Indonesian destinations diversify for Lebaran 2012

INDONESIANS are choosing to travel further and wider for their Lebaran holidays this year, according to the latest data from Wego.co.id.

Even though it’s normal to see an increase in flight-only bookings for the Lebaran holiday period as people return home, this year, accommodation is also being booked and at a far wider range of destinations – 165 in total compared to 69 at this time in 2011.

Hotel searches have almost tripled on wego.co.id for the period immediately following Ramadan, this year from August 17–26.

In 2011, Bali was the clear choice – with two-thirds of domestic hotel searches using Wego for the island.  In 2012, and with much stronger adoption of the dedicated Bahasa Indonesia wego.co.id, the post-Ramadan crowds seem to prefer the cooler climate of Bandung (10 per cent), with Yogyakarta also popular (nine per cent). Lombok, Surabaya and Malang, close to Balekambang beaches, are also achieving a 2-3 per cent interest, followed by Semarang and Medan.

Another development is Indonesians’ choice of hotel category. While travellers range of accommodation choice for Lebaran extends from suites to bungalows, three in every four users are now arranging three-, four- and five-star stays, an increase on last year’s 71 per cent.

Flight searches are proving similarly diverse. Two-thirds of Wego’s traffic intend to use Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta airport as their departure point. The second most popular port of departure is Balikpapan, which outnumbered more populous Surabaya. Batam follows, then Medan.

Garuda Indonesia is receiving a quarter of bookings on wego.co.id, followed by Lion Air at 20 per cent, AirAsia at 16 per cent and Malaysia Airlines at nine per cent. However, Tiger Airways, Sriwijaya Air and Batavia Air account for one in five tickets during the break.

Reflecting international trends, Singapore accommodation searches are up from a quarter last year to a third of all conducted on the site for the period.  Indonesians are also comparing options for Kuala Lumpur at eight per cent and Genting Highlands at three per cent of the international total.  Malaysia accounts for 16 per cent overall.

Hong Kong has jumped from 11 to 15 per cent of searches, well ahead of mainland China’s four per cent, although many searches target nearby Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Thailand is maintaining its 11 per cent share. Bangkok, fully recovered from the flooding, accounts for five per cent and Phuket three per cent, with Krabi and Pattaya also popular choices. Macau continues to rise at seven per cent of the total and Japan has recovered to three per cent.

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