Events
Noh Master Kawamura wants to keep 14th century art form alive by sharing with travellers
18/04/2024 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Third-generation performer to open WiT Japan & North Asia 2024 Compared with most Noh families, whose roots can go back to the 14th century, Noh Master Kawamura Haruhisa, who runs Kyoto’s Kawamura Noh Theatre, is a relative newcomer. His Noh roots go back a mere three generations. And [...]
Fritz Demopoulos on new frontiers in travel & beyond 
26/03/2024 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Where others see bad traffic and chaos, this entrepreneur sees opportunities. It was with this thinking that he fearlessly co-founded the first travel metasearch company in China in 2005, Qunar, which is now part of the Trip.com Group. Since his exit, he’s been keeping a watchful eye on travel tec [...]
Lessons from WiT Africa, Part 1: From Cape of Good Hope to the promise of youths, mobile and payments
20/03/2024 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
“NDC adoption is slower than two elephants making babies”, among some of the more colourful quotes at the first WiT Africa “Isn’t it wonderful to wake up to views like these?” said Farai, our driver, taking the very words from my mouth as we weaved through the coastline from Llandudno to [...]
Letter from Cape Town: Of diamonds, dassies and naked surprises
14/03/2024 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
As the Singapore Airlines flight came in for a landing in Cape Town Monday morning and I watched the beautiful vistas of the Western Cape unfold before my eyes, the first question that popped into my head was, “Why has it taken me so long?” I first came to South Africa when I was still living [...]
Spotnana launches events platform aimed at travel management for corporate gatherings
13/03/2024 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
“Large global enterprises that we serve have been asking us to provide a product for meeting and event travel,” says CEO Travel-as-a-Service platform Spotnana has announced the launch of Spotnana Events, a solution focused on the travel management market for corporate meetings and events. With [...]
Swiftonomics leaves Singapore with post-concert gains
13/03/2024 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
More than any other entertainment event, The Eras Tour brought with it invaluable lessons for the APAC hospitality scene After six spectacular nights of the highly anticipated Eras Tour in Singapore, pop icon Taylor Swift has left the Lion City for Los Angeles, where she’ll rest for a couple of m [...]
Wayra and HBX Group unveil winning startups to join TravelTech Lab
07/03/2024 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
B2B platform HBX Group and Wayra, Telefónica's Corporate Venture Capital arm, have announced the winners of the second TravelTech Lab challenge. The announcement comes after a rigorous evaluation of 120 companies hailing from 25 countries, including Spain, France, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Sing [...]
Growing regulations, shift towards online and AI driving change in experiences sector
05/03/2024 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
The response by authorities to over-tourism and environmental concerns by either the introduction of fees and limiting tourist numbers are posing a challenge to the experiences industry, said Arival CEO and co-founder Douglas Quinby at the opening of Arival in Berlin this week. “In some popul [...]
How Taylor swiftly earned Singapore half-a-billion dollars
29/02/2024 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
Economy booster: One travel platform saw tour bookings shoot up by 2,373% during concert period.   Phenomenon Definition: a: a rare or significant fact or event, b: an exceptional, unusual, or abnormal person, thing, or occurrence People usually make ‘Best Of’ lists at the end of the y [...]
France anticipates influx of travellers during Summer Olympics, 5.4% from Japan
27/02/2024 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
As the world gears up for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, travel data shared by digital marketing platform Sojern sheds light on the burgeoning travel interest surrounding the massive event. Scheduled from July 26th to August 11th, 2024, the Olympics is said to be the largest event ever o [...]