Distribution
Dubai-based TPConnects lands investment from Flight Centre
04/03/2020 by WiT
Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) is boosting its tech platform with the  acquistion of a 22.47% stake  in TPConnects Technologies LLC.   The terms of the investment were not disclosed. Dubai-based TPConnects was founded in 2012 by Rajendran Vellapalath, who will continue to run the bu [...]
MMT’s Kalra aims to keep busy with product, M&A and expansion: “I’m not going anywhere”
03/03/2020 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
If you think that the move of Deep Kalra from group CEO to executive chairman of MakeMyTrip marks the end of an era, he’d be the first to pooh-pooh the notion. For him, it marks the beginning of a new chapter in which he can “spend more time doing the things I wanted to do”. “It’s a f [...]
Guest Blog: Loyalty Programs Are Growing in Popularity. Not Just With Your Customers, But With Fraudsters Too
02/03/2020 by Forter
As the international community sets their focus on mitigating the risks of the coronavirus and the impact that it will have on travel businesses and the economy at large, fraudsters are taking notice. Even with domestic and international travel at a stand-still in Asia, your customers’ dormant lo [...]
Expedia job cuts, Booking braces for “significant impact”, “winter is best time” – learn from cockroaches
28/02/2020 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
I’ve been mulling over what I heard William Bao Bean of SOSV Capital say in a Techsauce Global podcast, “It is the cockroaches, the survivors, who can really take advantage of this tough environment that will build the next generation of leaders.” Curious about cockroaches and inspire [...]
New solutions expected to help hotels tackle data
27/02/2020 by WiT
In an indication that hotels are being flummoxed by big data, a recent survey by dailypoint™ of some 4.5 million reservations across 120 hotels found that hotels had on average 2.3 profiles for their loyal guests. In other words, these hotels thought they had twice as many loyal guests as they ac [...]
The Wrap: Accor, Visa team up to introduce new payment card
26/02/2020 by WiT
News Roundup: Partnerships forged with big names in travel joining forces: Accor and Visa launching payment card, HelloGbye’s tie-up with Travelport to service TMCs, Lufthansa Group expanding cooperation with Amadeus to enhance traveller experience Accor, Visa team up to introduce  payment ca [...]
Being in Asia “no brainer” for Lufthansa Innovation Hub as it rolls out into Travel & Mobility tech space
26/02/2020 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Christine Wang, head of business development for Lufthansa Innovation Hub’s new centre in Asia (pictured right), speaks to Yeoh Siew Hoon about her learnings as she takes her first dip into travel and aviation and her plans to engage with startups in the region in the area of travel and mobility [...]
The Long Run’s time has come as sustainability awareness peaks, new report shows consumers more willing to pay
24/02/2020 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
The turn of the decade has certainly been pivotal for The Long Run. Founded in 2009 as an initiative of Zeitz Foundation’s international programme, it had been plugging away quietly at the very important business of sustainability and now, well, you could say, its time in the sun has come. Fo [...]
European airlines top earners of ‘a la carte revenue’, Asian carriers second
20/02/2020 by WiT
European airlines led in the sale of ancillary adds-on for 2019 with US$31.5 billion in revenue while their Asian counterparts are second with US$$21.1 billion, according to a report by CarTrawler and IdeaWorksCompany. The study reveals the total la carte revenue collected by airlines worldwide [...]
Don’t build more, fix problems first, Penang tourism master planners told
19/02/2020 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Less than a month to go before WiT Indie kicks off in Penang on March 13, and fireworks have exploded over the new Penang Tourism Master Plan that was presented a week ago, with criticisms ranging from it not meeting the needs of industry and travellers to “building more when we should be solving [...]