Last Friday marked the passing of an era for MISA Travel Singapore as its founder and CEO Kenny Chew left the company following the completion of its acquisition by Zana Capital, a private equity firm.
The acquisition was announced last September but completed last Friday. As we write this, we believe Chew, who grew MISA into one of Singapore’s leading accredited and leading online travel agencies, was taking a well-deserved holiday in Thailand.
He retires after 20 years of having built MISA Travel up to be an effective competitor against the global online players and defended his Singapore turf well, with the airfares.com.sg site constantly ranked high up on travel websites in Singapore. His agency was held up as a role model for traditional travel agents migrating online.
Singapore’s Chinatown is where most of its traditional travel agents remain strong. Photo: yoursingapore.com
Known for his “quiet and effective management style”, Chew tended to take a low profile, saying he’d rather listen and learn than talk.
The acquisition will see Zana Capital take over the businesses which include
- airfares.com.sg (air ticket reservations)
- hotels.com.sg (worldwide hotel reservations)
- cruises.com.sg (cruise reservations)
- getaways.com.sg (package reservations)
- resorts.com.sg (luxury resort reservations)
- landtours.com.sg (land tour reservations)
- rails.com.sg (rail reservations)
With Zana’s strategic investment, MISA Travel hopes to contest against low yields and the competitive tourism landscape to expand its portfolio further to greater heights. This support will help accelerate growth by increasing the scale and presence of the MISA Travel in Singapore and regionally. 
Wee Hee Ling has been named Chief Executive Officer, effective 23 September of MISA Travel. A veteran with 27 years of experience in the tourism industry, Wee was the former CEO of CTC Tourism Holding, overseeing the management of the company and spearheading its integrated and vertical expansion beyond the shores of Singapore.
In connection with the transaction, Tan Hoon Moi and Leonard Chew will continue with the Company as Head (Corporate Affairs) and Head (Channel Distribution), supporting Wee in executing the Company’s strategic growth initiatives.
Said the press release announcing Chew’s retirement, “Completely in character, he requested that there be no formal farewell celebrations to mark the occasion of his retirement. Although we all will miss him in the future, he now deserves time to pursue some personal passion-driven projects.”
We hope the publicity-shy executive doesn’t mind us revealing where he’s taking his vacation. Congratulations, Kenny.
