Will Malaysia’s departure levy hurt the country’s tourism industry? Opinions divided
Is paying RM20 to RM40 as departure levy flying out of Malaysian airports a deterrent to your travel? A question I put to a few friends who fly frequently for both work and play. All answered in the negative, as the amount is too small to affect their travel budget or stop them from taking holiday [...]
From Ain Dubai to the Red Sea, travel brands jostle to find their groove in a booming market
On the morning after WiT Middle East ended, I went for a walk across from Jumeirah Beach to Bluewaters Island, a new development that boasts 132 shops and restaurants, Caesars Palace Hotel and the 210m Ain Dubai, touted as the world’s largest observation wheel. For those of you familiar with Duba [...]
Online payment solutions crucial to travel, as Middle East travellers book later and more often
At
WiT Middle East this week, Checkout.com’s Remo Giovanni Abbondandolo (VP Business
Development, MENA) presented a comprehensive report on the state of online
payments in the Middle East travel industry.
During his exclusive presentation,
Abbondandolo gave an in-depth view on the purchasing b [...]
GuestReady continues on consolidation path, acquires France’s BnBLord
GuestReady, a global short-term rental company, has acquired BnbLord, the largest Airbnb management company in France, to form the GuestReady Group. The combined company will be the leading provider in Europe managing more than 2,000 properties with a wide range of services to property owners, agen [...]
Startup Spotlight: Davinci TS wants to make an art of group hotel reservations
Meet Davinci TS, a startup that plans to remedy a big business travel pain point: group hotel reservations. It aims to help hotels save time and money while boosting occupation rates... not least, make group bookings a far more seamless process for travel organisers. WiT spoke to founder & CEO, [...]
Northstar Travel Group acquires London-based Centaur Media’s travel and meetings business
Northstar Travel Group, WiT's parent company, has entered into an agreement to acquire Centaur Media Travel and Meetings (CTM) from Centaur Media, one of the UK's leading specialist and business publishing information companies.
The transaction is expected
to close at the end of April. The terms [...]
The Wrap: Agoda gives Amadeus agents access to its pre-paid hotel content
In the news: Amadeus and Agoda partner in sharing hotel content, Cloud solution for The Ascott in managing rapid growth, artificial intelligence to fight jet lag,
Corporate Travel: Agoda gives Amadeus agents access to its pre-paid hotel content
More accommodation options for business travelle [...]
The Middle East is “golden goose” of travel: Opportunities revealed at WiT ME
Movers and shakers of the Middle East online travel industry gathered at WiT Middle East 2019 in Dubai on April 9 to share their plans to unlock the potential of a fast-changing market being driven by youths – 60% of consumers are Millennials and Gen Z, strong spending power and technology develo [...]
Letter from UAE: Excuse me, have you got my reservation yet? The art of dealing with the last minute
The last time I was in Abu Dhabi four years ago, there was a lot of talk about the development to come that would transform this emirati of 214 islands into a tourism destination – among them, the Saadiyat Cultural District that would comprise the Louvre, Guggenheim and Zayed National Museum.
[...]
Cleartrip lays down solid road map to become “OTA to the emerging world”
At the last WiT Middle East in Dubai in 2015, Stuart Crighton, CEO of Cleartrip, made it very clear the OTA would bet big on mobile given the high mobile penetration in the region, a trend markedly similar to its home market in India.
Articulating his vision then, he said Cleartrip did not wish [...]
