Travel demand surpasses pre-Covid levels; Asia-Pacific airlines leading recovery
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced continued strong passenger traffic demand in April.
The revival of domestic travel has been nothing short of remarkable, with a substantial 42.6% surge in April compared to the previous year. In fact, domestic travel has now not o [...]
Reviewing hotel reviews. Australia banks on Hopper. Digital nomads in Europe, more
Commbank opens a travel account with Hopper
Australia’s CommBank is the latest organisation to hop onboard Hopper to help make it easier for the bank’s customers to book flights, accommodation and car rental – both domestic and international.
Hopper ‘s range of travel features will be pa [...]
Atly Secures $18 Million in Funding for Location-Based Discovery and Mapping
The platform combines social media-like knowledge sharing with mapping and location discovery tools to create a more precise search experience.
Atly, a user-generated social mapping platform, has announced its official launch along with $18 million in funding from Target Global, Tal Ventures, and F [...]
GetYourGuide nabs $194M for global expansion, more AI development
TOURS and activities online booking platform GetYourGuide has closed $194 million in equity and credit financing and plans to use the funding to expand in key markets and to accelerate product innovation – including extensive work with generative artificial intelligence.
The financing comes in [...]
Calling Travel Changemakers who built back better with tech
WiT collaborates with ATTIA to launch new awards
WiT (Web in Travel), Asia Pacific’s leading travel tech news and events platform, will launch an awards series, the Travel Changemakers Awards, at its signature conference in Singapore this year. The Awards aim to recognise travel innovators that h [...]
Letter from Phuket: A destination for all seasons, all tastes, Zombies included
As I boarded my Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Phuket this week, I couldn’t help but reflect on that first flight I took to New York back in November 2021 when travel was still largely restricted in Asia, and I was literally crying over my satay from the emotion of being at 30,000 fee [...]
Let’sfly sets up HQ in Singapore to “go deep” into low cost airline content
Dusting off the aftermath of the pandemic, Let’sfly, the Chinese flight platform which prides itself on providing good quality low cost airline content via direct API, is building up its global team to expand beyond China.
The flight platform, which started in 2014 focused on providing low [...]
Penang bans homestays after a year of deliberation. Was it the right move?
“Housing areas are for residents. If you are holidaying, go to a hotel.”
Last year, Penang’s state government said that it would ban short-term rental homes or homestays in response to complaints by residents of such properties. After a year of will-they-won’t-they, Penang finally announced [...]
THAIFEX – HORECA Asia opens in March 2024 and reveals next-gen trends in the region
Organisers hope to replicate the scale of its flagship F&B event for hotels, restaurants, and catering
Technology and sustainability were the key themes that surfaced at the soft launch of THAIFEX-HOREC Asia, an event focused on the food & beverage industry, held in Bangkok last week.
Fr [...]
Meet the 15 semi-finalists of the Global Startup Pitch
After an almost five-hour marathon of startup pitches that went around the world, 15 companies have been chosen to proceed to the Semi-Finals of the Global Startup Pitch, run by WiT and Phocuswright.
They are:
Asia Pacific
Igoroom
Roady Travel
Tour Amigo
Middle East & Afric [...]
