African expertise puts Travelstart in good stead to tap Middle East growth
With South Africa as its home base and its businesses spread across the African continent, Travelstart believes its roots and experience make it well suited to take on the emerging and fragmented markets of the Middle East. Paulina Klotzbucher, managing director, Travelstart, who has overview of th [...]
Cracking local payments is key to unlocking potential of Middle East
When you combine three forces – a young demographic, an aspirational market of travellers and strong mobile adoption – it stands to reason that the future for online and mobile payments is bright in the Middle East.
Spending is on the rise, said Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo, VP of Business Dev [...]
Letter from Penang: Why indies who pursue love matter in the big money world of travel
Each time I return to Penang, I discover
a new and interesting business set up by yet another entrepreneur out to make a
difference on the island. This island, after all, was built by traders,
merchants and immigrants, much like my father.
Hikayat is a new creative and arts space founded by [...]
For love and money: From Taipei to Penang, how two independent hoteliers are doing it their way
With the theme of “Love & Money: How To Do Both” threading through WiT Indie held in Penang on March 15, it was interesting to hear the responses from speakers when asked to choose one or the other.
Benjamin Liao, chairman of Taiwan’s Forte Hotel Group, created laughter when he said, [...]
Here’s how to get your experience business discovered
Travel activities account for 9% of global travel market and is the third largest segment of the travel space after airlines and hotels. This is a significant space worth about US$129 billion (RM500 billion).
Nearer home, Asia Pacific is the largest regional market for tours and activities [...]
Marketing to the Chinese traveller: What you ought to know
“There are big changes in the China travel market, which also means big opportunities for marketers.” This was how Reene Ho-Phang, founder and, managing director of BrandStory Asia, described what lies in store for companies looking to do business with this outbound travel giant.
She was giv [...]
WiT Japan & North Asia Startup Pitch 2019 issues call for entries amidst growing entrepreneurial mindset in region
As Japan and its surrounding North Asian neighbours grow its entrepreneurial mindset, WiT Japan & North Asia Startup Pitch 2019 has issued its call for entries for this year’s competition.
Startups are urged to send in their pitches for the annual WiT Japan & North Asia Startup Pitch 2 [...]
Hotels need to take more leadership to address climate change issues
The hotel industry should take a larger leadership role in addressing climate change issues, said director of AlphaBeta (SG) Dr Fraser Thompson, one of the key speakers at the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP) Update in Singapore next week.
“I don’t think the hotel indust [...]
APRDO pushes for membership ahead of the Alternative Ownership conference in Singapore
The newly formed Asia Pacific Resort Development Organisation (APRDO), a new regional trade organisation formed in May 2018 with the mission to support and promote the timeshare industry in Asia Pacific, is reaching out to the industry through a membership drive.
The organisation “strive [...]
The road to Tokyo 2020 and beyond: WiT Japan & North Asia returns to ask the tough questions
Japan’s inbound continues to surge, reaching over 30m visitors in 2018, inching ever closer to its goal of 40m by 2020 and 60m in another decade.
Yet despite record visitors and spend in
2018 (totalling 4.5 trillion yen or $41.3 billion), its rate of growth has
slowed significantly, according [...]
