The Wrap: Lost or delayed baggage a thing of the past with AI?
In the news: Airlines and airports look to AI revolutionise baggage management; videos to facilitate searching and booking travel; an airline on quest to make customers happy
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Lost or delayed baggage a thing of the past with AI?
One of the biggest nightmares of m [...]
WIT launches Indie event to champion creators of unique, local experiences
WIT is launching an Indie event aimed at empowering independents and creatives at the long tail of the travel experience. The first edition of WIT Indie will be held in Penang, Malaysia, on April 13, and is supported and sponsored by Penang Institute, one of Malaysia’s leading think tanks.
T [...]
Cruising in Southeast Asia picks up steam with STB-CLIA partnership
Singapore’s ongoing efforts to develop the rapidly growing cruising industry in the city-state, as well as in Southeast Asia, receives a boost with the inking of a new three-year partnership between the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and and Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
In anno [...]
FASTBOOKING provides CRM solution through Cendyn collaboration
FASTBOOKING now provides a CRM solution after it inked a collaboration with Cendyn, a CRM and sales platform.
According to FASTBOOKING, “this collaboration will…drive qualified traffic to the hotels’ website”. Hoteliers will be able to capture a holistic view of every guest and thereby im [...]
Listen to the sounds of the US: Exploring the country in immersive 3D audio
With so much attention on virtual reality to simulate a realistic experience one may tend to forget the power of sound to do the same. And that’s what Brand USA and Expedia Media Solutions are leveraging to draw travellers to the United States – through immersive 3D audio.
They recently launc [...]
WIT collaborates with Phocuswright to find APAC Innovators of the Year
WIT Startup Pitch Japan & North Asia 2018 now open for entries
WIT has teamed up with Phocuswright in a search for two APAC Innovators that will be given opportunities to fast track their business ideas to become successful ventures on the global stage.
The WIT Startup Pitch for bo [...]
Contiki launches chatbot Tiki, but asserts that travel agents are still all about the ‘human touch’
Millennial-geared tour operator Contiki has ramped up efforts to invest in smarter technology with the launch of its own chatbot, “Tiki” on Facebook Messenger.
Launched end of January, the chatbot is designed to help users (and agents) better understand which of the eight Contiki “travel st [...]
Longhaul low cost the next wave – airlines have to become ecommerce companies that fly
In the last 10 years, longhaul low cost airlines have mushroomed with international seats growing by 900%. Newcomer World Airways, the first longhaul LCC in the US, will be 100% digital and Millennial-focused while Cebu Pacific is trying to think of itself less as an engineering company but more of [...]
We in APAC are most vacation-deprived but guess who takes the lead?
Walking through Resorts World at Sentosa the other day, and spending time in Penang during the Chinese New Year festive period, It is hard to believe there are vacation-deprived folks in Asia. Both places were crowded with families and groups from all over Asia, with Chinese travellers clearly leadi [...]
AccorHotels sells majority stake in property business arm, to use proceeds for expansion
AccorHotels announced February 27 the plans to sell a 55%t stake in its AccorInvest real estate unit for 4.4 billion euros (US$5.4 billion) cash.
The new investors are the sovereign wealth funds of Saudia Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Singapore’s GIC.
Institutional investors in [...]
