News
Demand for holidays at sea makes 2018 the ‘year of the cruise’, Traveltek says
30/01/2018 by WiT
Expectation of an increase in demand for holidays on the ocean and on rivers in the coming 12 months has led to travel technology specialist Traveltek Group calling 2018 the ‘year of the cruise’. According to statistics from Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), eight out of 10 agent [...]
Only One Thing Will Disrupt OTAs (and It Ain’t Blockchain)
30/01/2018 by Douglas Quinby
OTA bashing is about as old as OTAs themselves. It's been bountiful fodder for media hype and conference roundtable hysterics for decades. We've heard it all before, from airlines, hotels and the myriad technology companies, startups and consultants that seek to serve them: OTAs are expensive, innov [...]
SnapShot launches Marketplace to solve hotels’ data and tech woes
06/02/2018 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
One of the biggest pain points in hospitality is fragmentation of data points, and hence too many data silos. One company that is trying to solve that problem, as well as solve the industry’s access to “a properly integrated data platform which would dramatically accelerate the hotel technology [...]
How to boost direct bookings in APAC, according to Triptease
30/01/2018 by WiT
Asia-Pacific is fertile ground for ambitious hoteliers; more and more travellers are flocking there every day seeking new and unique experiences. A new report by Triptease focuses on one of the best ways to capitalise on that; finding new strategies to increase direct bookings. The report, Spo [...]
Best practices in storytelling, an STB case study: Use your brain and make people happy
29/01/2018 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Last year, Myfanwy McGregor, co-founder of Adhesive PR in Sydney, had an idea for a campaign – was there a way to measure the happiness levels that Singapore can create? And so the agency for Singapore Tourism Board worked on a programme where it brought a team of influencers and neuro scientis [...]
STB to unleash passionate marketers and storytellers to support and animate its new brand
29/01/2018 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Having launched its “Passion Made Possible” brand last year, the success of which depends on unleashing the passion of Singaporeans and residents, the Singapore Tourism Board is investing in building an industry of marketers and storytellers. As a first step, it has opened its internal Ma [...]
The Wrap: onefinestay launches personalised concierge service
24/01/2018 by WiT
In the news: Higher Living with onefinestay; STB partners with Grab to provide seamless experience to visitors; 250 airlines on board with Travelport's merchandising tool HOSPITALITY: onefinestay launches new personalised concierge service For your next stay at any onefinestay’s propert [...]
UAE-based ALFAHIM leads Series D in transport on demand service Blacklane
24/01/2018 by WiT
Blacklane, a Berlin-based startup company providing high-end transport on demand service for travellers to book chauffeur cars, has raised a Series D round to fund new cities, global airport concierge services and product innovation. Blacklane said this series is the “largest investment in its [...]
Letter from Assam, Part 4: Cruising on the Brahmaputra and sleeping in the middle of nowhere
25/01/2018 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
The final leg of our Assam Tea & Wildlife Adventure takes us on a five-hour drive to the city of Guwahati where we board a river boat, our home for the next two nights. On this cruise on the Brahmaputra, I learn about time, silk and breathing in the moments. On our way out of Kaziranga Wildli [...]
The I in IT is no longer just ‘Information’
23/01/2018 by Morris Sim
A new year is always a good time to take stock of what went before, in particular in a fast-moving industry like IT. I started 2017 at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas seeing technologies that I thought would alter human-technology interaction if they took off, and most have evolved a [...]