ground transportation · 2017
Airport Transfers
Airport transfer services connect the booking journey with transportation between airports and destinations. They form part of Traveloka’s broader effort to provide an integrated travel itinerary rather than a single ticket transaction.
Financial services · 2019
PayLater and Credit Services
Traveloka expanded into travel-linked financial services through PayLater and credit-card partnerships with Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Mandiri. These products were intended to give customers additional payment and financing flexibility for travel purchases.
Insurance · 2019
Travel Insurance and Health Coverage
The company entered insurance-related services through a shariah-compliant health-insurance program developed with FWD Group. This broadened Traveloka’s role from booking intermediary to provider of selected travel-adjacent financial protections.
Digital experiences · 2020
Online Experiences
During the pandemic, Traveloka introduced online experiences including activities such as remote cooking classes. These offerings helped maintain engagement when physical travel and tourism were restricted.
Sustainable travel · 2023
Sustainability Tools
Traveloka added carbon-offset functionality and a sustainable-tourism filter to help users identify or support travel choices with environmental considerations.
Marketing campaigns
- 2020Traveloka Clean Partners
Southeast Asia
The campaign promoted health, cleanliness, and safety standards among travel partners during the COVID-19 disruption.
Outcome. Helped align participating travel services with government and public-health expectations during the pandemic.
- 2020Buy Now, Stay Later
Southeast Asia
Traveloka introduced a flexible purchase concept that allowed customers to buy accommodation for later use while travel restrictions were limiting immediate demand.
Outcome. Provided a pandemic-era alternative to conventional immediate travel bookings.
- 2020Online Experiences
Southeast Asia
The company promoted digital activities, including online cooking classes, while customers were unable to travel normally.
Outcome. Extended customer engagement into at-home entertainment and learning during travel restrictions.
- 2019Regional tourism-promotion collaborations
Singapore · Indonesia · Southeast Asia
Traveloka collaborated with the Singapore Tourism Board, Indonesia’s tourism ministry, and other tourism stakeholders to promote regional travel and destination activity.
Outcome. Expanded cooperation with tourism authorities and supported Traveloka’s positioning as a regional travel ecosystem.
Brand decisions
2023
Add carbon offsets and sustainable-tourism filteringProduct launchBackground
Environmental concerns were becoming more visible in travel planning and destination selection.
Action taken
Traveloka introduced a carbon-offset option and a sustainable-tourism filter.
Aftermath
The platform added sustainability-oriented discovery and purchase features.
2022
Streamline pandemic-specific venturesStrategyBackground
As travel conditions changed, Traveloka reviewed products created or emphasized during the pandemic.
Action taken
The company discontinued Traveloka Mart and Traveloka Eats.
Aftermath
Operations were concentrated more closely on the core travel platform and selected adjacent services.
2021
Halt proposed SPAC transaction discussionsM&ABackground
Traveloka was reported to be evaluating a US public-market transaction through a merger with Bridgetown Holdings.
Action taken
The company halted discussions concerning the proposed SPAC merger in September 2021.
Aftermath
Traveloka remained a private company rather than completing the reported transaction.
2020
Pandemic response and flexible travel productsStrategyBackground
Travel restrictions caused flight demand to collapse and created large refund and rescheduling obligations.
Action taken
Traveloka introduced flexible booking options, Buy Now, Stay Later, COVID-19 testing-related packages, online experiences, Clean Partners, and vaccination-booking support.
Aftermath
The company maintained customer engagement during the crisis and reported that its travel business had returned to profitability by the end of 2020.
Flight-ticket refunds reported. Approximately 150,000 tickets representing about USD 100 million (2020)
2019
Move into experiences, financial services, and insuranceStrategyBackground
Traveloka aimed to increase the range of services available within its travel ecosystem and diversify beyond booking commissions.
Action taken
The company launched Traveloka Xperience, PayLater, credit-card partnerships, and a shariah-compliant health-insurance program.
Aftermath
Traveloka became a more diversified travel and travel-adjacent platform, although some later pandemic-era initiatives were discontinued.
2017
Scale technology and regional operations after major fundingStrategyBackground
Traveloka was expanding its inventory, market coverage, and competitive position in Southeast Asia.
Action taken
The company raised 350 million US dollars from Global Founders Capital, GIC, the Qatar Investment Authority, and Expedia, directing funds toward machine learning, artificial intelligence, investments, and hiring.
Aftermath
The financing helped establish Traveloka as a Southeast Asian technology unicorn and supported continued platform expansion.
Funding raised. USD 350 million (2017)
2014
Launch of hotel reservations and mobile applicationsProduct launchBackground
The company sought to increase the frequency and breadth of travel transactions beyond flights.
Action taken
Traveloka added hotel booking and released iOS and Android applications.
Aftermath
The service became a broader consumer travel platform with a stronger mobile distribution channel.
2013
Transition from metasearch to online travel agencyStrategyBackground
Traveloka’s initial metasearch model helped users compare travel options but did not provide the full booking journey.
Action taken
The company began accepting direct ticket reservations and added multiple payment methods.
Aftermath
Traveloka developed into a transactional online travel agency rather than remaining only a search and comparison service.
Recent events
- 2024
Traveloka partners with Disney Cruise Line[1]
Campaign · Product launch
The partnership broadened Traveloka’s travel inventory and cruise-related offering.
- 2024
Traveloka reportedly repays lending consortium early[1]
Other
Bloomberg reported that Traveloka used internal funds to repay a 300 million US dollar loan approximately one year ahead of schedule.
- 2023
Traveloka adds sustainable travel tools[1]
Product launch · Regulation
The platform introduced a carbon-offset option and a sustainable-tourism filter.
- 2022
Traveloka streamlines pandemic-era businesses[1]
Other
The company discontinued initiatives including Traveloka Mart and Traveloka Eats as it adjusted its operations after the acute phase of the pandemic.
- 2021
Traveloka suspends proposed SPAC transaction discussions[1]
M&A · Other
After reports that the company was considering a US SPAC transaction, Traveloka halted discussions with Bridgetown Holdings.
- 2020
COVID-19 disruption drives refunds and operational changes[1]
Other
Travel restrictions caused bookings to collapse and generated large volumes of refund and rescheduling requests. Traveloka reported refunding around 150,000 flight tickets and introduced flexible and digital travel products.
- 2019
Traveloka expands into financial and lifestyle services[1]
Product launch
The company launched Traveloka Xperience, introduced PayLater and credit-card partnerships, opened a Bangalore research center, and added an insurance offering.
- 2018
Traveloka acquires three online travel agencies[1]
M&A
Traveloka acquired three agencies that had formerly operated as subsidiaries of Japan’s Recruit Holdings.
- 2017
Traveloka reaches unicorn valuation[1]
Other
A financing round involving Global Founders Capital, GIC, the Qatar Investment Authority, and Expedia valued the company at more than one billion US dollars.
- 2014
Traveloka adds hotels and mobile applications[1]
Product launch · Product generation
Hotel booking and iOS and Android applications expanded Traveloka from a flight-focused service into a broader travel platform.
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