Thank our lucky number WIT Oz escaped the ash?
“We were so lucky,” said my WIT Australia partner, Elizabeth Rich, the day after we had wrapped up our one-day event at the Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney.She was referring to the fact that we had only two speakers and four delegates no-shows despite the ash cloud which returned to wreak havoc in Aust [...]
The costliest leg shave in the world!
There is a bizarre twist to the ongoing story of "Here comes Lady Branson in red", which will see 60-year-old billionaire Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group serving as a flight attendant wearing the striking red AirAsia outfit for the day on the May 1 AirAsia X’s London-Kuala Lumpur flight,A [...]
Flight Centre launches Travelport Universal Desktop
Australia-based Flight Centre Limited (FLT) has launched Travelport Universal Desktop™ following successful pilot programmes in key markets around the world. A broader rollout will include the rest of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom, then extending to the remainder [...]
Cheaptickets launches in Asia, promises to crack the low cost code
A site that promises the cheapest flights to anywhere is coming into Asia in a move that is bound to shake up the already competitive online air and hotel market - but can it crack the low cost airline content code?Cheaptickets.sg is officially launching its Singapore site during the week of Web In [...]
The new good, bad and ugly customer: Has social media changed the conversation?
In the past, a good customer was someone who didn't bargain too much, was loyal (almost always) and spent constantly and consistently. They were predictable, reliable and fair.However, with the rise of social media (and the new forms of accountability and reputation management that inevitably come w [...]
The what matters more than the how
On Sunday, I spent 15 hours on the road from Penang to Singapore. I had plenty of time to listen to the radio.Most of it was rubbish. I will be glad if I never hear Taylor Swift again. There was one sentence I remembered though, uttered by a deejay whose name I can’t.He said something like, “Do [...]
Things heat up in China’s OTA market
As China’s online travel market grows, competition among trip booking sites has heated up, with home-grown providers fighting hard to keep and increase market share. The competition isn’t a simple duel between two market leaders—international players are looking for ways to capitalize on the u [...]
Think mooncakes, not nuclear weapons – the best blends east and west
At this time of the year in Beijing, as summer gives way to autumn and the Chinese offer mooncakes to the Lady of the Moon, there’s a change in the direction of the wind that blows through the city.From one day to the next, when I was there last week, a hot, humid summer day gave way to cool, blus [...]
Time to prune the roses?
Everyone these days appears to be looking for an exit strategy. President Obama is looking to get out of Afghanistan. Lindsay Lohan is trying to get out of drug rehab and a friend’s wife is looking to get out of her relationship.Pictured left: Ian JarrettThis week I read an article that made me fe [...]
Travel defies sceptics, bounces back strongly
Asia in particular is driving international growth. According to IPK, in 2010 year-on-year worldwide growth in domestic tourism will reach five percent, in international tourism seven percent, while growth in international arrivals will be in the order of six to seven percent, a new all-time record. [...]
