Cruising goes digital: Complexity, connectivity and the human touch
Did you know that in 2009, online travel penetration in APAC was just 17.4%? By 2025, it has surged to 65.4%. The growth is huge.
Cruise, however, has always been the laggard. Flights, hotels, tours and activities all went online earlier. Cruise, with its complexity, was the last holdout. That� [...]
The Great Domestic Rediscovery in Asia
"Growing maturity is fuelled by rising incomes, improved visa access, and expanding flight networks."
According to the latest search data on Booking.com’s platform, the Asia Pacific region spent the first half of 2025 looking up destinations both domestic and international - with some clear favou [...]
Seek Sophie: Building a tribe around conscious travel
When Jacinta Lim talks about her startup, Seek Sophie, you can feel both the grit and the idealism running through her words.
Speaking at Travel Tech Thursdays in Kuala Lumpur late last month, the co-founder admits that creating the company has been the hardest thing she’s ever done, harder tha [...]
Hidden gems have expiry dates: Why social must keep uncovering
I asked Wilfred Fan, Chief Commercial Officer of Klook, a question: When a hidden gem is listed on Klook, is it still hidden?
His reply came quick, straight, almost matter-of-fact: “At the moment our team explores them, they are hidden. After review and release, they’re no longer hidden. Th [...]
Online Travel In Asia: The Untold Story (Chapters 5 – 8)
The next chapters of Online Travel in Asia: The Untold Story dive into the defining “moonshot moments” that changed the course of the travel tech industry. From Agoda’s acquisition by Priceline in 2007 to MakeMyTrip’s IPO in 2010, and Qunar’s $306 million sale to Baidu the following year, [...]
Tokyo named world’s best ‘workcation’ city; Singapore ranks fourth in Asia
Tokyo has been named the world’s best workcation city for 2025 in International Workplace Group’s (IWG) third annual Work from Anywhere Barometer, with Singapore ranking among Asia’s top cities where flexible working enables professionals to stay productive while travelling.
The ranking sees [...]
STB and OpenAI sign first-of-its-kind MOU to prepare tourism sector for AI-driven future
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and OpenAI have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance Singapore's tourism sector for a future driven by Advanced AI. This marks the first adoption of OpenAI’s technology by a national tourism organisation in Asia, reinforcing Singapore's position a [...]
Crisis to calling: A son returns with hopes to rebuild family agency
When Allan Aung Khang Kyaw returned to Yangon in 2023 to take over his family’s travel agency, he never imagined he’d be doing so under the shadow of civil war.
“Talk about timing,” said Allan, who had spent six years studying business/management and working in the UK before deciding to joi [...]
Arts and culture top visitor motivators across Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia
PwC Middle East and Mabrian Technologies publish new research on shifting visitor expectations across the Gulf region
New research by PwC Middle East, in collaboration with Mabrian Technologies, a global travel intelligence platform, reveals that visitor preferences across the Gulf region are und [...]
Deep Kalra on surviving the fires, changing the rules and dreaming of travel 2045 | Conversations On Turning 20
When you get to the ripe young age of 20, you’re bound to collect lots of stories – not only about the past but lessons for the future.
As WiT marks its 20th year in 2025, we turn the spotlight on our community, our tribe pioneers and leaders, to tell their stories and share their views on th [...]
