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Tiket.com transactions up sevenfold as travel rebounds
Online travel agent Tiket.com saw an average sevenfold year-on-year (yoy) increase in transactions across all of its products in the second quarter of the year as relaxed restrictions caused a surge in demand compared to last year.
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nline travel agent Tiket.com saw an average sevenfold year-on-year (yoy) increase in transactions across all of its products in the second quarter of the year.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Tiket.com cofounder and chief marketing officer Mikhael Gaery Undarsa explained the sharp increase with a base effect, as sales in the second quarter of last year had been particularly low due to large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) imposed early in the pandemic.
At the same time, demand in the second quarter of this year was buoyed by the Idul Fitri holiday and the government’s decision to ease public mobility restrictions (PPKM) in that period.
In the second quarter, the company booked a fourfold yoy increase in flight ticket transactions and a sixfold rise in accommodation bookings.
“The second quarter last year was the worst for the tourist industry. All [business] was forced to close. In early 2021 until [Idul Fitri], demand was very high,” Gaery said in a virtual press conference held by the company.
Read also: Online travel agencies hit hard by cancellations, bookings slump
Last year, Tiket.com and other online travel agencies were hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak, causing a slump in revenue and a rise in cancellations. Secondary spending, such as on marketing and discounts, was cut to compensate for the loss in sales.
Gaery acknowledged that the second-quarter increase had occurred just before the government imposed new COVID-19 curbs, dubbed emergency public activity restrictions (PPKM Darurat), and later four-tiered restrictions across the country, which would again affect demand and the company’s performance.
The company, he said, had prepared best-case to worst-case scenarios to adjust operations according to government policies, including the most recent extension of the curbs announced on Monday.
“We have prepared for it all. We are trying as best we can to minimize the risks [of prolonged curbs] to the business,” Gaery said.
The company expected conditions to improve by the end of this year as vaccination rates on the islands of Java and Bali rose and the number of daily COVID-19 deaths in the two regions slowly decreased.
Read also: Jokowi orders 'quick response' as COVID-19 spread shifts to regions
Meanwhile, he said, the company had helped speed up the inoculation effort by setting up its own vaccination centers. He noted that countries that had a large share of the population vaccinated had seen daily caseloads decrease, which had led to growth in hotel bookings and air travel.
“I think it's only a matter of time,” Gaery said. “In the fourth quarter, at the end of the year, Indonesia will hopefully be in a much better situation than now.”
