Africa’s live events boom: The continent is ready for its mega-concert moment
From Springbok sell-outs to Formula E, South Africa is proving it can host world-class live events. But infrastructure gaps, rising costs and a talent drain are holding the continent back from its full potential.
The numbers don't lie
The global live events industry is on a tear. Valued at [...]
Japan’s travellers have already embraced AI. Its travel brands are still catching up
In Japan, artificial intelligence has quietly become part of how people approach travel. Consumers have absorbed the technology into their planning with little fanfare, even as many of the businesses they ultimately book with have been slower to respond.
That divergence between travellers who hav [...]
Inside the storm: Wego’s Veitch caught between anxiety and excitement
As a leader heading an OTA inside the storm of the Middle East conflict, Ross Veitch, co-founder and CEO of Wego, finds himself caught between two emotional states.
“One gives me anxiety,” he said, when asked what was keeping him awake – the geopolitical instability reshaping the Middle Eas [...]
Travel is reorganising along “paths of least resistance”
Expedia’s Michael Dykes says an Asia-to-Asia boom is underway
The ideal the travel industry dreamt about – the global traveller – the passport-holding, visa-free, frictionlessly mobile citizen of the world – is less real today than it’s ever been, said Michael Dykes, Vice President, Mark [...]
Jesper Koll: Scarcity leads to innovation, lessons from Hello Kitty and Astro Boy
Jesper Koll, Senior Advisor, Wisdom Tree Investments, opened his presentation on “Destiny” at WiT Japan with the objection he hears most often: Japan's population is shrinking by nearly 3,000 people every day. How can anyone be bullish?
His counter argument – scarcity is the mother of inven [...]
AI + Omotenashi: Hail, a new partnership in travel
JTB’s Eijiro Yamakita on reading the room, sensing the world, and why the renaissance of travel is already here.
There is a word that does not translate easily. Omotenashi, often rendered as “Japanese hospitality”, is, as Eijiro Yamakita gently reminded the audience at WiT Japan, neither a me [...]
The Great Destination Redistribution: Moving tourism from where it is to where it should be
Data, mindsets, resident sentiment and the uncomfortable truth about who really wants redistribution
The question of how to spread tourism more evenly across Japan, away from the overcrowded golden triangle of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka and into the rural towns, regional communities and hidden landscap [...]
Bridging two worlds: Mayumi Nakamura Birt on reinvention, resilience and the art of the imperfect
Veltra’s chief transformation officer returned to Japan six months ago. What she found was a country on the edge of something, if it can tolerate the mess of getting there
Mayumi Nakamura Birt spent more than two decades running a SaaS company in the US. She learned to fail fast, move on, and t [...]
Mastercard and CrescentRating: 245 million Muslim travellers by 2030, with women driving nearly half of arrivals today
Two new reports highlight how responsible, immersive, digital and assured travel experiences are shaping the next phase of Muslim-friendly tourism
Mastercard, in collaboration with CrescentRating, has released two new reports: Halal Travel Trends 2026 and Muslim Women in Travel 2026, examining how [...]
The rise of the ‘perpetual traveller’ creates new opportunities for hotels
The hospitality industry can capitalize on rising frequency, secondary city growth, and deep localization in 2026
Digital travel platform Agoda highlights that the combination of a rising middle class and changing travel habits across Asia is creating new revenue opportunities for the travel and ho [...]
