Letter from Riyadh: Key takeaways from TOURISE 2025
You name it, it had it – the opening of TOURISE 2025, the new global travel platform powered by the Ministry of Tourism of Saudi Arabia which kicked off in Riyadh this week.
Poetry, dancers, a rock band, a singer mimicking animal sounds – all against a backdrop of stunning visuals on the most g [...]
Full circle: GetYourGuide comes home to Asia
Doubling down and investing in its fastest-growing region for next chapter of growth.
Sixteen years after it was born from a serendipitous student trip to Beijing, GetYourGuide has come full circle, with the Berlin-based online marketplace for travel activities returning to Asia Pacific with a rene [...]
India rising: Two IPOs, a billion dreams
India’s two most iconic travel founders – Deep Kalra of MakeMyTrip and Aloke Bajpai of ixigo – reflect on their journeys, rivalries, and hopes for the next 20 years of travel. Their dialogue captured not just how far India has come, but how much further it can go.
If Bollywood were to m [...]
Heavy meta: 3 travel mavericks on reinvention, AI, and the long road back
They were once the rebels of online travel – the mavericks who built meta-search into a movement. On one stage at WiT Singapore’s The Next 20 conference, Gareth Williams (Skyscanner), Ross Veitch (Wego), and Kei Shibata (travel.jp) reunited to look back on the early days of disruption and [...]
Agoda’s Next 20: From price powerhouse to proactive travel assistant
What CEO Omri Morgenshtern and CTO Idan Zalzberg say comes next: exponential change, trust-by-design, and a connected trip that finally feels…connected.
The pivot: from “search & save” to “anticipate & serve”
Turning 20 is a moment for reinvention. Omri Morgenshtern frame [...]
From flash deals to Muay Thai villas: Stephanie Chai’s luxe lesson in pivot and perseverance
When The Luxe Nomad launched in 2012, it was born out of a dare, and a dose of naïveté. Thirteen years later, its founder Stephanie Chai sits on a regional empire of villas, chalets, and condo-hotels spanning Bali, Thailand, and Hokkaido – proof that optimism, when coupled with tenacity, can [...]
Inside the mind of Trip’s Xing Xiong: A technologist reflects on the AI age
AI cannot replace passion: Make safe decisions with limited resources, collaborate to put travellers first, focus on problems, not tech.
In a rare public appearance, Trip.com Group’s Chief Operating Officer Xing Xiong stepped out of his “engine room” to speak at WiT’s 20th anniversary con [...]
From intelligence to well-being: Inside JTB’s Eijiro Yamakita’s vision to enrich global tourism
In Japan, there is a saying, 縁は異なもの味なもの」(En wa i na mono, aji na mono) – which means literally, “Fate is a strange thing, and a flavourful thing” – meaning “the ties and encounters in life are unexpected and mysterious, but they bring richness and delight”.
It [...]
From spreadsheet to sky: How Skyscanner took flight
Three coders, one spreadsheet, and a restless idea that refused to stay grounded.
When Barry Smith, Gareth Williams, and Bonamy Grimes decided to start a business together, they had no idea what shape it would take. All they knew was that they wanted to build something – and that whatever it wa [...]
Letter from Vietnam – wait, strike that, Phuket: Travellers have more power than ever
Putting travellers’ interests first is in our best interests.
It’s a long story how our motley crew of five travellers, spanning three generations, ended up in Phuket instead of Vietnam. Let’s just say visas were involved.
But as I sit here in the lap of luxury at Trisara, one of the isla [...]
