Letter from Tokyo: Ramen ritual, love robots, a dog and an eel
One of the reasons I love visiting Tokyo is that in a single day, you can be transported to the future – catching a glimpse of what the world might become – and then, just hours later, be pulled gently back in time, into a place of exquisite taste, deep tradition and unexpected warmth.
This [...]
Dida x HBX Group. Sabre, PayPal, Mindtrip launch agentic AI. US ESTA backlash. Expedia grows.
Dida and HBX Group sign 7-year deal
Dida Holdings has signed a seven-year preferred strategic partnership with HBX Group, formalising long-term infrastructure alignment as both companies prepare for what they describe as an AI-led shift in global travel distribution. Under the agreement, HBX become [...]
Marriott doubles down on “intentional travel” in Asia Pacific
Marriott International has refreshed its Good Travel with Marriott Bonvoy programme across Asia Pacific (excluding China), rolling out nearly 100 curated experiences across close to 80 hotels in 12 markets.
Built around two pillars – Community and Environment – the initiative aims to t [...]
Incentives don’t have to stick to blueprints, and neither do their cities
There’s more than one way to see a city, as Melbourne makes its case for incentive travel
I’ve been to Melbourne a few times but never for work. Having friends and family in a city often means you never get to be a “tourist” per se because you’ve got locals to show you the ropes. I though [...]
88% of Millennials and Gen Z keeping travel spending strong in 2026
New findings in Klook’s Travel Pulse 2026 reveal strong international travel intent, rising experience-led spending, and a shift toward multi-destination journeys, with Asia Pacific travelers leading the way
According to new findings from Klook’s Travel Pulse 2026, global economic uncertainty [...]
74% of Asia Pacific consumers use AI to shop, but trust decides the checkout
Findings from Visa’s State of Digital Commerce in Asia Pacific study, commissioned by Visa and conducted by YouGov, surveying 14,764 consumers across 14 markets.
Visa has released new survey findings on the state of digital commerce in Asia Pacific, revealing that while consumers are increasing [...]
Korea in the Search Bar: What social trends reveal about the next generation of discovery
The search interface has officially fragmented. Discovery is no longer just about generating links; it is about answer generation. Whether through AI-curated "Zero-Click" answers or vertical video feeds like TikTok, Reels, and Shorts, travellers are exploring, planning, and verifying information wit [...]
Roamio wants to fix travel’s most expensive drop-off between inspiration and booking
Travel inspiration has never been more abundant. Execution, on the other hand, is still broken. That gap, the moment when excitement gets lost somewhere between tabs, emails and unanswered enquiries, is exactly where Roamio is positioning itself.
“Honestly, it hurts everyone but in different ways [...]
The albatross that had to be let go
Even as we charge pell-mell into the future, it’s good, necessary, even, to take a walk back into the past to understand how we got to where we are today.
This week, I did exactly that. I visited The Albatross File: Singapore’s Independence Declassified, a permanent (actually it’s five years [...]
Asia loves Japan. Klook seeking ‘Chief Spring Officer’. Sabre adds 100k Chinese Hotels. Air New Zealand backs OneReg.
70% of Japan travel searches come from Asia ahead of Lunar New Year
Agoda says Lunar New Year travel demand is being driven largely by regional travellers, with its search data showing that 70% of interest in trips to Japan and more than 25% of searches for Thailand are coming from within Asia ahea [...]
