Letter from Kalastajatorppa: An instant dose of fresh air and Finnish angst
You couldn’t ask for a bigger contrast – flying from the haze-filled sky of Singapore to the crisp clear sky of Helsinki. In 12 hours, I felt like I could breathe again.It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve had to breathe in the noxious smoke particles from the forest fires in Indonesia [...]
Very Local Trip links travellers to local friends and local experiences
By Alisha Somanas After five years in Thailand a French pharmaceutical consultant is pushing ahead with his travel start-up, based on the realisation that many travellers want to feel like a local rather than a tourist when visiting a destination.Maxime Besnier, CEO and founder of Very Local Trip, s [...]
Mobile shopping and sharing soars across markets
The rapid adoption of mobile devices, the rise of social networking, the myriad device and channel options have all added to the growing complexity of the travel search, shop, buy process.A new report from travel industry research authority Phocuswright, Search, Shop, Buy: The New Digital Funnel, pr [...]
“Mission critical” Amadeus wins in Asia, OTA customers are “top priority”
It is “mission critical” that Amadeus wins in Asia and one key plank of its distribution strategy is giving Asian OTA customers top priority, declared Holger Taubmann, senior vice president, distribution.Speaking to WIT during a visit to Bangkok, he said that globally, online growth has been phe [...]
New survey reveals strong demand for in-flight broadband
Europe’s aviation passengers are very into in-flight WiFi and are willing to pay for the service if available, revealed the 2015 In-Flight Connectivity Survey conducted by Inmarsat, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services, and market research company GfK.The survey [...]
The Millennial Traveller: Singapore, haze and the valley of ashes
If there is anything that has occupied Singapore’s attention as of late, it is the haze. A sinister toxic cloud of smoke continues to waft inland, caused by Indonesia’s seemingly unending forest fires south of the island.Locals, expats and visitors alike have swarmed pharmacies and clinics to ge [...]
Online travel, like rugby, is a game of inches, says Agoda’s Hughes
When I caught up with Tim Hughes, vice president marketing of Agoda in Bangkok, the unexpected had just happened in the Rugby World Cup currently taking place in the UK. Japan had snatched victory from the jaws of what seemed to be sure defeat by the South Africans – with a score of 34 to 32 – t [...]
The Wrap: Lufthansa’s mobile boarding pass lands in Bangkok
In the news: Airlines are in the limelight this week - Lufthansa’s mobile boarding pass in Bangkok, Amadeus' flight management solution for Virgin Australia, Japan Airlines' AXESS and Travelport's new agency desktopLufthansa's mobile boarding pass lands in BangkokThe Lufthansa Group of airlines � [...]
RedDoorz aims to crack budget hotel market, gets backing from Jungle Ventures
RedDoorz has received an undisclosed amount of pre Series A funding led by Jungle Ventures, whose fund has seen good exits from its early stage investments in two travel start-ups, Travelmob and Voyagin, which were acquired by HomeAway and Rakuten respectively. Described as South-east Asia's first a [...]
What’s the one thing in travel you want to reboot, Part 1
What’s the one thing in travel you want to reboot? That’s the challenge we asked some of the speakers coming to the WIT Conference this October 19-21. In a series of videos over the next three weeks, we will share their reboot.Listen to what Dan Wacksman, SVP, Global Distribution, Outrigger Hote [...]
