News
New digital health certificate aims to facilitate safe resumption of travel
04/01/2021 by WiT
INTERNATIONAL SOS, the International Chamber of Commerce, and AOKpass Pte. Ltd. have announced the first use of ICC AOKpass, a digitally verifiable COVID-19 health certificate for entrance to Singapore which will help to facilitate the safe and efficient resumption of international travel. All t [...]
AirAsia Group sells 32.7% stake in its Indian unit to Tata Sons for US$37.7m (Updated)
30/12/2020 by WiT
LAST month AirAsia Group Bhd, in response to media reports that it might be reviewing its investment in AirAsia India and could exit the country, acknowledged the operation has been draining cash “causing the group much financial stress.” (comment made in this report) The Group has reached a [...]
Don’t lose the travel spirit, learn from fungi – see you on the road in 2021
23/12/2020 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
THE other day, I watched in horror as my sweet golden retriever pounced on a young monitor lizard, grabbed it by the neck and whipped it about three times. By the time I pulled Bowie off the creature, it was dead with a deep gash at the neck. In many ways, it reminded me of what this year has be [...]
Domestic travel will dominate Lunar New Year 2021, prepare early to capture demand: Sojern
23/12/2020 by WiT
LUNAR New Year, traditionally a busy travel period for some Asian markets, will likely look different next year, with the pandemic looking nowhere close to being overcome. Domestic travel will be the saving grace for the industry, as Sojern’s insights show. Sojern’s latest insights capture [...]
Agoda partners Atome to offer instalment payment option for bookings
22/12/2020 by WiT
AGODA has made it easier for travellers who find it "inconvenient" to pay for their accommodation in one lump sum to do so in instalments. The digital travel platform makes this possible through a regional partnership it just formed with “buy now pay later” technology company, Atome, to off [...]
The WiT Podcast – Episode 31: Dear 2020 (Letters From Friends), Part 2
22/12/2020 by WiT
HERE’S Part 2 of The WiT Podcast, Dear 2020, in which we feature “Dear 2020” letters from our friends from around the world. What would they say to it? How would they want to remember it by? We thought it’d serve as a time capsule of sorts for our industry so that say, in five years from [...]
Covid hurries payments sector into contactless space, but travel industry needs to resolve “high and unclear fees”
22/12/2020 by WiT
COVID-19 has accelerated a long-term trend away from physical cash payments – some 84% of respondents confirmed they now pay with non-cash methods like contactless or mobile payments when travelling, according to the Amadeus Travel Payments Guide 2020, a new study examining traveller payment tren [...]
The WiT Podcast – Episode 30: Mira Bharin, Director, Brand, Marketing and Communications, Sentosa Development Corporation
21/12/2020 by WiT
Sentosa United, in partnership with Sentosa Development Corporation IMAGINE this – last year, Singaporean residents made about 8.58 million outbound departures by air and there were around 2.13 million outbound departures by sea in that same year. Amazing numbers for a small island of 5.6 mill [...]
The WiT Podcast – Episode 29: WiT Middle East, Part 2
21/12/2020 by WiT
WELCOME to Part 2 of our special report from the Middle East where we present a summary of our event held on November 25 when we gathered close to 30 speakers to share their knowledge and insights over four hours. In Part 2 we hear how critical aviation is to the distribution of vaccines and how [...]
Velocity eyes $20m for travel fund, aims to match corporates with startups
17/12/2020 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
COVID has given Velocity Ventures new impetus to forge ahead with its travel and hospitality fund, and the firm is targeting to raise US$20 million by December 2021. Nicholas Cocks (pictured), founder and managing partner of Velocity Ventures, said, “When we thought about the kind of disruptio [...]