The Future of Hotel Distribution in Asia: The Opportunities
The second annual WIT Hospitality Think Tank took place last March in Hong Kong. Powered by Expedia and TravelClick, this year’s edition drew its attention to “The Future of Hotel Distribution in Asia: The Opportunities”.
Its purpose was to build on last year’s Think Tank, wherein it was [...]
Letter from Tokyo: Why did you come to Japan? A tale of Japanese influence on youthful dreams
On the Japan Airlines flight over from Singapore, I caught a television programme made by Tokyo TV called “Why did you come to Japan?”
Clearly launched on the back of the inbound boom to Japan, it basically catches visitors at Narita airport unawares, asks them their reason for coming to the [...]
Concerns over Google and what “cockroach” startup Rome2rio is doing to make buses, boats and trains bookable
Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with Rome2rio executive chairman Rod Cuthbert over breakfast at a café in Amsterdam where he frets about the growing power of Google and talks about the evolution of multi-modal travel as well as how the Melbourne-based “cockroach” startup intends to compete in a world [...]
Niccolo and Marco Polo hotels are now known as Wharf Hotels
Two Hong Kong-based iconic hotel brands - Niccolo Hotels and Marco Polo Hotels are, from today (June 6), officially grouped as ‘Wharf Hotels’ under Wharf Hotels Management Limited, the management company for the hotel group.
“This marks an exciting new chapter in the company’s evolution, [...]
Sojern and Google’s Japan Travel Report reveals top inbound market trends
Sojern and Google have just released the “Japan Travel Report”, offering an analysis of inbound consumer travel trends to Japan.
The report utilises Google search data, coupled with Sojern’s ‘travel intent’ and booking data from a pool of roughly 350 million anonymised traveller profile [...]
Mobile shopping spend in Asia Pacific to surge this year, research reveals
‘Shop till you drop’ is a common phrase among most Asians as shopping is a favourite past time and, for some, an indispensable part of their life.
With the ‘invasion’ of technology into so many aspects of our lives and the proliferation of mobile gadgets, shopping online has become very p [...]
The Millennial Traveller: Lost in your own re-imagination?
I do not fast but I have always had fond memories during Ramadan as a child. My mother would take us to our cousins’ apartment late at night, where we’d sit around a table and help my aunt bake a phenomenal number of batches of sugee cookies and honey cornflakes, which she would later sell to he [...]
Goodbye MISA Travel, “last of the Mohicans”
The revocation of the travel agency licence of MISA Travel on May 30 is indicative of the growing challenges facing traditional travel agencies in Singapore.
In its advisory, the Singapore Tourism Board stated that the notice was served “as it has ceased to carry on the business of a travel age [...]
The Wrap: AirAsia on track to becoming a truly Asean airline
The focus this week is on AirAsia’s journey to becoming an Asean airline, and launch of feijipiao.co.nz to cater to Chinese travellers in Australiasia
AIRLINES: AIRASIA ON TRACK TO BECOMING A TRULY ASEAN AIRLINE
AirAsia’s rapid expansion in the region is paving the way for it to beco [...]
JTB buys Kuoni, the Samurais fight back, get set for a fiery WIT Japan
The news of JTB Corporation acquiring all shares of Kuoni Global Travel Services, making it the world’s largest DMC, is yet another sign of the emergence of Asia travel brands on the global scene.
As the Asia market grows in importance and scale, and their customers fan out across the world in [...]
