As we kick off 2018, it’s time to look ahead to what awaits us and we ask our panel of industry leaders to share their thoughts and personal wishes for the new year.
Blanca Menchaca, Co-founder, BeMyGuest
One word to describe 2017: Defying
One word to describe 2018: Closing cycles
One key lesson I learnt in 2017: Don’t rush
I am most concerned about … Work/life balance
I am most excited about … the future
The tech I want to invest in/or find out more about: Real-time gross settlement systems
One destination I want to visit for leisure: Home (as in, I am never there)
I predict … 2018 will be prosperous
Stephan Ekbergh, CEO, Travelstart
One word to describe 2017: Joy
One word to describe 2018: Transformational
One key lesson I learnt in 2017: The future belongs to the brave
I am most concerned about … Cape Town being the first city in the world to run out of water.
I am most excited about … all the great opportunities out there
The tech I want to invest in/or find out more about: AI
One destination I want to visit for leisure: Israel
I predict … regulators start to break up Google, FB, APPLE, AMAZON just like they did with the oil monopolies and Microsoft. And if it doesn’t happen in 2018 it’ll happen in 2019.
Timothy O’Neil Dunne, Co-founder, Air Black Box
One word to describe 2017: Busy
One word to describe 2018: Unpredictable
One key lesson I learnt in 2017: How much I miss having a dog
I am most concerned about… Not taking enough time off
I am most excited about … fusion of 2 major technologies we are working on.
The tech I want to find out more about: Augmented Reality
One destination I want to visit for leisure: Sorrento, Italy
I predict … the wakeup call caused by patent litigation in Travel E.g. IBM Suing Expedia and its group of brands.
Timothy Hughes, Vice President Business Development, Agoda
One word to describe 2017: Price
One word to describe 2018: Competition
One key lesson I learnt in 2017: That no matter what happens, people keep on travelling
I am most concerned about … permanent, irreversible damage being done to the environment
The tech I want to invest in/or find out more about: Machine learning – offline vs real time
One destination I want to visit for leisure: My kids now have diving lessons, am super keen to take them to the Maldives and the Great Barrier Reef (while there is still time)
I predict … this will be the most competitive year yet in online travel. Everyone will have to work harder than ever. Shocks, twists and turns will come from it.
Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA)
One word to describe 2017: Sweetspot
One word to describe 2018: Unpredictable
One key lesson I learnt in 2017: You’re never too old to learn
I am most concerned about … Trump
I am most excited about … the potential for blockchain in distribution
The tech I want to invest in/or find out more about: AI in the distribution process
One destination I want to visit for leisure: Kangaroo Island
I predict … one of the major collectors of individual data to make a move in travel this year
• Featured image credit: tortoo/iStock-GettyImage
