Traveloka’s secret sauce – mastery in one market, localisation amid expansion and focus on customer service
Why the South-east Asian OTA could serve as role model for Japan’s OTAs
Twelve years on, and despite massive competition in the South-east Asian region it calls home, Traveloka remains a formidable force to be reckoned with, with a total of 130+ million downloads across the six markets it operate [...]
The quandaries humans in travel tech face in their journey towards AI La La Land
From getting away from “curse of the search box”, to reimagining user interfaces, and delivering on the “AI Agent Era”, human revolution needed to answer the hard questions AI is posing. And no, AI does not have the answer.
Both a human revolution is needed amid the technology revolut [...]
Aviasales sees growth in travel between Central Asia and GCC
Metasearch platform Aviasales has reported a significant increase in travel activity between Central Asian states and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
Speaking at the recent Phocuswright WiT Middle East 2024, Anton Baitsur, CEO, said the increase highlights growing economic and cul [...]
Letter from Tokyo: The human-machine and tradition-innovation dance unfolding in Japan
Inbound rush, outbound slump, new tech and travellers shaping future of travel – how will it play out in Japan? WiT Japan & North Asia 2024 had it all covered.
There is no better place in the world to observe the twin revolutions of human and technology unfolding at this time than in Japan, a [...]
From the revolution in human-machine interface, to transformation of the Middle East, it’s all happening here
Key takeaways from Phocuswright WiT Middle East
There’s nothing like being on the ground, and getting around, to feel the energy and vitality of a region on the move and my trip, covering Saudi and Dubai, this time left me with no doubt that this is a market that will shape the future of global [...]
Hotels’ digital revenue hits record high, Asia leading direct booking trends
In D-EDGE's latest Hotel Distribution Report for 2024, an analysis of the past five years reveals big shifts in online booking behavior, especially following the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report, which draws from the data of almost 5,000 independent hotels and small hotel gro [...]
Why Caravelo’s betting it all on subscriptions
Launching rail product, eyeing corporate travel and expansion to Asia
Born and raised in Pamplona, Inaki Uriz knows better than to take part in the Running of the Bulls, the annual festival which was immortalized by Ernest Hemingway in his book “The Sun Also Rises”.
“I’d never risk my [...]
How an Indian techie, inspired by his first computer, is disrupting corporate travel
Building tech alone won’t make an impact, says company co-founder. Products must be business-first.
You’ve heard of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), but Travel-as-a-Service is a term uniquely coined by Spotnana – a service provider that calls itself a cocktail of ‘Online booking tool provider, [...]
GHA turns 20, reports surge in revenues and direct bookings for its hotels
UAE-headquartered Global Hotel Alliance (GHA), the world’s largest alliance of independent hotel brands, has started its 20th anniversary year on a high note, reporting robust Q1 results across all key performance indicators.
Exceeding expectations, total hotel revenues for Q1 2024 jumped t [...]
MakeMyTrip tripling down on India to build comprehensive travel shop
“We’re not going global”, asserts Rajesh Magow. Here's why.
Firstly, Rajesh Magow, CEO and co-founder of MakeMyTrip, would like to clarify that his company is not going global, as was reported in various media outlets yesterday. Instead, it’s doubling down, even tripling down on its core [...]
