Indonesia’s OTA unicorn Traveloka has become the first online travel booking platform in South-east Asia to partner directly with West Japan Railway Company (JR West) for the in-app sale of the latter’s rail passes.
The Japan Trains feature is currently available in Indonesia, with plans for roll-out to other South-east Asian countries in 2020.
Citing figures from the the Japan National Tourism Organization, KR-Asia reported that Japan has been receiving a growing number of tourists from South-east Asian nations. In May 2019 alone, Japan welcomed more than 317,000 tourists from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
The JR West train network covers 18 regions and includes both conventional trains and the Shinkansen high-speed train.
Users purchasing JR West passes via the Traveloka app will receive a JR Exchange Order via email, which will then need to be activated in airports or train stations and exchanged for the actual JR Pass.
Travellers can opt to activate the Exchange Order in airports or train stations with Japan Rail exchange offices or have them delivered to their hotel in Japan, according to KR-Asia.
