During an interview with Tech In Asia, Tiket CTO Natali Ardianto revealed that Tiket is preparing to expand its business to Asia Pacific this year. Tiket is said to plan to open branches or joint ventures in Australia, China, Hong Kong, and Malaysia. However, we yet to receive confirmation whether this plan will actually be implemented this year.
After successfully strengthening its position as one of the top hotel and flight ticket reservation sites in Indonesia, it’s natural to expect Tiket to plan for a regional expansion. Currently Tiket already has a database of regional hotels and commercial flights and having branches in different countries should make it easier for them to serve their customers.
The headcount at Tiket this year has topped 150 employees, more than doubling last year’s number. Just recently, Tiket also launched a mobile application for Android and iOS users to expand its market, although the apps only serve flight reservations at the moment.
The rapid growth of travel segment in Indonesia has indeed led to the increase of startups working in this field, which is guaranteed to be sustainable since they would gain revenue since the very first day [I wouldn’t be so sure of that -Ed]. The competition is clearly on how the companies can figure out how to manage the slim margins to maximize revenue yet still able to fend off the competitors as well as the airlines and hotels themselves to become the destination of choice.
Tiket isn’t the only Indonesian startup that is looking for expansion opportunities abroad. in April, lifestyle store Shopdeca announced its expansion to Singapore as well as the acquisition of Eriin, a women’s clothing and accessories shop. Additionally, following its purchase by South Korea’s Yello Mobile, price comparison site Price Area is looking to increase its coverage to all of Southeast Asia.
All these activities show that Indonesian startups have the capability to compete with startups from neighboring countries. The country is no longer simply a nation of consumers but is beginning to show its ability to produce startups with working business models.
[Photo Illustration: Shuttershock]