Lessons from Aliens on the Galactic Silk Road: Space tourism, creating experiences and dreaming of AI with empathy
Science fiction has always informed the future and it was interesting to hear speakers at Melon, the sci-fi and fantasy conference address themes such as space travel, consumers wanting experiences, versus static content, the rise of China and the role of AI and machine learning to create stories a [...]
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 [...]
Tours and activities suppliers must change mindset and open thinking to tech solutions like payments
It’s difficult to think like a technology company after building a successful offline business. Yet there is pressure on local businesses, particularly in the third largest travel sector – tours and activities – to do so, as competition gets tougher and the biggest way to get discovered is th [...]
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, [...]
Wego soars to profitability and $1b gross bookings on back of Middle East success
Six years after Singapore-based travel metasearch site Wego entered the Middle East, the region now accounts for half of its total business and is the key reason why the company achieved profitability 18 months ago on $1 billion worth of gross travel bookings across the entire business.
Said Ro [...]
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 [...]
Al Tayyar Travel on the move as Saudi Arabia prepares to transform
Exciting changes are afoot in the Saudi Arabian online
travel market with the government’s Vision 2030 plan which sets ambitious
targets to diversify sources of income and reduce reliance on oil in the
kingdom.
There are plans to open up inbound tourism to foreign travellers and boost domestic [...]
South Korea’s Tidesquare receives $44m investment to fend off global OTAs in home market
In a strategic play that will give it access to new technologies and fresh funding to compete against global OTAs in its home market, leading South Korean online travel agency Tidesquare has taken in an investment of 50 billion won (US$44.3m) from Kakao, the operator of Korea's dominant messaging a [...]
