Goodbye, Mike
Yesterday I got the news that my very first mentor in travel journalism, Mike Annetts, died.I felt heavy in heart because strangely enough, I had been asking after him just a month ago and had been told he was sick and I had been thinking a lot about him – the first time we met, the things I learn [...]
The difference between a truly mobile app and one that is merely mobile
Last time I blogged (or was it the time before) I mentioned briefly the subject of mobile applications. I think I said then that a mobile application could (probably) be much more than an application built for the Apple’s IOS platform or the increasingly dominant Android stage or something that [...]
Groove Condensed: Lessons from WIT Live
Up in the hills of North Thailand, as our longtail boat cut through the deep, full and flowing Mekong River, I had a chance to reflect on the journey that was WIT Live last month.Starting with THack@WIT, it showed the possibilities of innovation in an open travel world as about 40 developers got tog [...]
Groupon-type deals don’t make sense for OTAs; ZUJI works on refreshed branding
Expedia made a lot of noise with its AirAsia joint venture. Wotif made the news with its joint venture in Vietnam with Buffalo Tours. Meanwhile, ZUJI/Travelocity’s been rather quiet, leading many to wonder what the OTA’s been up to. Is it losing steam? Is it being tethered by its parent s [...]
Hackers unite at Abacus Hack Day 2010
What do you get when you put developers and techies together for 24 hours? The creation of innovative and inspiring hacks. Over Oct 18 and 19 at Carlton Hotel, Singapore, a 24-hour programming marathon where participants from Abacus and Abacus' partner companies came together to brainstorm and deve [...]
Hail the rice fields and hawkers
Morten Lund’s words at the WIT Conference about us getting too far from the rice fields have been ringing in my head.When I was growing up, the state closest to my home island of Penang, Kedah, was known as the rice bowl of Malaysia. It still is, according to some tourist information websites I br [...]
Hang on tight, we’re going for a Harley ride
“Hold me tight,” he said to me as I got onto the back seat. Willingly, I did. Not because I fancied John Karmouche or anything, mind you, but because it was my first time on the back of Harley Davidson and frankly, it’s a great beast to get your legs over.Like his bike, John is a tower of stre [...]
HEDNA U to be held during WIT, ITB Asia week
HEDNA, the not-for-profit trade association whose worldwide membership includes executives and managers from the most influential companies in the hotel distribution industry, will be staging its HEDNA U in Singapore in conjunction with the Web In Travel conference and ITB Asia next week.HEDNA U wil [...]
Hey, Singaporeans are an adventurous bunch
Singaporeans get a bad rap for being risk-averse and are the butt of “kiasu” (the local term for being afraid to lose) jokes but a new survey proves the opposite.Indeed, the survey commissioned by Guinness as part of the Guinness Adventures campaign reveals that Singaporeans are an adventurous l [...]
Hotels fail in responsiveness to MICE enquiries, IFH survey reveals
There is no doubt that the global conference and event business has experienced an upswing since 2010 with more events and more participants.And hoteliers and MICE organisers are increasingly bullish about the high-yielding sector. (Pictured: Suntec Convention Centre, Singapore)However, the 2011 IF [...]
