From phone cards to payment cards: Visa’s Tania Platt on powering the Next Age of Travel
Tania Platt didn’t start in travel. She started in telecoms, selling international phone minutes – Mother’s Day and Ramadan were peak days – just as they are now in travel. That deep understanding of human connection and the friction in how it’s facilitated still drives her today in her ro [...]
From beach to boardroom: How dnata Is future-proofing travel with heart and humility
In a candid conversation with Phocuswright’s Pete Comeau at WiT Phocuswright Middle East 2025, John Bevan, CEO of dnata Travel Group, reflects on leadership, legacy travel models, and the future that’s already arriving, but still needs a human touch.
The session started with snow and silence. [...]
Story of RAK: Marketing for the Social Generation
“Tom Hardy, please come to RAK”
In a travel world defined by five-second attention spans, DMOs can no longer afford to simply “broadcast and hope.”
Speaking at Phocuswright WiT Middle East, Alka Winter, Vice President of Destination Marketing & Communications at Ras Al Khaimah Touris [...]
Hospitality’s future playbook: AI, emotional loyalty and the rise of new booking channels
At a time when technology is moving faster than the industry can keep up, the future of direct distribution and loyalty in hospitality is set for sweeping transformation.
In a discussion moderated by Li Hawkins, Partner & Managing Director, Hospitality & Travel at Insight Out, senior lea [...]
Survival of the fittest: How OTAs are competing in the Middle East
In an increasingly competitive Middle East online travel landscape, staying ahead demands more than just speed – it requires sharp differentiation, relentless innovation, and smart use of AI. That was the dominant mood as top OTA leaders from Booking.com, Wego, Almosafer, and Travelwings gath [...]
Reflective and inventive: Lessons from a mirrored monument in the desert
In the heart of the Ashar Valley in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, rises something extraordinary: Maraya, the world’s largest mirrored building. From afar, it appears almost unreal – shimmering like a desert mirage, warping and dissolving into the rocky landscape. Up close, it reflects the sandstone clif [...]
The shifting sands of social: From inspiration to action, from influence to selling
At a time when travellers are booking trips based on TikTok trends and planning itineraries via AI, the intersection of social media and travel commerce has never been more dynamic or more challenging for brands.
At Phocuswright WiT Middle East 2025, a panel of marketers, creators and platform [...]
The future of travel: Zero-phase UI and IT employees reporting to HR
In a lively and sometimes irreverent panel at Phocuswright WiT Middle East in Dubai last week, hospitality and travel technology leaders debated how AI, automation, and invisible operations are reshaping the future of travel, payments, and the guest experience.
The session kicked off on a playful [...]
Letter from AlUla: In a land of stories, the real influencers rise
On my flydubai flight to AlUla, at the unearthly hour of 6:50am, I felt like my Instagram feed had come to life.
As it turns out, I’d arrived in this ancient desert kingdom in Saudi Arabia at the same time as 50 influencers gathering for the first-ever Instagram-AlUla Summit. This, I discovered [...]
From Labubu to Lady Gaga: Singapore’s tourism bets big amid global gloom
In a world clouded by tariffs, tensions and teetering economies, Singapore is doubling down on a singular message – tourism is not just nice to have, it’s critical to its future. And from Pop Mart’s shaggy star Labubu to pop icon Lady Gaga, dinosaurs to robots, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB [...]
