Redefining luxury: COMO’s Doris Goh on the rise of experiential, aspirational, and purposeful travel
From truffle hunting in Tuscany to charting weather ships in the Arctic, COMO’s commercial head shares why the future of luxury isn’t about opulence, it’s about intention.
When Doris Goh talks about luxury, it’s not about chandeliers or thread counts – it’s about truffle grounds in Tus [...]
Staging the Local: How CloudJoi Powers the Arts with Tech, Data—and Heart
“It’s not just about ticketing. We built CloudJoi to make the entire arts ecosystem visible, discoverable, and sellable.” – Kevin Teh, COO.
CloudJoi’s rise is a case study in how local event tech can become destination infrastructure. As showcased at Travel Tech Thursdays KL Volume 4, t [...]
Letter from Barcelona: Rebalancing tourism in the age of protest
On the weekend after Phocuswright Europe, thousands of protestors across southern Europe took to the streets to demonstrate their unhappiness over overtourism. “Your holidays, my misery,” they chanted in Barcelona, as they held up slogans such as “mass tourism kills the city” and “their gr [...]
UAE hits 94.8% safety score and 24% tourist growth from Asia
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is asserting its influence as a global tourism leader, marked by the historic election of Shaikha Al Nowais as the first female Secretary-General of UN Tourism. As the region garners international attention, data from Mabrian, the global travel intelligence company par [...]
Beyond the selfie queue: Japan’s overtourism challenge calls for data, dialogue, and decentralisation
As Japan races toward its goal of welcoming 60 million tourists annually, it faces a mounting dilemma – how to remain a dream destination without becoming a nightmare for its residents. At WiT Japan & North Asia 2025, a spirited panel moderated by Morris Sim of Montara Hospitality tackled the [...]
From new luxury to hotels as stories: A new breed rethinking hospitality
"Is growth just a more optimistic word for survival?", asked Morris Sim of Montara Hospitality, while moderating a panel about rethinking hospitality.
“We’re fairly lucky that we’ve been able to grow primarily through management agreements with some co-investment,” said Howard Ho, CEO &am [...]
Malaysia retains the top spot among OIC destinations, new trends shaping Halal travel
10th annual Mastercard-CrescentRating Global Muslim Travel Index spotlights leading Muslim-friendly destinations worldwide
As awareness of Muslim travellers’ needs grows, Halal travel is increasingly shaping how destinations design and deliver experiences. According to the newly released 2025 Mas [...]
Korea rising: Travel’s next powerhouse gets personal, local, and competitive
South Korea’s travel market is having a moment. Again. As the world races to catch up post-pandemic, Korea is not just bouncing back – it’s evolving at a dizzying pace across outbound, inbound, and domestic fronts, powered by hyper-local infrastructure, cultural cool, tech-savvy consumers, and [...]
Tours & Activities: Going deeper, spreading wider, staying human
From digital transformation and multi-day experiences to secondary cities and super apps, the future of in-destination travel is being reshaped in the Middle East and beyond.
What do Gen Z travellers want from experiences? A pasta-making class in Florence, not just a trip to Italy. A skydive over P [...]
Hajj 2025 spurs 151M+ flight seats to Mecca, hotels dominate, group stays rise
Mabrian’s latest data reveals the growing travel impact of Hajj 2025, with over 151.6 million flight seats scheduled to Mecca, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia — a 1.2 million seats increase compared to 2024 festivities. Most top source markets show increased air capacity, and hotels remain the do [...]
