How to succeed in online travel: Lessons from WIT Japan
As a first-timer attending WIT Japan & North Asia, it was certainly an eye-opener as I listened to more than 60 speakers and industry experts share their collective wisdom and insights into what it takes for to succeed in the online travel space in the region. Here are some of the lessons gleane [...]
Kuoni responds to digitalisation, China a key market in new scheme of things
The commencement of 2015 paved way for a major change in the course of The Kuoni Group’s history. The group chose to sell the tour operating business, and leverage the strength of its B2B businesses.In the 2014 financial year, Kuoni Group generated turnover of CHF 5 508 million (2013: CHF 5 66 [...]
The Wrap: Survey discloses what travellers like and dislike about flying
In the news: TripAdvisor’s air travel survey, IATA’s new initiative for smaller carry-on bags, AirAsia’s hunt for the Asean TravellerSurvey discloses what travellers like and dislike about flyingFlight delays, being squeezed into uncomfortable seat with no room for legs, noisy children - these [...]
The battle for online travel consumers: Who will win?
Will the Internet – and online travel in particular – end up being dominated by juggernauts? Do online travel agencies (OTAs) stand a chance in a world where search engines offer e-commerce facilities, and giant retailers get into travel?These were the key questions debated at a panel discussion [...]
travelmob no more as HomeAway builds brand to grow global vacation rental travel
The dropping of the travelmob name to become HomeAway Asia this month is part of a wider move by the Austin-based company to build a global brand and encourage global vacation rental travel. travelmob was started by two co-founders, Turochas Fuad and PK, who sold 63% of the business to HomeAway in J [...]
Asian cities dominate among leading destinations in the world
Asia is a strong magnet for leisure travel with five cities - Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Hong Kong – making it into the Global Destination Cities Index 2015 top 10.The annual index by MasterCard provides a ranking of the 132 most visited cities from around the world. It also shows [...]
Travel is getting like “Game of Thrones”, be like a Hobbit to win
The news is sweet. Online travel is growing faster than the overall market and APAC remains a high growth market. However that didn’t stop Timothy Hughes, vice president marketing of Agoda, from reminding everyone “it’s a brutal market out there” and predicting a “bloodbath”.Hughes said [...]
Kathleen Tan leaves Expedia following global reorganisation as HQ takes charge
Rumours had been flying of leadership changes that would take place in the Air Asia Expedia joint venture after Expedia increased its stake to 75% this February, and this week the changes happened.A global reorganisation was announced this week to staff in Asia, along with news that CEO Kathleen Tan [...]
Booking Boss, powering tours & activities, secures new funding to expand to Europe
Booking Boss, the Australia-based provider of software solutions for the tours and activities sector, is set to expand further into Europe, as well as dig deeper into Asia, following the completion of a A$2m Series A financing round.The financing was led by Sydney investors Michael and Daniel Dempse [...]
Create personalised purchasing experiences to meet specific needs of tomorrow’s travellers
Travellers today are no longer defined by their demographic segment but by their values, behaviours and motivations. As such airlines and other travel providers will need to harness the wealth of data and social media information to create "purchasing experiences", which cater to individual needs, a [...]
