Growing Hilton in APAC: Deploying AI, innovating the app and enhancing “the stay”
With 126 hotels opening this year in Asia Pacific, you could say Hilton is growing at its fastest in the region, although Ben George, APAC SVP & commercial director, concedes, not as fast as generative AI is developing.
“This whole AI vertical is growing so fast,” he told me during one of [...]
Newly launched Northstar Travel Today delivers daily travel scene snapshots to your inbox
“This new initiative is a uniquely Northstar-enabled creation, gathering our voices to paint a picture of the global travel industry.”
There’s a lot happening in the travel and hospitality space - markets are shifting, tourism is recovering, key markets are evolving. Technology is fundamental [...]
BritGPT is AI on roids; Unbundling travel insurance; Guinness World Records validates Travelport+
Brits put AI on “steroids”
The UK government plans to invest £900m in a cutting-edge supercomputer, as part of its new artificial intelligence (AI) strategy – a move will enable the country to build its own “BritGPT”.
Adam Harris, founder & CEO of Cloudbeds, which provides techno [...]
Tasmania hopes to hook Asian travellers with ecotourism and its latest attraction – winter
Australia’s island state isn’t interested in being a mass tourism spot
During the STO Showcase at the Australian Tourism Exchange 2023 (ATE23), Sherene Somerville (PR Manager, Tourism Tasmania) was quick to point out that contrary to popular belief, Tasmania isn’t a singular island - it’s a [...]
China, Experiences, Business Travel: Mastercard Economics Institute Reveals 2023 Travel Trends
AS more brands and institutions release data regarding travel trends for the rest of the year, one defining factor that’s bound to arise is the reentry of China in the travel scene.
Despite shaky economies the world over, people have been flooding to domestic and international destinations in [...]
How the metaverse will transform travel: McKinsey points to $800B industry by 2025
THE metaverse market is experiencing rapid growth and by 2025, is projected to reach a market size of approximately $800 billion, with estimates suggesting it could surpass $1 trillion by 2030, according to the McKinsey report, “Value Creation in Metaverse”.
The gaming industry is at the fore [...]
Yanolja Cloud buys Israel’s Go Global Travel to fuel global expansion
Continuing its expansion to bring K-tech to the hospitality and leisure world, Yanolja Cloud has announced the acquisition of Go Global Travel (GGT), an Israeli B2B travel technology company, which distributes its inventory of more than one million hotels and other travel products from 200 countries [...]
Is it a garden? A park? Oh, it’s the Pan Pacific Orchard
New build hotel decked out in 200% foliage makes debut June 1
His first hotel opening was the Crowne Plaza Chengdu in 1996 and when the new Pan Pacific Orchard soft opens on June 1, it will be Marcel Holman’s seventh opening – and he openly admits it, it’s a whole new world when it comes to h [...]
Top of the WiT 24: Ready for China, understanding India, and Google ARCore digitises Singapore
Top Of The WiT is a grab of the trendiest news that happened this week in travel, tech and Asia - all condensed into a quick-and-easy nugget-sized podcast.
In this episode, listen to Juliana Kua's (Assistant Chief Executive, International Group, Singapore Tourism Board) take on the online travel [...]
Future of Extended Reality; eating “phygital” chocolate; Air NZ’s digital goals; More
McKinsey’s take on the future of XR in travel
McKinsey and Co, in an extensive new report, has posed the question, ‘Can travel go virtual’, can the travel industry grab a US$20 billion opportunity offered by the metaverse.
The answer? Yes, no and maybe.
McKinsey suggests it’s time for [...]
