Fried scorpion may not be his thing but helping travellers have better vacations is: Steve Kaufer on TripAdvisor’s great end game
Steve Kaufer, CEO & founder of TripAdvisor, could hardly remember what he ate for dinner the evening before. “It was something interesting,” he said. I was curious because he kept talking about how TripAdvisor wants to help travellers have awesome experiences in destinations – from tours t [...]
AirAsia wants to remove “cash from the plane”, first step a new Freedom Flyer scheme
Low-cost airline, AirAsia launched its new Freedom Flyer Programme last week at RedQ in Kuala Lumpur, a first step in group CEO Tony Fernandes’ dream of “removing cash from the plane”.
At the launch, he said, “we never really knew loyalty very well… having said that, we have 13 million [...]
Skyscanner’s Gareth Williams on how its bet on Asia led to its big win, being a CEO and the future of apps
The first thing Gareth Williams, CEO & co-founder of Skyscanner, says to me with a grin when I caught up with him yesterday evening was, “I deny all rumours that I was offered the Uber job.”
Wishing Dara Khosrowshahi well (the Expedia Inc CEO has indicated he will accept the job as Uber C [...]
The day when Hurricane Dara lashed travel – imagine what he could do with Uber and Asia
Just as Hurricane Harvey was battering Texas and severe tropical storm Pahkar was lashing Hong Kong over the weekend, another kind of storm was being unleashed in the tech and travel industry– the news that Expedia Inc CEO Dara Khosrowshahi had been picked as the candidate to head Uber.
As soci [...]
The Wrap: Klook lends Korea a helping hand to woo Asian FITs
In the news: Partnership between tours booking platform Klook and Korea, new mobile travel concierge from Changi’s SATS, low cost carrier Scoot’s new Malaysian destinations, Travelport’s deal with Ugo
DESTINATIONS: Klook lends Korea a helping hand to woo Asian FITs
Korea sees strong [...]
Letter from Sydney: Winter’s coming, a battle of Amazonic proportions is looming
Winter in Sydney is very different from the winter portrayed in the Game of Thrones television series but I get the feeling that the competition for online consumers is going to get as brutal and bloody in the next year or so, and travel will be caught up in the quest for the Iron Throne.
The [...]
The Wrap: MBC Group, Middle East’s leading multimedia company, invests in Wego
In the news: MBC Groups’s investment in Wego, Cathay Pacific’s partnership with Alibaba Group, SIA’s creative inflight safety video unveiled
ONLINE TRAVEL: MBC Group, Middle East’s leading multimedia company, invests in Wego
Last week travel search site Wego announced it has recei [...]
Letter from Kuching: Lessons for small earthlings in second cities
Just returned from Kuching and on the AirAsia flight to Singapore, I was reflecting on how the combination of low cost airlines and the web, specifically social media, has changed the fortunes and aspirations of folks living in second cities in Asia.
I hail from a secondary city myself, Penang, a [...]
Letter from Sydney: Chatbots are hot but they are no silver bullet
Travelport Live in Sydney kicked off with two female “robot” dancers wearing suits that were more lit up than a Christmas tree, their robot-like movements a hint of where the discussions at the one-and-a-half day conference would be heading.
Futurist Ross Dawson opened with a br [...]
The Wrap: Trip Assist helps APAC agencies engage with ‘always-on’ travellers
In the news: Trip Assist app for APAC agencies, CWT’s new hotel division, ‘Game of Thrones’ impact on destinations, Batik Air’s first GDS partnership with Sabre
TRAVEL TECHNOLOGY: Trip Assist helps APAC agencies engage with ‘always-on’ travellers
Travel agents and TMCs in t [...]
