Survive, innovate, collaborate, then look to the future. What will travel look like in the new normal?
The first priority is survival. “This is the opportunity to fix the problems in our business,” said Stephan Ekbergh, CEO, Travelstart, during WiT Virtual’s Middle East Forum held last week. “Then if you manage to survive, you have to innovate. We innovate best under pressure.”
Stephan [...]
Airlines have melted like “snow in the Sahara”; why flying will not be the same again
Aviation veteran Christoph Mueller last
night paid tribute to airline executives for the amazing job they have done,
building up networks that allowed people to fly everywhere, earning dividends
for investors and shareholders and paying bonuses to staff for the past 25
years.
“To see it [...]
How to manage fear and anxiety in time of coronavirus
From how to manage your own fear to how to manage bored kids at home, psychiatrist and counsellor Dr Adrian Wang had a long list of advice for our listeners who tuned into our WiT Virtual last Friday.
Here are our key takeaways.
1. Manage social media anxiety
“You have to [...]
WiT Africa rescheduled, “we will return when the world will look very different”
Following consultation with key stakeholders in its inaugural WiT Africa, scheduled for May 28, WiT has decided to reschedule its Cape Town event.
The deteriorating situation over Covid-19, which has seen it gone global in its outbreak in recent weeks and travel restrictions implemented worldwi [...]
Running an event in a pandemic – worse than bungy jumping but it gets you thinking about the future of meetings
I’ve done many things in my life – bungy jumped, tandem skydived, climbed Mount Kinabalu, trekked many trails, ran into armed gunmen in Thailand, rolled down a jeep in Namibia, contended with a scorpion sting in the middle of the night in Bostwana – but I’ve never ever run an event in the m [...]
Don’t drop rates, call to hoteliers as occupancy plummets amid the pandemic
A report by the Malaysian Association of Hotels states that over 157,000 rooms in Malaysia were cancelled as of February 17, resulting in an estimated RM66 million (US$15 million) loss in revenue following the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
Now the picture is even more dismal with the implemen [...]
Resilience and sustainability to frame conversations at WiT Indie
Independents in travel will gather in Penang this week to focus on recovery and sustaining strategies as the industry copes with the global travel and tourism fall-out.
“Whether we
are in the midst of a crisis or not, creating and running sustainable
businesses should always be our agenda. As [...]
WiT Middle East 2020 moves to November 24, “we will return stronger”
Following an intense week of consultation with key stakeholders in its Dubai event, scheduled for April 7, WiT has decided to move its Middle East edition to November 24.
The uncertainty over the developing Covid-19 situation in the region had made it hard to plan for
the one-day event.
“ [...]
Mark the new date for a stronger WiT Seoul 2020: October 29
WiT and local partner, Tidesquare, have made the decision to reschedule its Seoul event from April to October 29.
The
uncertainty over the developing Covid-19 situation in South Korea in which the
government has put the country on its
highest alert and the Singapore government has issued travel [...]
Don’t build more, fix problems first, Penang tourism master planners told
Less than a month to go before WiT Indie kicks off in Penang on March 13, and fireworks have exploded over the new Penang Tourism Master Plan that was presented a week ago, with criticisms ranging from it not meeting the needs of industry and travellers to “building more when we should be solving [...]
