Adding OTA in Its Service, JD Flight is Available for Indonesian Market

In order to cope with other e-commerce services in Indonesia, JD.id provides purchase channels for plane tickets. As JD Flight, the feature available with full support from Traveloka. JD.id’s parent company, JD.com, is Traveloka’s investor.

Moreover, is OTA (Online Travel Agency) addition in e-commerce services will make a big difference, or just disrupting an established business model?

The e-commerce businesses preparing for the OTA

George Hendrata ,Tiket.com’s new CEO, said that for future roadmap, Tiket.com capabilities will be optimized to strengthen Blibli’s travel and accommodation channels. However, it has not been technically submitted, whether Blibli will apply only as a front-end that helps selling tickets through Tiket.com, or they’re going to merger.

Another online trading site that provides and strengthens the OTA is Tokopedia, Elevenia, and Bukalapak.

Market share

Frost & Sullivan's research in 2011 said the Indonesian expense for travel is worth up to $6.4 billion. By 2030, it’s projected to be increasing 4 times, or worth $23.7 billion. It’s a realistic number, given the current traveling trend is not only for upper economic class, but also medium class - especially millennials.

Early analysis of OTA participants that strenghten e-commerce is the distribution channels. The market share is large, but the niche is similar. The challenge is on the consumer delivery. Another growth strategies, such as discounts, are in fact still effective for user loyalty. Ticketing system can be booked through one channel, but delivered through various channels, as Indonesia Flight did in its debut with Tiket.com.

Basically, OTA business have so much to explore, because there are many new possibilities to be developed. It could be a new chapter implying online travel competition, beside payment, that will be the next round of e-commerce competition.

- Original article is in Indonesian, translated by Kristin Siagian