‘Skin in the game’ critical to Etihad’s quest for global growth
Equity partnerships - skin in the game - is the way forward for Etihadas it builds a road map towards global growth based on building a hub, brand and profitability.President and CEO of the Abu Dhabi-based airline, James Hogan (left), who identified the three pillars of growth as organic growth, co [...]
Travel agents still have a role to play in digital travellers’ world
Travelport’s recent global research into the habits and booking patterns of digital leisure travellers showed that, despite being tech savvy, this new breed of road warriors tend to be confused with information overload on the web and are more likely to use a travel agent for complex trips.The stu [...]
Five ideas for a digital world
We don’t need digital ideas, we need ideas for a digital world, according to James Sowden, Engagement Planning Director and David Webster, Digital Business Development Director of BBHAsia Pacific, at the Alpha Terra Marketing Conference in Jakarta recently. This is a summary of their presentation. [...]
How Hotel ICON turned a possible negative into a ‘hotel with purpose’
When Hotel ICON was in the initial stages of planning, it was wary of the negative connotations that could be attached to a hotel that is owned by a school.“We didn’t want people to think of it as a hostel and that they’d be served by students only,” said Richard Hatter, general manager.So [...]
The Wrap: No disconnect from technology for Singaporean travellers
In the news: Online poll on Internet habits of travellers from Singapore, ASEAN tourism goes social, India eases visa ruleNo disconnect from technology for Singaporean travellersAn online poll conducted by Norton by Symantec with 100 respondents in Singapore on Internet usage habits of consumers wh [...]
Scott Blume is Wotif’s new chief executive officer
Australian online travel company, Wotif, has appointed hospitality industry veteran Scott Blume as CEO, replacing Robbie Cooke who resigned in September 2012.An Australian, Blume (pictured left) is a seasoned CEO with travel sector experience both within Australia and Asia, He has worked in Asia - [...]
Asia’s robust outbound travel fuels global tourism
Asians are travelling and will continue to do so in 2013. Outbound trips rose by 7% in 2012 and are forecast to increase by 6% next year with China and Japan leading the growth, according to the lates tITB World Travel Trends Report.The two countries reported healthy double-digit growth in 2012. Dur [...]
Service with a purpose – mind the details, solve a problem, build a brand
Talking to James Hogan, CEO of Etihad, during his acceptance of the Aviation Executive of the Year award by CAPA in Hong Kong last week, it’s clear the Australian-born airline chief is madly focused on customer service.He knows, like every chief executive of businesses whose products have been com [...]
A-Z of business travel trends – technology to drive change in the year ahead
CWT, in its forecast of key business travel trends for 2013, predicts consumer-influenced technology, such as mobile apps, will find its way to corporate travel.The travel management company said it has developed traveller-focused tools based on “mobile”, “social” and “local” principles [...]
Etihad, Cathay see technology as key to owning the customer
Many things were said by airline executives speaking at the two-day CAPA World Aviation Summit 2012 in Hong Kong this week but one clear message resonated with me – full service carriers are investing in technology to own the customer in every sense of the word.This is an area where low cost carri [...]
