Ep 180: SuperApps Scale Up to Sell More South East Asian Travel, with Brett Henry, MG Group

What is a SuperApp, and why should the travel industry care about them?

There are numerous reasons to care, as Gary and Hannah discuss this week with Jakarta-based Brett Henry, President & Director of MG Group. Brett guides us through a research-based definition of SuperApp characteristics, and explains the opportunities and challenges they provide for brands and travellers.

En route, we discuss a bunch of SuperApps in ASEAN, including GoTo, Grab, WeChat, Meituan and Shopee. We also touch on AirAsia’s SuperApp progress and ask “Is TikTok the next SuperApp in South East Asia?” (Spoiler alert: Absolutely). Plus, we discuss the hyper-localisation in each market to meet changing consumer needs, the region’s complex e-payments landscape and the economics of distributing travel through SuperApps.

And, where do home-grown SuperApps go in future? Will they develop their own travel inventories and further monetise their tourism presence? And is there an accelerating urgency for travel sellers to become engaged participants in SupeApp platforms?