News
Morris Sim on social bubbles, people firewalls and loss of talent | Conversations On Turning 20
09/07/2025 by WiT
When you get to the ripe young age of 20, you’re bound to collect lots of stories – not only about the past but lessons for the future. As WiT marks its 20th year in 2025, we turn the spotlight on our community, our tribe pioneers and leaders, to tell their stories and share their views on th [...]
“Still human at the core”: Klook’s Sarah Wan on conscious travel, AI content and future of experiences
09/07/2025 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
In an age of algorithmic itineraries and AI influencers, Sarah Wan, General Manager, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, of Klook, reminds us that the future of travel is still deeply, messily human. “At the end of the day,” she said during WiT’s Travel Tech Thursday session in Kuala Lumpur, � [...]
The constant battle: How Booking.com’s security chief fights travel scams at scale
09/07/2025 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
For cybercriminals, the travel industry has become a lucrative new target and it’s not hard to see why. Big money, emotional stakes, digital self-service, and a globally distributed ecosystem of users and suppliers make the perfect storm for fraudsters. At the centre of the fight is Marnie Wilk [...]
B2B gets personal, local and powerful: The new rules of engagement in travel tech
08/07/2025 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
At WiT Japan & North Asia 2025, a conversation around the B2B travel tech landscape revealed one thing: the back end is no longer background noise. It’s where real travel innovation is happening. Moderated by WiT’s founder Siew Hoon Yeoh, the panel brought together industry leaders Eric Zhu [...]
From parking lots to travel: How Reiwa and PKSHA want to write a new AI-led chapter in Japan
07/07/2025 by WiT
When punk rocker-turned-founder of Reiwa Travel Takaya Shinozuka met the team at AI investment fund, PKSHA Technology, sparks didn’t just fly – they lit the fuse for a bold experiment in reimagining Japan’s online travel landscape. At WiT Japan & North Asia 2025, the entrepreneur, on his [...]
Arts and culture top visitor motivators across Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia
07/07/2025 by WiT
PwC Middle East and Mabrian Technologies publish new research on shifting visitor expectations across the Gulf region New research by PwC Middle East, in collaboration with Mabrian Technologies, a global travel intelligence platform, reveals that visitor preferences across the Gulf region are und [...]
The Tomb A Machine Can’t Find: When the Golden Key Unlocks What Tech Alone Can’t
04/07/2025 by Henry Beh
“Thank you. I found my friend.” That was the message Sharezal Abdul Wahid received a week after a guest checked out of The Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur — accompanied by a photo of the elderly man standing by the grave of a long-lost wartime friend. No app could’ve found that grave. No A [...]
The Soundtrack of Serendipity: From Cardiff choirs to Stockholm street beats
03/07/2025 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Your desk is, I believe, a good reflection of who you are. On mine, I have a giant mug that says, “Organised people are just too lazy to look for things.” Beside it is a framed photo of David Bowie, quote, “I don't know where I’m going from here but I promise it won’t be boring.” So, [...]
How Atiom’s Matt Spriegel is fixing a big hospitality blind spot
03/07/2025 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
Tackling a gap where the frontline got left behind When Matt Spriegel founded Atiom, a tech platform for hospitality staff training and engagement, he wasn’t chasing shiny trends - he was trying to fix a problem no one was really talking about. “The frontline workforce - we call them the Forgot [...]
Code, context, and culture: How Japanese OTAs are wielding AI for the next travel wave
03/07/2025 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Biggest obstacle is lack of “shared data standards and open infrastructure”, says KabuK’s Sunada In the bustling intersection of tradition and technology that defines modern Japan, a quiet but profound transformation is underway in the travel space – driven not by hype, but by the pragmatic [...]