“Dark horse” European destinations see influx of Chinese tourists
Although the total number of trips that Chinese tourists made to Europe increased nominally year-on-year, “dark horse” destinations like Croatia, Latvia in the east, and Denmark in the north saw increases of up to 540%.
A recent Europe Travel Report for the first six months of 2019 by China [...]
Armed with $2.5m, OpenSparkz goes from startup to scale to help consumers in Asia earn and burn in one step
The Australian fintech startup’s mission is to “make
every loyalty programme in the world a good experience for customers and
merchants, and to be the go-to global platform for loyalty and offers”. Here’s
how.
Terry McMullen has spent his entire career in loyalty and marketing, first wit [...]
On the road to 2020 and beyond, let’s take a look back at WiT Japan & North Asia
We're on the road to 2020 but before we get there, we'd like to take a look back at our last event. It has been a little over six weeks since the eighth WiT Japan & North Asia conference in Tokyo. Taking place over two days and two stages – the Innovation and Main Stage covered virtually ever [...]
With help and a willingness to change, travel agents can survive
In UK, nearly 700 agents closed shop in 2017 alone, according to a report which cited overwhelming competition faced by brick-and-mortar travel agents from online travel agents (OTA). In Singapore, about 280 travel agents closed down in the last two years for a variety of reasons but mostly due to [...]
Tink Labs and Honest Bee offer cautionary lessons to tech startups, even unicorns fall
I used to be a fan of the Handy smartphone service. Mainly I used it for its wifi hotspot, even though it meant carrying two phones around. I fiddled with the content but never found it compelling enough to get me to book anything through it.
In recent times, I have used it less and less as dat [...]
Travelport live tests GDS bookings of Qantas NDC content
Travelport has begun handling its first bookings with Qantas using IATA’s New Distribution Capability (NDC) standard as its “continuing support” for the airline’s NDC, including the Qantas Distribution Platform (QDP).
The bookings are being made through Travelport Smartpoint in a live pr [...]
PhocusWire Digest: Blockchain in action, Sabre closing in on acquisition, Splyt’s Philipp Mintchin in the chair
This week, we draw your attention to key stories from our sister publication PhocusWire.
Sabre closes in on Farelogix acquisition Sabre is expecting to close its acquisition of Farelogix August 21, pending a potential block from the U.S. Department of Justice that has been scrutinizing the [...]
From the mouths of youths: We just Google everything and what, travel as a career? Never thought of it
In preparation for the fourth edition of Tern, Travel Careers this Saturday, August 17, I’ve been spending time with Singaporean schoolkids in their mid-teens to find out what they think of travel, firstly as travellers and secondly, as future talent for our industry.
It’s been interesting l [...]
The Wrap: American Express GBT forms Middle East joint venture with Kanoo Travel
News Roundup: Partnership to get a slice of the Middle East business market in a new deal between Amex GBT and Kanoo Travel, while Sabre's recently released study details ‘retail revolution’ in the hospitality industry.
Corporate Travel: American Express GBT forms Middle East joint venture [...]
Startup Spotlight: intheHood fuses private accommodation with authentic local experiences
This week, we chat to intheHood (ITH), a finalist in the WiT Japan & North Asia Startup Pitch 2019, about its plans to become one of Japan's top accommodation providers.
Describe
the business, core products and services in one paragraph.
intheHood (ITH) designs and manages hotels and apa [...]
