Expedia continues global push, invests in new tech to power hoteliers and travellers
The Expedia Partner Conference held in Las Vegas last week opened on a defiant and upbeat note. Mark Okerstrom, walking on stage after the opening rhythm and drum beats of Le Reve, The Dream, said that despite the crazy year of terrorism and natural disasters, the world travelled more in 2017 with $ [...]
It may be raining money for tours & activities but for GetYourGuide’s Tao Tao, the sector’s only just beginning to get on fire
Armed with its latest fund raise of US$75 million, GetYourGuide is expanding its global presence with the launch of four new domains and has added Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Mexican Spanish as supported languages for its global inventory of tours, attractions and in-destination activ [...]
As cruises grow in Asia, will tech and customer behaviour converge to rock the boat?
There are many things cruise companies say that they hold to be true. One of these is, if you’ve been on a cruise, you will become a fan for life.
I don’t necessarily believe that to be true – I went on my first sea cruise when cruising was just taking off in Singapore in the 80s with the l [...]
Letter from Las Vegas: The cowboys are coming, travel goes on, no matter what
As the plane approached Las Vegas, I wondered if I would find things changed. After all, it’s only been two months since that horrific shooting when 58 fans attending an outdoor country and western concert at Mandalay Bay were gunned down.
The year before, I had gone reluctantly to a shooti [...]
Baidu Capital, armed with $3b, still looking for the right travel bet
Travel, like every industry, is dominated by giants but Jenny Wu says there are “good seeds” of innovation happening and it’s just a matter of time before Baidu Capital picks the next big travel bet. For now, it’s banking on an autonomous future as well as logistics and e-commerce.
[...]
CruiseWorld Asia sails into Southeast Asia
Some 350 delegates are attending the first-ever CruiseWorld Asia conference from November 30 to December 1, 2017 in Singapore.
CruiseWorld has been a dominant player in the cruise industry in North America for over a decade, and six successful editions of CruiseWorld have been staged in China sin [...]
Pitch me something I don’t understand, says investor supremo Joel Cutler
It is said the best ideas either terrify you or make you laugh. In Joel Cutler’s case, it’s ideas he doesn’t understand. Known as the man with the Midas touch with his investments in companies such as ITA Software, KAYAK and Airbnb, the co-founder and managing director of General Catalyst Part [...]
Next stop for Rome2rio as it graduates from cockroach startup – global travel brand for A to B, with everything in between
You could call it a coming of age for Rome2rio – the seven-year-old Melbourne startup has finally left the co-working space it called home for several years to move into its own offices.
Having grown from 10 to 40 staff in the last 18 months, it was deemed necessary to get its own space. “The [...]
How to fly high: Lessons from Tony Fernandes
It was fitting that I was flying high on a United Airlines flight to San Francisco when I read the new book by Tony Fernandes, group CEO of AirAsia, as he told his story from the low cost airline to QPR (Queen’s Park Rangers, for those who may not be familiar with soccer).
It’s a great inflig [...]
Letter from Fort Lauderdale: From storms to tech, global forces that bind us
Piles of seaweed lie strewn along the water’s edge along Hollywood Beach in Fort Lauderdale. I am told it’s the remnants of Hurricane Irma which crashed through the state of Florida last month.
From the other side of the world, I’ve been receiving updates of the floods that have devastated [...]
