Hospitality
Singaporeans travel to relax, while Malaysians travel seeking adventure
18/04/2023 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
55% of Singaporeans and Malaysians who have travelled this year plan to travel again in the next 3 months “Same-same but different” is a very common saying when it comes to describing, or rather differentiating, Singapore and Malaysia. The two countries share a common history, identical cuisine [...]
Top of the WiT 22: Understanding new trends and how to market to the emerging Chinese traveller
15/04/2023 by WiT
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 special episode, we look back at some key learnings from China Arising: Hello, New China, WiT's first event of 2023 in collaboartion [...]
TV inspires travel; Airport public bath; Tripadvisor’s fake reviews; China retail recovery
14/04/2023 by Ian Jarrett
White Lotus is white hot for Thailand Guardian travel writers in the UK have been looking at the growing trend of “set jetting” following Expedia's 2023 travel trends report which revealed television is influencing people’s choice of holiday more than ever. Expedia research found that stre [...]
Consumers want an easy, modern travel retail experience, research says
14/04/2023 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
“Customers prefer shopping in every other retailing sector over travel.” We often, and obviously, think of money when the term “currency” is used, but a new study points out a glaring truth that’s normally forgotten - that time is our most valuable currency. It’s also an equaliser becau [...]
Klook strikes partnership with Mandai Wildlife Group, targeting millennial and Gen Z travellers
13/04/2023 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
Partnership includes marketing campaigns across six key markets in the region Travel and experiences platform Klook and Mandai Wildlife Group have announced a three-year strategic partnership to boost international visitorship to the Mandai Wildlife Reserve, the integrated wildlife and nature preci [...]
SpotQuest tackles real-time data, launches platform with actionable insight for travel professionals
12/04/2023 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
“It is the only tool allowing the quantification of the quality of a location.” “Data” became a household word over the pandemic after many businesses turned to data insights to help them navigate the crisis. The travel and hospitality space was no different. But the value of data has been [...]
Virtual tours are getting popular, and Actsugi meets that demand in Malaysia
07/04/2023 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
“Virtual tours are not an alternative to actual tourism - it’s a pre-marketing tool.” When the pandemic first hit, one concept that gained popularity was virtual tours. With travel restricted, people turned to digital tours of popular destinations as an alternative. Some travel companies surv [...]
Digital nomad downsides; AI counts SWISS passengers; Emojis influence Airbnb rentals
06/04/2023 by Ian Jarrett
The dark side of being a digital nomad. A study by Passport Photo Online has found – not surprisingly – that the life of a digital nomad isn’t all out lazy days around the pool and piña coladas at sunset. Seeking the views of 950 US digital nomads, Passport Photo Online discovered lonelin [...]
Expedia launches ChatGPT travel planning in its iOS app
05/04/2023 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
Implementation of conversational travel planning natural next step in company's AI ecosystem Last week, we published an article about Expedia becoming one of the first travel brands to build a plugin for ChatGPT, allowing the AI platform to access Expedia’s library of travel data and users to boo [...]
From hanoks in South Korea to old homes in Japan, Airbnb expands “Historical Homes” listings in Asia
04/04/2023 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
How an idea born in France spread to create a new category of rural heritage tourism; shophouse programme under study It started out as an idea in France – to fund the renovation of heritage buildings to revitalise heritage tourism in rural areas  – an idea that eventually led to the launch [...]