Meili’s McGearty: Rooting for a direct future that puts travellers first
“AI could tilt discovery against suppliers”, he warns at WiT Singapore
Mike McGearty, CEO and co-founder of Meili, believes the next decade of travel will be defined by direct relationships between suppliers and travellers – but not at the expense of balance across channels.
“There wil [...]
Emirates x OpenAI. MOVE adds VietJet. Osaka’s travel hypermarket. Digital-first luxury. Hotels breaking data laws?
Emirates partners with OpenAI, accelerating airline-wide AI adoption
Emirates has entered a partnership with OpenAI to deploy ChatGPT Enterprise and expand artificial intelligence capabilities across the airline, aiming to strengthen operations, solve complex commercial challenges and elevate the c [...]
Young punks to new guardians – Asia’s new kids return in style
Each of them was a previous Startup of the Year pitch winner at WiT. Since then, they have each gone on to build amazing companies, helping to bring even more global attention to this new Asian century.
Now, as the WiT Singapore preview noted, each is now preparing their bid to “take it to the ne [...]
Barry Diller: On truth, end of Google search and travel’s endurance
I’ve long been a fan of Barry Diller, so when he walked onto the Phocuswright Centre Stage in San Diego, 20 years after his last appearance, I was all agog with anticipation – as were the delegates in the room. Let’s just say it was the most packed session of the three-day event.
And so it [...]
Parallel revolutions: A nation and a platform in sprint mode
Saudi Arabia and Expedia showcased as twin stories of transformation at TOURISE
It was interesting to hear CNN’s Becky Anderson introduce her session with Saudi’s Vice Minister of Tourism, Princess Haifa Al Saud and Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin, as “a parallel story in leapfrogging”.
S [...]
Beyond margins, the new metrics behind tourism investments
In one of the most animated and layered conversations at TOURISE 2025, CNN’s Richard Quest masterfully steered a panel featuring HE Fahd bin Abdulmohsan Al-Rasheed, advisor in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers and Chairman of SCEG; Sébastien Bazin, CEO of Accor; Ferit Şahenk [...]
Veltra moves into wellness tourism via exclusive partnership with Trambellir
Veltra and Trambellir bet on the rise of "self-investment travel" and travellers upgrading themselves abroad.
Veltra has signed an exclusive agreement with medical and wellness booking platform Trambellir, marking a move into the expanding “wellness and beauty travel” segment. The partnership c [...]
Content, commerce, and community are pillars of Jiha Jung’s Tripbtoz | WiT Studio
Dropping by the WiT Studio recently, Tripbtoz founder Jiha Jung shared the unique philosophy behind his travel platform, which is successfully challenging industry giants by blending content, commerce, and community. Jung emphasizes that these are not separate pillars but an interconnected ecosystem [...]
Out of TOURISE: Visa by profile, traveller safety among key initiatives
Saudi's bid to unite consumption economy and to elevate tourism to its fair play
It was the final day of TOURISE 2025. The three-day inaugural global travel event organised by the Saudi Ministry of Tourism was winding to a close but even then, the corridors were still full of people, the energy [...]
Sonu Shivdasani: A renewal and new beginning with Sosei
From barefoot luxury to mindful rebirth, the founder of Six Senses and Soneva reflects on his mother’s lack of love, letting go, healing, and creating again, in an interview with Yeoh Siew Hoon (Founder, WiT) on the HICAP stage in Singapore.
When I first met Sonu Shivdasani in the early 1990s to [...]
