Last Updated on: Juli 11, 2025 at 8:18 am
Our Head of Product, Sani Gouw, travelled to Jakarta for Travel Meet Asia 2025, a key gathering for travel professionals across the region. Hosted at Swissôtel Jakarta PIK Avenue, the two-day event brought together over 1,000 industry leaders, 100+ sellers, and thousands of pre-scheduled business appointments.
Sani joined a panel discussion on the future of corporate travel, sharing how TruTrip is helping businesses rethink their approach through automation, smarter workflows, and a traveller-first mindset. Beyond the stage, the event offered a chance to reconnect with partners, meet fellow innovators, and reflect on how fast the travel landscape continues to evolve.
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Travel Meet Asia (TMA) is Southeast Asia’s leading B2B travel trade event, organised by Messe Berlin Asia Pacific. Since its launch in 2019, TMA has grown into a key platform for travel professionals across the Leisure, MICE, and Corporate sectors to connect, collaborate, and drive business. The event features an international exhibitor showcase, curated buyer-seller appointments, and a forward-looking conference program, bringing together travel brands, decision-makers, and innovators from across Asia Pacific.
With the strong backing of tourism authorities and a focus on high-value networking, TMA plays a vital role in shaping regional travel trends and unlocking new market opportunities. The 2025 edition, held in Jakarta, welcomed over 1,000 travel trade professionals, 100+ sellers, and facilitated more than 5,000 pre-scheduled business meetings.
Alongside its exhibition, TMA also hosted a conference series spanning market trends, destination marketing, travel tech, and corporate travel. Speakers from leading companies such as Accor, Google, Panorama Group, and The Ascott Limited shared insights into the evolving travel landscape. As a strategically focused event, TMA continues to serve as a springboard for partnerships, product discovery, and cross-border collaboration throughout Southeast Asia.
As part of the Tech Leaders’ panel, Sani shared TruTrip’s product vision and our drive to make travel smarter, more focused, and invisible for companies. “I spoke to people from different industries, and they were genuinely surprised by how far ahead TruTrip’s thinking was. Whether they were being polite or not, it was clear our vision stood out.”
The conversations confirmed what we’ve seen in the market: AI is trending, but adoption remains lopsided. While global tech players are exploring automation and smart workflows, many local travel providers, especially TMCs, hotels, and tour operators, are still grappling with basic digital transformation.
In some corners of the industry, “getting TMCs online” is still a thing. There’s a real gap between expectations and execution when it comes to leveraging technology in travel. and that’s exactly where TruTrip fits in.
Abd Elmohaimen, Co-founder of Seeru, brought attention to the structural challenges still facing much of the industry, particularly in emerging markets. From fragmented inventory and outdated systems to the untapped potential of B2B and B2C data, his perspective underscored the need to go beyond traditional GDSs and embrace technology as a way to bridge access gaps and drive efficiency across the board.
Wilson Napitupulu, Regional Director at Trip Affiliate Network, emphasised how digital transformation and AI aren’t just tools, they’re enablers of more meaningful travel experiences. Rather than seeing tech as a threat to human connection, he highlighted how things like AI-powered personalisation and seamless digital ecosystems can enhance it, opening up new possibilities for travellers and businesses alike.
Across the panel, there was a shared optimism: the travel industry is at a turning point, and the path forward is less about disruption for its own sake and more about building smarter, more connected, and more human travel experiences.
Beyond the conference, the trip was also a refreshing change of pace: a chance to sit in the same room with teammates, work side-by-side on live projects, and reconnect over shared meals. As Sani put it:
“I think we’ve undervalued in-person work. Not meetings or discussions, really working together in the same room, on the same project. It’s a completely different kind of focus and energy.”
It was a reminder that while we’re a distributed team by design, occasional face-to-face time still adds something irreplaceable.
Travel Meet Asia 2025 reminded us that while the industry continues to shift, the fundamentals remain the same: people want better travel experiences, smarter workflows, and trusted partnerships.
Next up? More updates coming soon as we keep working to make business travel smarter, safer, and a whole lot easier.
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