Holiday Travel Insight for Lebaran 2012 in Indonesia

We are only two days away now from the fasting month of Ramadan, and soon to follow is Indonesia’s biggest Muslim holiday, which is the Lebaran. Since investing heavily in Indonesia recently, travel search engine Wego definitely has done its homework in analyzing the Indonesian market’s holiday destinations during Lebaran.

52 percent of Indonesians prefer to spend their holiday inside the archipelago with Bali as the most favored domestic holiday destination, followed by Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Jakarta (see chart below). Interestingly, last year Bali dominated the first position by two-thirds based on Wego domestic hotel searches, while this year Bali only accounts for half of the searches.

Indonesians seem to have more money in their pockets this year as three out of four users chose to stay at a three, four, or five-star hotel during the holiday, an increase of 71 percent compared to last year. Graham Hills, the managing director of Wego Indonesia explained about the trend:

With greater access to travel information online, Indonesians are becoming more informed about where they can holiday and how much it will cost. They are finding affordable options in better hotel categories. It is encouraging them to take the opportunity to enjoy the comfort and service these properties provide.

Regarding Indonesians’ international destinations, Wego announced that one third of its international accommodation searches are related to Singapore, more than any other country. Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Thailand are second, third, and fourth place with 16 percent, 15 percent, and 11 percent of searches respectively.

Wego also released its flight searches data, showing how tight the competition is for the airline industry in Indonesia. Garuda Indonesia leads the pack with a quarter of bookings made on Wego, followed by Lion Air, Air Asia, and Malaysia Airlines with 20 percent, 16 percent, and 9 percent respectively.