Thomas Cook collapses after rescue plan fails
Thomas Cook, one of the most well-known brands in the history of the travel industry, has collapsed after a financial rescue failed to materialise.
The U.K. and Germany-listed public company needed a £200 million bailout to secure survival following a previous investment of £900 million in Jul [...]
No-commission hotel booking platform Bidroom arrives in Asia Pacific
The hotel booking wars in Asia Pacific is heating up with the entry of “fair-minded” hotel booking platform Bidroom, which aims to boost the profitability of the region's hotel sector with its “radically different business model based on zero commissions.”
Launched in 2014 in the Nether [...]
Marriott, Expedia team up on wholesale rates, marking a big step in the OTA-hotel relationship
The deal between Marriott International and Expedia Group which makes the OTA the exclusive global optimised distributor of Marriott's wholesale rates, availability and content to a network of global travel providers is a clear move by the hotel chain to tighten the leakage of wholesale rates and r [...]
The Wrap: Klook rides with JR-West to boost tourism in western Japan
News Roundup: Highlights on new products and services from travel suppliers – Klook and Japanese railway company promoting tourism in western Japan, Singapore Airlines expanding its NDC KrisConnect programme, partnership between Wego and Singapore Tourism Board to target Middle East travell [...]
Luxury Escapes to roll out flights and experiences as it scales up in Asia
Australian boutique travel brand, Luxury Escapes, has suddenly become very visible across Asia. In fact, it’s hard to escape its emails or its social ads if you’re living in Asia and that's because the company is ramping up its business in the region.
It appointed a head for Asia, Graham Hi [...]
OTAs need to reinvent merchandising and retail flow to stay relevant: Amadeus
In today’s evolving digital environment online travel agents (OTAs) in Asia Pacific (APAC) are facing pressure from numerous fronts – from travellers to suppliers to new players – and they must reinvent for future growth.
This is the advice of Amadeus to OTAs in its latest report on the fu [...]
Bullish outlook for the meetings industry in year ahead but comes with challenges for planners
Another year of steady growth awaits the meetings & events industry in 2020 despite speculative reports of economic and political instability across global markets but planners have to overcome challenges, such as personalising the experience for delegates.
This scenario is presented by the [...]
Our time has come, says Splitty Travel, eyeing Asia and a new B2B split reservations offering
In many ways, Israeli-based startup Splitty Travel feels its time has finally come, both for its “split reservations” model to be accepted into the mainstream and for its entry into Asia. “It’s interesting that the big OTAs are now playing with some of the things we have been doing fo [...]
The Wrap: Middle East, Asia and the Pacific led growth in international tourism for H1 2019
News Roundup: State of international tourism for first half of 2019 unveiled
by the World Tourism Council, Flight Centre Travel Group’s recently opened new
division caters to B2B market, Amadeus’ agreement with Hertz for worldwide
distribution of rental cars and rates
Destinations: Middle E [...]
Expedia to use AI to improve online search in Asian languages
Expedia will use Artificial Intelligence to enhance travel search query understanding and improve the accuracy of search query resolution in Asian languages. The group announced it is collaborating with AI Singapore (AISG) under its flagship 100 Experiments (100E) programme to develop an artificial [...]
