Marketing
Northstar expands global footprint with purchase of Buying Business Travel, travAlliancemedia and CAT Media
08/10/2019 by WiT
Northstar Travel Group, the parent company of WiT, has made three acquisitions in just two days, a record for the company, to extend its global reach and create multi-platform media to support  events. The three companies are Buying Business Travel, acquired from London-based Panacea Media, New [...]
On the back of booming Internet economy in SEA, WiT takes bird’s eye view of travel 2020 and beyond
08/10/2019 by WiT
It’s been a momentous time for online travel and on the cusp of a new decade, the WiT Singapore 2019 conference – being held Oct 14-16 – will take a bird’s eye view of the industry and project into the future of what travel could look like in 2020 and beyond. And it’s a promising futu [...]
These tech trends are shaping business travel in Asia Pacific
08/10/2019 by WiT
The business travel landscape is changing as employees have greater freedom and want a travel culture that combines productivity and personalised experiences. This includes the rise of bleisure (business and leisure) among employees in Asia Pacific – a trend that is growing in popularity as work- [...]
The Wrap: IATA unveils campaign to advance gender diversity in airline industry
02/10/2019 by WiT
News Roundup:  IATA’s 25by2025 campaign to address gender imbalance in airline industry, deeper NDC collaboration between Travelport and Singapore Airlines, booking Grab rides through FCM’s mobile app, Flight Centre Travel Group’s partnership with Troovo Aviation: IATA unveils campaign t [...]
Asia Partners’ Rippel on why SEA could produce up to 30 unicorns and how he doesn’t want to miss it this time
02/10/2019 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Oliver Rippel, co-founder and partner of Asia Partners, believes South-east Asia could yield between 20 and 30 tech unicorns. And he believes there are only certain sectors that can have global network effects, the rest, which includes online travel, is where local heroes can win over global player [...]
How Sojern’s Travel Advertising report unearthed a stark difference in Asia and why it’s taking a more localised approach
01/10/2019 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
When Stephen Taylor, chief revenue officer, was going through the results of Sojern’s 2019 Report on Travel Advertising, one finding stood out for him. “Driving direct bookings” was the biggest challenge cited by travel marketers in APAC (Asia Pacific)  while globally, the biggest challenge [...]
In The Big Chair – Keith Tan, CEO, Singapore Tourism Board
30/09/2019 by Linda Fox
Keith Tan took over the reins of the Singapore Tourism Board just under a year ago. He joined STB from his role of deputy secretary of policy at the Ministry of Defence. Tan joined the Singapore Tourism Board midway through its 2016-2020 travel marketing strategy, which focuses on stories, fans and [...]
In bid to differentiate meta-search service, LINE Travel jp plays Loyalty and Pay card
30/09/2019 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
A year after its rebranding into LINE Travel jp, following a 34% equity investment by the messaging giant, Japan’s travel meta-search service will offer its customers a LINE Point-back service when they book and pay for travel bookings through its website effective September 25. At the same t [...]
New crop of startups reflects maturity of Asia’s travel market
25/09/2019 by WiT
Up to 10 travel companies will vie for the WiT Startup of the Year 2019 on October 14 following the completion of the first judging round of travel’s largest startup competition, powered by Amadeus. The winner of the competition, run as part of the WiT Singapore 2019 conference, stands to wal [...]
APAC key to driving pace of change and growth for Booking as it works on delivering “the connected trip”
25/09/2019 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
The day I catch up with Angel Llull Mancas, the managing director for Booking.com, APAC, comes the news of the collapse of Thomas Cook Group, one of the most well-known brands in the history of travel. It is a shock yet not such a surprise, according to this analysis in Phocuswire. “It shows [...]