Letter from Dubai: An amazing first day as we count down to WIT Middle East
It’s becoming a familiar journey – my third visit to Dubai in three months. It’s one of those places that’s closer in my mind than it really is. At seven-and-a-half hours, it’s actually closer to Europe than it is to Singapore.
It’s a beautiful sunset as we land – lovely shade [...]
Hospitality at the cusp of a tech transformation, says IHS’ Rowley
Steve Rowley, chairman and CEO of the IHS Group, remembers the coin game he used to play as a child – where you have a pile of coins lined up on the edge and all you have to do is throw one more coin in there and everything tips over.
Well, that’s where he believes the hospitality industry [...]
TrustYou wants to be ‘the alternative to TripAdvisor’
How many reviews can anyone possibly read before deciding on a hotel? Well, a recent TripAdvisor study commissioned byPhoCusWright shows that travelers read at least six to twelve reviews prior to booking.
Now imagine as the universe of user reviews grows – TripAdvisor now boasts more th [...]
Recruit steps up efforts in highly-competitive Indonesian market
Japan's Recruit Holdings, which has three travel joint ventures in the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam, sees great opportunities in these emerging markets but realizes competition is also getting stiffer as more players, both global and local, enter the space.
Kohei Nakajima (left), who [...]
Letter from Cardiff: A tale of flowers, food, fact and fiction
It’s early March and the daffodils are out. Narcissus flowers are blooming (left). This time of the year usually, the flowers are still hiding. But the last weekend I spent in Cardiff, it felt that spring had sprung.
Not too soon though for the poor folks in the British Isles – there’ve b [...]
Letter from ITB Berlin: Trends to watch and heed in Asia
Making a quick exit from Berlin – can’t help but think how ironic I just attended the world’s largest travel trade fair where there was a lot of talk about technology and how that’s changing travel but there’s not much evidence of that in real life.
Pictured above (L-R): Kei Shibata, Ye [...]
Hot. Hebat. Hangat. Indonesia. Women. Travel.
I think I broke a personal record last Saturday. I went to Jakarta. I spent eight hours there. I spent it all in a shopping mall. And I didn’t buy a single thing.
I was there to speak at a Wired Women Weekend event and instead of imparting what little I know, I ended up learning a whole lot [...]
Letter from 30,000 feet: The difference between SIA and Emirates A380 Business Class experience
I am sitting at 30,000-something feet as I write this, cocooned in my flat bed on a Singapore Airlines A380 to Zurich. I feel like I am in a space capsule – I can now charge all my devices and yes, there’s now also On Air wifi.
There goes that last bastion of peace. I check it out but think t [...]
Letter from Berlin: Same, same conversations but different
Arrived in Berlin yesterday, my annual pilgrimage to this city to attend the world’s largest travel trade fair and thinking, it’s amazing how everything’s changed yet nothing has.
As usual, I meet fellow travel colleagues on the flight. And as usual, the same conversations are struck up.
[...]
Musafir wants to become the MakeMyTrip of the Middle East
With its sights focused on becoming the “MakeMyTrip of the Middle East” by 2018, Musafir.com is charting ambitious plans to grow its presence in the region as well as India where it recently launched its portal.
Co-founder of the Sharjah-based OTA, Albert Dias (left), believes the Middle [...]
