GHA turns 20, reports surge in revenues and direct bookings for its hotels
UAE-headquartered Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands, has started its 20th anniversary year on a high note, reporting robust Q1 results across all key performance indicators.
Exceeding expectations, total hotel revenues for Q1 2024 jumped t [...]
MakeMyTrip tripling down on India to build comprehensive travel shop
“We’re not going global”, asserts Rajesh Magow. Here's why.
Firstly, Rajesh Magow, CEO and co-founder of MakeMyTrip, would like to clarify that his company is not going global, as was reported in various media outlets yesterday. Instead, it’s doubling down, even tripling down on its core [...]
Best way to know Japanese culture is through its museums, says author Sophie Richard
Museum experience is changing but “not everything can go online”
As a young girl growing up in Aix-en-Provence, France, Sophie Richard fell in love with Japan, even before she visited the country. “I don’t know why. My family has no connection with Japan but I was always attracted to its ar [...]
Decoding travel jargon: From bleisure to rubbish tourism
Author and travel writer Paul Theroux had a very simple way of describing people who travel. He divided them into tourist and traveller, saying, “Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travellers don’t know where they’re going.”
Listen to the article here
(This au [...]
Zip Zap Circus: Giving kids in South Africa a chance to dare to dream
30 years on, flying trapeze partners, Brent and Laurence, continue to change lives
In Cambodia, they have Phare, The Cambodian Circus. In South Africa, they have the Zip Zap Circus. Both have similar goals – the former provides jobs for Cambodian youths in the performing arts, the latter, “insp [...]
Lessons from WiT Africa Part 2: The ties that bind us, from remote work to AI and sustainability
It’s been nearly two weeks since I left the majesty and scale of South Africa for the tiny dot of Singapore and here I am, in the even tinier (or as tiny) dot of Penang, Malaysia, where the evidence of global nomadism is in full play.
This is the island off the west coast of Malaysia that was r [...]
Of pain, suffering and low expectations: How to be happy founders and travellers
“If you’re not at one point about to go bankrupt, then you can’t say you really had a startup”
Lately, I’ve been getting lots of messages sharing Jensen Huang’s speech at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, where he wished “pain and suffering” on students at his a [...]
She went travelling for love; now she’s looking for global love for Yuko Yuko
Onsen ryokan business wants to target inbound and expand services beyond travel for Japanese seniors
Fresh out of law school, Wakako Tokuda travelled the world looking for love and a potential husband in 52 countries across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America. During those eight [...]
From Africa to FREENOW, Meili’s out to reduce friction in car rental to drive direct bookings and loyalty
Domain expertise and experience count for a lot, says seasoned Irish entrepreneur Mike McGearty
Right after Mike McGearty, CEO and co-founder, Meili Travel Technology, left Cape Town where he was speaking at WiT Africa came the news that his company had signed a partnership with FREENOW, Europe's l [...]
Lessons from WiT Africa, Part 1: From Cape of Good Hope to the promise of youths, mobile and payments
“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 [...]
