KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. Airline ticketing and hotel booking service Traveloka has officially expanded to Australia, a move the Tourism Ministry expects will help boost Indonesian tourism.

The online booking provider started operations in Australia on Wednesday, allowing Australians to access its five products; flight ticketing and hotel booking services, flight ticket and hotel packages, airport accommodation, entertainment and utility services through its website and application.

Traveloka global partnership head Yady Guitana said the company was enthusiastic about breaching out of Southeast Asia, as Australia is relatively ahead of the former in terms of internet connection and penetration as well as payment infrastructure.

"We hope that our presence in Australia will enrich consumers' life experiences by providing them with a one-stop go-to app for travel and lifestyle," Yady said in a statement on Wednesday as quoted by The Jakarta Post.

Traveloka, one of Indonesia's four unicorn startups, partners with the Tourism Ministry in the country’s tourism campaign Wonderful Indonesia, which is aimed at helping the government reach the target of 20 million foreign tourist arrivals this year, Yady said.

Indonesia was the second-favorite travel destination for Australians after New Zealand in 2018 according to market research and business intelligence portal Statista.

Statistics Indonesia (BPS) recorded 1.3 million Australian tourist arrivals in the country in 2018, with the Tourism Ministry expecting a 15 percent increase to 1.5 million arrivals this year.

Edy Wardoyo, the ministry's marketing development deputy assistant for Australia, New Zealand and Oceania, said Traveloka's decision to expand in Australia would play a significant role in easing tourist access.

"Australia offers a promising market for Indonesia's tourism sector, as the number of Australian tourist arrivals in Indonesia keeps increasing every year," he said.

Editor: Wahyu T.Rahmawati