HUAZHU expands into luxury, eyes Japan and Thailand for expansion
Landmark JV with Sunac changes “love-hate” relationship between owners and brands, says Nong Xia
CHINESE hospitality giant, HUAZHU Hotels Group (NASDAD:HTHT), will be stepping up its expansion into the high end hotel segment through its joint venture signed in March this year with Sunac Chin [...]
The Wrap: IATA and UNWTO roll out online destination tracker, air passenger traffic for APAC airlines remains dismal, and more …
THE Wrap is a round-up of
news in the travel and technology industries, and an update on how businesses in
these sectors are adapting and resetting as they prepare for post-pandemic
travel.
IATA, UNWTO launch online destination tracker to prepare for the return of international travel
[...]
Expedia Group offers additional revenue streams to airlines via its template technology
EXPEDIA Group is offering airlines an additional revenue stream in the wake of Covid-19 via its template technology, which provides travellers with the option of adding lodging or car to their flight booking.
The easy-to-integrate technology from Expedia Partner Solutions (EPS) enables airlines [...]
Workations and “bleisure” concepts take root in Japanese work culture, thanks to Covid
ALL eyes are on Japan as its major cities enter a state of emergency, a couple of months before the Olympics. We catch up with co-founder of WiT Japan & North Asia, Kei Shibata, co-founder & CEO, LINE Travel jp & Trip101, for an update from Japan.
“Workation” and "bleisure" cou [...]
South Korea domestic stays resilient, Tidesquare cautiously preparing for return of outbound by Q3
SOUTH Korea may still be averaging more than 600 Covid cases a day but the domestic travel market has stayed resilient throughout.
In an update from Seoul, Min Yoon, CEO of Tidesquare and co-founder of WiT Seoul, said, “People have started travelling again domestically. Some specific destinati [...]
VFS Global brings visa expertise and govt experience to health passports
Synergies between pass providers, tech companies and governments needed to open borders: Jiten Vyas
IN 2019, VFS Global processed 30 million visa biometric enrolments across 144 countries. In 2020, that number plummeted by 70% and it would have been much worse without the first three months when [...]
Fortified by Tin Men, GlobalTix doubles down on tech roots
Fresh $3m funding is not survival money, it’s to go full force on digitisation mission
THE new funding round of S$3 million raised by GlobalTix from Tin Men Capital and SEEDS Capital is not “survival or rescue money” but fresh capital to build up its arsenal of tech tools and to fortify it [...]
The Wrap: Surge in holiday bookings with opening of trans-Tasman travel bubble, Malaysia Airlines’ new fly pass aims to spur domestic travel, and more …
THE
Wrap is a round-up of news in the travel and technology industries, and an
update on how businesses in these sectors are adapting and resetting as they prepare
for travel recovery.
Opening of Australia-New Zealand travel bubble sparks spike in holiday bookings
New Zealand's Queens [...]
DayAway may be built in Covid times but founder Martha Waslen says it will last long beyond pandemic
“Not just another OTA” as local experiences platform rolls out to help hotels sell ancillaries
IF you haven’t heard of DayAway, you may soon. Within five minutes of meeting Martha Waslen, founder of the Singapore-based local experiences startup, two things are clear. One, that she do [...]
Guest Post: Runway to a smart, sustainable and safe restart
The trans-Tasman travel bubble opened on 19 April, fuelling hopes of more borders opening and hastening travel recovery. Subhas Menon, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), shares his views on travel bubbles and how the Asia Pacific aviation industry can restart in a [...]
