Mobile – who wins? Suppliers or intermediaries?
You can tell that mobile is going to be the next battleground to win the customer.At the China Travel Distribution Summit, Gerry Samuels, founder and CEO of Mobile Travel Technologies, said travel suppliers were taking an increasingly aggressive stance on mobile as they see it as an opportunity to [...]
Modest growth in visitor arrivals to APAC
Asia and the Pacific record a 5% year-on-year increase in international visitor arrivals for February, based on preliminary figures released by PATA.According to PATA the demand growth was, to a certain degree, impacted by the shift of the Lunar New Year, from the middle of the month in 2010, to t [...]
More bucks for Asia as new East-West boss ramps up market drive
In line with its objective of growing the Asian market, identified as the future growth region, Tourism Australia is creating a new position, Head of Asia Development, and is looking for a suitable candidate.Frances Anne Keeler, who is the new executive general manager, market operationsl, looking a [...]
My first day in Tokyo and the quirkiness of it all
Walking through Narita airport yesterday, I had a strange feeling of déjà vu.It felt like the time I arrived in Hong Kong at the height of the SARS scare. The airport was eerily quiet and people were walking around with masks on – there wasn’t the usual buzz one associated with Hong Kong airpo [...]
New China-ASEAN railroad link opens up tourism potential
A new project that will see a railroad linking China to Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore will open up tourism opportunities, according to an assessment by Asian Trails Thailand. The entire route will be 5,000km long and have three lines – east, central and west. [...]
News briefs: AA talks direct connect with HRG; sales dip at Japanese travel agencies
American Airlines in direct connect link with HRGAmerican Airlines is exploring an agreement with British travel services company Hogg Robinson Group to provide booking services for corporate clients (Dallas Business Journal, 08-Aug-2011).Under the agreement, HRG would receive direct access to Ameri [...]
News briefs: Google Flights out soon, Expedia launches travel agent platform
Google reportedly intends to launch its new flight info search results service, “Google Flights”, shortly (searchenginewatch.com, 06-Jul-2011). The service will be based upon technology and data acquired with its acquisition of ITA Software.Integration of ITA Software’s technology will allow G [...]
WIT Australia: Nothing ventured, nothing gained for travel.jp founder
Timing is everything to Kei Shibata (left). That, and luck plus hard work.He started his company, Venture Republic, in January 2001, a few months before the dot.com bubble burst. He then launched travel.jp in June 2001, a few months before September 11.Then in 2008, a month before the Lehman Broth [...]
Now everyone can talk and text
AirAsia, Asia’s leading low-cost carrier, made it possible for “everyone to fly” when it entered the market with extremely low, unbelievable fares. Now together with Malaysian giant telco, Maxis Bhd, and Swiss-based OnAir, the airline is offering in-flight calls and data.Pictured left: AirAs [...]
Life after exit, what’s it like? Three founders tell all
It was interesting listening to the stories of three start-ups in Asia whose companies were recently acquired and how their founders were now doing.On stage at Echelon 2011, Singapore’s largest digital startup conference, were (from left) Kelly Choo, Brandtologoy, a social media intelligence comp [...]
