Surveying the surveys. Trip.com gets mobile with Amadeus. NusaTrip enters digitalised market. More.
From astro-pads to Spanish accents, there’s a survey for you
Artificial intelligence has spurned the age of the travel survey. Just this week, I’ve been informed about the most difficult accents for Aussies to understand (Spanish), the world’s best cities for singles (Tokyo, followed by Doha) [...]
Of pain, suffering and low expectations: How to be happy founders and travellers
“If you’re not at one point about to go bankrupt, then you can’t say you really had a startup”
Lately, I’ve been getting lots of messages sharing Jensen Huang’s speech at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, where he wished “pain and suffering” on students at his a [...]
Inadequate airport-rail connectivity in Southeast Asia impacting aviation and sustainability
While Southeast Asian airports handle approximately 800 million passengers yearly, less than 1% of these passengers connect to trains.
The Aviation Studies Institute (ASI) has commissioned Sobie Aviation to examine Airport-Rail inter-modality in Southeast Asia. This study, part two of a broader ana [...]
From Africa to FREENOW, Meili’s out to reduce friction in car rental to drive direct bookings and loyalty
Domain expertise and experience count for a lot, says seasoned Irish entrepreneur Mike McGearty
Right after Mike McGearty, CEO and co-founder, Meili Travel Technology, left Cape Town where he was speaking at WiT Africa came the news that his company had signed a partnership with FREENOW, Europe's l [...]
Exploring the travel payments landscape in Asia
Calling the travel payments landscape complex is an understatement. From a B2C perspective, travel companies are dealing with the increasing number of ways to pay and trying to get to grips with what mechanism to offer to which customer. Then there's B2B travel payments, which bring their own set of [...]
Lessons from WiT Africa, Part 1: From Cape of Good Hope to the promise of youths, mobile and payments
“NDC adoption is slower than two elephants making babies”, among some of the more colourful quotes at the first WiT Africa
“Isn’t it wonderful to wake up to views like these?” said Farai, our driver, taking the very words from my mouth as we weaved through the coastline from Llandudno to [...]
Stripe’s Harapin on Tokyu’s subscription service, off-peak revenue, and the untapped Japanese market
“Tokyo commands the highest average room rates in the region but the region’s monthly occupancy rate is still below pre-pandemic levels, suggesting significant growth potential,” says Stripe’s Chief Revenue Officer, Asia Pacific & Japan
With over 200 businesses under its umbrella spanni [...]
14% increase in travel technology investment set for 2024
Recent research conducted by Amadeus, titled "Travel Technology Investment Trends," reveals a significant surge in technology investment across various sectors within the travel industry in 2024. The study, the first of its kind to comprehensively analyse investment intentions and technology priorit [...]
Booking bullet trains. Azgo cashback. Velma assists Warwick Hotels. More.
Booking the bullet now easier
Tokyo-listed Inbound Platform Corp has launched its Shinkansen (bullet train) ticket service, which includes basic fares, express tickets and ticket issuance via QR codes, for international travellers and foreign residents in Japan.
Through the ‘Japan Bullet Train [...]
WiT Podcast: Peter Harbison on ‘Alan Joyce and Qantas’, women in aviation and life Down Under
Aviation veteran and consultant Peter Harbison has many accolades - founder of CAPA, aviation lawyer and commentator, and of course, author. His new book, 'Alan Joyce and Qantas: The Trials and Transformation of an Australian Icon' contains all the ingredients of a corporate thriller, filled with co [...]
