Letter from Las Vegas: Travel will soar and new tech will rule but keep love and instinct close
“Want a night out with sluts?” solicited a tout on the strip, as a group of men walked past. Getting no interest, he changed his tack. “We have bible studies too.”
Welcome to Las Vegas, a place for every taste and desire. You want it, you will find it. I wanted Korean food. I got it in C [...]
Skyscanner reports growing appetite for new destinations, novel experiences and comfier journeys in APAC
The annual Skyscanner Travel Trends Report APAC 2018, covering eight markets – Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan and Thailand – peels back the layers on customer preferences as travel becomes more accessible to a rapidly growing middle class.
Said Paul [...]
Time for tech giants to grow up as power of platforms coalesces
Never has so much power been in the hands of so few over so many. As such, there’s a need for more governance and for tech giants to take their responsibilities seriously. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports from Explore 18, Las Vegas, where tech giants like Amazon, Uber and Expedia Group were interviewed by [...]
Expedia closing in on $100b as it aims to be world’s largest travel platform
Fifteen years after its first partners' conference, Expedia Group has re-named its annual gathering in Las Vegas to Explore because “it reflects who we have become and aspire to”.
Opening the event yesterday, which is being attended by more than 4,500 delegates, Mark Okerstrom, president and [...]
Bear Luxe Japan launches B2B portal to address luxury travel market
In an effort to address Japan’s growing luxury tourism market, Bear Luxe Japan – an online platform and community of luxury travel suppliers and international buyers – has launched a B2B membership portal to better communicate, exchange services and develop partnerships between suppliers and [...]
From Odisha to Bay Area, how Ritesh Agarwal built OYO Rooms into a unicorn
If you believe that like leaders, entrepreneurs are either born or they are made, then Ritesh Agarwal, founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, belongs to the former.
Growing up in the second most undeveloped district of India in Rayagada, Odisha, the young Ritesh tried his hand at many businesses including [...]
Letter from Berlin: Brexit woes, hard truths about aviation and hail the good guys of globalisation
Flying across from Cardiff to Berlin via Amsterdam over the weekend of the Brexit negotiations made me mindful of how fragile and uncertain the social, political and economic landscape of Europe is.
As I read the headlines – how the Europeans have agreed to the Brexit deal and now Prime Ministe [...]
Young, independent female travellers fuel growth of China’s outbound travel market
They are young, independent, adventurous, preferring to travel solo – these are the post-90s and post-00s women contributing to the rapid growth of outbound travel from China, according to the latest Ctrip and Mastercard 2018 Chinese Travel Consumer Report
The findings revealed that the proport [...]
Letter from Los Angeles: Of last mile mobility, teenage dreams and Chinese ambitions
The day I landed in Los Angeles, there was a heavy smell of smoke in the air. The California wildfires were raging and the winds were blowing smoke towards the city.
It didn’t stop the city’s residents from getting out and about. The LA Live area was teeming with crowds. A Lakers game was on, [...]
Uncovering stories of startups in Asia Part 2: Of size, investments and restrictive policies
Startups from China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Nepal and Israel took to the stage at the WiT Bootcamp held in conjunction with WiT Singapore 2018 conference last month to share their stories and the state of the startup ecosystem in their countries.
In the second part of the report we h [...]
