As AI changes how we book travel, iWander bets on how we actually explore
iWander co-founder and CEO Marius Nigond on building AI-guided walking tours for a generation of travelers who want spontaneity, not a fixed itinerary
Travel planning is being influenced by AI faster than almost any other part of the industry. Google just moved agentic hotel booking out of pilot mo [...]
Would you relocate for a job if your pet couldn’t come with you?
The $2.4 billion reason companies are rethinking mobility, employee care and relocation packages in a holistic way.
For a growing number of employees, the answer to the question above is ‘no’. As companies compete for specialist talent across Asia-Pacific and beyond, one of the biggest sticking [...]
Banks see travel as a path to high-value loyalty, but trust is tricky.
Agoda's Damien Pfirsch on why travel is no longer a side perk for financial and loyalty brands, but one of the most valuable, and hardest to get right, customer relationships in their portfolio.
Travel used to be the reward you cashed in your points for. Now it's shaping up to be one of the most po [...]
Agoda CPO Ittai Chorev on the push into real-time travel updates and AI search
Agoda recently announced a batch of new features aimed at giving travellers more confidence when planning and managing their trips. The updates include real-time flight tracking, a redesigned hotel browsing experience, and AI tools built to help users pick the right property faster.
Travellers bo [...]
Middle East fuel shock reroutes Southeast Asia’s tourism recovery story
Velocity Ventures and Pear Anderson’s SAILOR 2H2026 report frames the second half of 2026 around a single dominant shock: the US-Israel-Iran Middle East conflict and the Strait of Hormuz closure, which more than doubled jet fuel prices, cut 5.2 million seats from Southeast Asian flight schedules ( [...]
Vio Travel could automate 99% of bookings. Its CEOs explain why they won’t.
It’s also the first DMC in Asia to pass a 100% sustainability audit
Vio Travel has spent the last few years trying to fix a problem most travel agents know all too well, which is building multi-country itineraries by hand is slow, messy, and inconsistent. The company has combined direct supplie [...]
AI in ASEAN travel. What’s working, what isn’t, what’s next.
Because of the widespread nature of AI, conversations about its applications and potential can get pretty vague. We didn’t want that to be the case, so at Travel Tech Thursdays Vol 9, we had three experts on the panel who are already deep in the build - Sarah Wan, GM for Singapore, Malaysia, Indon [...]
Travel’s next big opportunity is in the post-booking journey
Wenrix CPO Tor Leelo on the banking playbook coming for travel, and the 60% of service requests nobody's managed to fix.
A decade ago, UK banking customers didn't switch to digital-first challengers because they were cheaper, they switched because when something went wrong, the response was instant [...]
An Agoda case study: What it takes to combine flights, hotels, and activities into a single transaction
Agoda has rolled out a multi-product booking engine that lets travelers bundle hotels, flights, and activities into a single transaction — no separate checkouts, no juggling multiple confirmation emails. The feature, called One Checkout, went live on May 13 and is accessible via Agoda.com and its [...]
Extreme weather is impacting APAC travel more than you think
Booking.com's latest sustainability report shows climate risk is no longer a background concern, it's now a front-and-centre factor in how people across Asia Pacific plan, book, and rethink travel.
According to Booking.com's 11th annual Travel & Sustainability Report, climate anxiety has offici [...]
