Cover Sumatra-born Caesar Indra is the president of Traveloka
Sumatra-born Caesar Indra is the president of Traveloka
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The president of the leading Southeast Asian travel platform shares his humble beginnings and the importance of providing end-to-end technology solutions for a new age of travel
Caesar Indra recalls his high school years as a student in Bogor City, Java, taking 12-hour bus rides and ferry trips back to his hometown in Bandar Lampung, Sumatra during term breaks.
“I spent my childhood around cassava plantations and fishing in the sea with my father. Blackouts were also not uncommon during my study sessions that lasted late into the night,” he says. “My first brush with technology came when my mother taught me how to assemble electronic circuits. When I was around 10 years old, my parents encouraged me to develop digital skills at computer classes, where I had an enjoyable time learning basic programming.”
It was then that he realised the potential of technology to improve people’s lives drastically. “Looking back, the bus rides I took when I was a schoolboy may have been long and arduous, but they gave me the inspiration and motivation to help others today,” he muses, adding that growing up in an underdeveloped community actually gave him the advantage of being able to empathise with the day-to-day problems faced by Indonesians and grasp the reality of the challenges they faced on the ground, especially in his career in leading Southeast Asian travel platform Traveloka.
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Above Photo: Caesar Indra/Instagram
Photo: Caesar Indra/Instagram
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It was hardly a surprise then, that under his leadership, Traveloka was responsible for revolutionising travel in Indonesia, pioneering the digitalisation of intercity bus travel and establishing a network of small and medium sized accommodations in remote towns and villages across the region.
“I’m someone who has a knack for problem-solving and a curiosity to learn new things. These experiences shaped my formative years, and have led me towards my dream of creating technology for good. What keeps me going is how new demands and challenges are constantly arising.”
As president of Traveloka, Indra oversees collaborations with stakeholders in the ecosystem, including business of all sizes and government relations. A member of the Global Future Council within the World Economic Forum’s network, Indra is passionate about seeing technology make the world a better place. He’s also the deputy head of financial technology, innovation and literacy at the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where he advocates financial inclusion and literacy in Indonesia.
Read on for his conversation with Tatler on the higher expectations surrounding post-Covid travel and why technology is poised to provide consumer-centric travel solutions today.
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You joined Traveloka when it only offered flights within Indonesia. What convinced you of its potential for growth back then?
Traveloka’s mission has always been to solve a central problem: to simplify travel through technology. When I joined 10 years ago, our services were only available on the web, and most transactions were done by bank transfers. At the time, we only offered domestic flights within Indonesia and partnered with fewer than 10 airlines. These were early days in a space where players were trying to discover the best way to serve Southeast Asia’s travel needs. The region has over 660 million people, of which more than a third are aged 15 to 34, and over 440 million are online. Coupled with a booming digital economy, we knew that this growing group of young internet users harboured travel aspirations that could be fulfilled by technology.
I was convinced by Traveloka’s unwavering commitment to put consumers at the heart of what it did. This meant offering a reliable and holistic travel platform that was easy to use, which remains the case today.
How has Traveloka made the traveling experience more accessible to users in Southeast Asia?
The travel booking landscape in Southeast Asia was quite a different world in the early 2010s. Many people had difficulties finding tickets from trustworthy travel agents who will not jack up prices, deciding which airlines or buses they should take, and even getting from one place to another. Going to bus terminals or airports to buy tickets meant haggling with a lot with middlemen. Traveloka’s goal has always been to provide tech-based solutions and remain consumer-minded when bringing these solutions to our platform. Today, travellers in Southeast Asia can simply use our app and gain access to these services within seconds.
The pandemic gave people time to truly understand how travelling impacts the world. Destinations, especially natural landscapes, that had suffered from over-tourism in recent years were rejuvenated in the absence of tourists. Travellers are now more discerning with their choices, opting to support sustainable or locally sourced products.
Another service we created to make travel more convenient was digital payment, which was virtually non-existent a decade ago. We noted that the region’s sizable underbanked population—over 70 percent of Southeast Asians have limited or no access to financial services—was a major gap for those aspiring to travel. In Indonesia, we observed that consumers made last minute bookings via ATM or bank transfer due to the lack of access to credit, resulting in high ticket prices and unavailability of preferred flights.
See also: 5 Leadership Lessons That Traveloka Malaysia’s Angelica Chan Lives By
To streamline the end-to-end booking experience, we embedded digital payment methods onto our platform for convenience. In 2018, we went a step further by introducing our buy now, pay later service, Traveloka PayLater. Building and investing in the necessary technology and partnerships to enable digital payment for travel help us to remain relevant to our users. Today, we have over 30 payment options and more than 20 products on our platform.
Above Gili Islands in North Lombok, Indonesia
Gili Islands in North Lombok, Indonesia
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What are some professional milestones that you're proud of in the last year?
Arguably our finest achievement is celebrating Traveloka’s 11th year in 2023. A decade ago, we started out in a small apartment in West Jakarta with less than US$50,000 in capital with a mission to simplify travel in Indonesia through technology. Today, Traveloka is Southeast Asia’s leading travel platform, operating in six key markets in the region.
With travel demands continuing to rise, another area that can further reignite tourism this year is sustainable travel. We are poised to lead green efforts in the region with our partnership with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) that began in early 2022. Traveloka sponsored a training programme for our hotel partners, starting with those in Indonesia, then Vietnam and Malaysia. That’s a win on the sustainable front as we raise awareness among our hotel partners on sustainability. We aim to break new ground by rolling out this training program in Thailand later this year. These milestones serve as checkpoints towards creating an equitable future for all.
How is Traveloka poised to meet the needs of luxury or high-end travellers?
Southeast Asians who were less likely to splurge before the pandemic are now willing to spend more time and money on travel. These travellers are ready to loosen their purse strings, having saved a fair amount over the last couple of years when travel was limited. Our strategy continues to be about giving consumers choices. As travel recovers, our suite of products and services that complement travel, such as local and financial services, will become even more important. Travellers in a post-Covid world will have higher expectations of travel as a holistic experience. As such, offering them an end-to-end solution to fulfil their travel needs is vital.
What kind of positive changes do you want to see in travel trends in Asia?
The pandemic gave people time to truly understand how travelling impacts the world. Destinations, especially natural landscapes, that had suffered from over-tourism in recent years were rejuvenated in the absence of tourists. I’m heartened to see that travellers are now more discerning with their choices, opting to support sustainable or locally sourced products. I hope that this trend will continue across the region and the world. I also want to continue seeing technology catalyse progress in the industry to meet the evolving needs of consumers. Not only does it bridge borders, it also overcomes structural challenges that are common in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia.
Credits
Photography: Traveloka
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Previously contributing to Esquire Malaysia, Expat Lifestyle and Newsweek, Tania oversees digital stories across Tatler’s key content pillars, also leading the Front & Female platform exploring issues and topics affecting women today.
