Letter from Los Angeles: Globalisation and experiences are the new order in a Trump world
There were several elephants in the room during the Phocuswright conference in Los Angeles this week.
Airbnb launching Trips, taking it into Experiences and Places, with Flights and Services to be added in the future; Google Now being rolled out on top of Google flights now available in 27 co [...]
Trends that matter in online travel
At WIT 2016 Conference in Singapore last month, Lorraine Sileo, vice president research of Phocuswright, shared the key trends that mattered in online travel with Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder, WIT.
Q. What are the big global trends that you’ve seen in the past year?
Consolidation, circle of d [...]
Three key pillars of any startup from Air Black Box’s Timothy O’Neil-Dunne
Timothy O’Neil-Dunne is no young chook in travel. His career history includes being part of the founding team at Expedia, head of technology at Worldspan, co-founder of VaultPAD Ventures, and a managing partner at T2Impact. Needless to say, he’s built an impressive CV over the years.
Neverthe [...]
Sabre awards US$10,000 to Singaporean team at first Asia Pacific Hackathon to “Reinvent Travel”
Developers, start-ups and technology and travel industry innovators from around Asia Pacific gathered in Singapore to code through the night during Sabre Corporation’s (NASDAQ: SABR) first Asia Pacific hackathon, ‘Destination Hack: Singapore’. The challenge? In 24-hours, conceptualise and prog [...]
The Millennial Traveller: Google Travel and the ‘Man Behind the Curtain’
All eyes were locked on Eric Zimmerman, director of Google Travel, when he commanded the stage at the WIT Conference 2016 in Singapore last week. But this wasn’t the same sort of attention usually paid to other speakers. An air of intrigue, anger and even a touch of intimidation floated in the roo [...]
Future is in generic apps and WeChat is paving way for Western world, says KLM’s Pieter Elbers
For an airline that’s celebrating its 97th birthday, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has done a pretty good job of innovating in the digital space. It was the first airline to start using Facebook Messenger to communicate with its customers.
It’s been active on social media – its Lost and Found vi [...]
Letter from Nikoi: Nine lessons from 12 years of WIT
I am lying on the beach in Nikoi Island, a private island retreat, off Bintan, Indonesia. This island in the Riau Archipelago was developed by former Australian banker Andrew Dixon and his partners into a back-to-nature resort for stressed out urbanites looking to reconnect with nature.
Yesterday [...]
WIT CONFERENCE 2016: We’re our own competition, says Ctrip’s Jenny Wu
Ctrip, China’s largest travel brand, believes that being its own competitor has enabled it to grow to be where it is today.
“Whether it is for a company or person, the most competition should be yourself. You should challenge yourself and go beyond your boundaries. Think about how to challen [...]
WIT CONFERENCE 2016: In Pictures
WIT Conference 2016, October 18-19, ends on a high note with almost 500 delegates from all the world who come to Singapore to reimagine the future of travel and technology with us. This event marks the end of a 12-year cycle, a remarkable journey made possible with strong support from all in the ind [...]
WIT CONFERENCE 2016: Yeoh Siew Hoon looks back on the last 12 years of WIT
After 12 years, Morris Sim (co-founder of Circos Brand Karma) closed the show at this year’s WIT Conference 2016 by asking the powerful lady behind it all, Yeoh Siew Hoon, to reflect back on her experiences in building one of Asia’s largest travel and tech startup communities.
What was your m [...]
