Survive, innovate, collaborate, then look to the future. What will travel look like in the new normal?
The first priority is survival. “This is the opportunity to fix the problems in our business,” said Stephan Ekbergh, CEO, Travelstart, during WiT Virtual’s Middle East Forum held last week. “Then if you manage to survive, you have to innovate. We innovate best under pressure.”
Stephan [...]
Slow recovery for Asia’s aviation industry, needs confidence-boosting measures
A survey commissioned by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) of recent travellers found that 60% anticipate a return to travel within one to two months of containment of the coronavirus pandemic, but 40% indicate that they could wait six months or more. However, 69% indicated that th [...]
Keeping the fantasy of travel alive: WiT Watch on destination marketing – Ecuador, Auckland, Monaco
Just because we can’t travel now doesn’t mean we can’t keep the fantasy of travel alive in our customers’ minds. Here’s a round-up of destinations doing their bit to keep dreaming alive.
Ecuador: Yesterday
Eucador, like most countries in the world, is in lockdown to fend off the co [...]
WiT Community Blog: Lisa Katsouraki, head of corporate development, Etraveli Group
With Planet Earth in lockdown, our industry at a standstill and many of
us in self-isolation or quarantine at home, or grounded, this is our blog for
you – it’s a way to share stories within our community, to form solidarity and
foster a sense of belonging.
Short essays on what we are eac [...]
The making of SG Virtual Choir: An unorthodox collaboration in time of coronavirus
How the Singapore Tourism Board came together with Voices of Singapore to make beautiful music together
When Voices of Singapore (VOS), a not-for-profit choral organisation, found their festival cancelled and realised that they would not be able to hold physical events for the forseeable future, [...]
In this, we are all absolute beginners – here’s to starting anew, bloopers and all
Speaking to Australian Gold Olympian athlete Chloe Dalton yesterday in WiT Virtual about building range and resilience, one other talk came to mind – champion skateboarder Rodney Mullen saying that the moment his winning streak ended was his moment of liberation – because that’s when he had n [...]
Covid-19 Wrap: AirAsia helps local businesses with S.O.S campaign, Expedia and Hotels.com provide discounted room rates to medical professionals, and more …
The
Covid-19 Wrap is part of WiT’s “Unity In Crisis” series, a round-up of news on the coronavirus and its
impact on travel.
AirAsia launches S.O.S campaign to save local businesses
AirAsia lends a helping hand to local businesses affected by the partial lockdown in Malaysia thr [...]
Covid-19 hits Singapore hotel sector hard, but impact is buffered by government’s quick response
Phocuswright’s
special series “Covid-19 Hotel Forecast: Singapore” has cited Singapore as “an
excellent example of how the hotel industry is impacted by the interplay of
viral spread, government policy and social behavior – both at home and outside
its borders.”
Yet, the unpredictabl [...]
Assets lying idle during travel shutdown? Not so for some
Empty planes, empty hotels, empty streets, empty tourist attractions, convention and exhibition halls. These are indeed unprecedented times with travel assets emptied out the world over. For some, however, having unused travel assets represents an opportunity to alleviate stress points in the fight [...]
Letter from the Kingdom of Covid-19: A time of ugly truths and bare essentials
I think
it’s finally sunk in. The reality. I probably had the longest denial period of
anyone I know. From Wednesday, Singapore went into “circuit breaker” mode in
the ongoing fight against Covid-19 which seems to have more twists and turns
than “Kingdom”, the K-drama hit which, to me, co [...]
