Luxury lifestyle resort brand, akyra, launches at ITB
akyra Chura Samui on Koh Samui’s trendy Chaweng Beach is the first property under the akyra brand. It will open in June with 62 stylish suites and rooms, a lavish spa â�¨with his and hers meditation rooms, free Wi-Fi throughout the resort, a well-stocked library and stylish Galleria boutiqu [...]
Low cost airlines in APAC see robust online bookings
With their highly web-centric models the region's low cost carriers are experiencing strong growth in visitation as consumers search for the best travel deals online.The trend was revealed in the report , Low-Cost Airlines: The Changing Demographics of Travel – Global Travel Trends with a Focus o [...]
Mobile product development – learning how 3 intermediaries are excelling
What makes a mobile app a lightning-fast proposition? It’s quite intriguing to assess how design and development teams accomplish the task of facilitating a hotel reservation or on-demand car service in less than one minute. When Apple recently introduced its new programming language in Swift, I [...]
Letter from Bhutan, Pt 2: Of dogs, horse heads, phalluses and cordyceps
Day 2 in Bhutan dawns bright and clear. Fluffy white clouds floating on a canvas of brilliant blue sky. More Fluffy Dragon than Thunder Dragon, I thought as I woke up at the Namgay Heritage Hotel in Thimpu.Happiness, I thought. We had expected lots of rain and black clouds – all the guidebooks tel [...]
Reviews take hold in China as travellers contribute and consume content
The role of reviews in influencing Chinese traveller decisions is gaining in importance as more Chinese contribute reviews as well as read them as part of their travel shopping.According to PhoCusWright's recent Asia Pacific and Global Edition report, Traveler Reviews and Social Media in China, over [...]
trivago lands in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand
Global hotel price search and comparison website, trivago, expands its foothold in Southeast Asia with the recent launch of new local platforms in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.
trivago Indonesia, trivago Malaysia, and trivago Thailand are available in local languages and in English. Their laun [...]
Travelport acquires stake in Locomote, ups share in eNett in move to redefine travel commerce
As part of Travelport’s growing Beyond Air portfolio and its strategy to redefine travel commerce, the company has invested in Melbourne-based travel technology company, Locomote, with a 49% share.However, no other details of the the acquisition were disclosedLocomote was developed to change the c [...]
Organic growth and acquisitions fuel Amadeus’ strong H1 performance
The first half of 2014 was good for Amadeus as it reports an 8.5% increase in revenue to €1,731 million.The strong performance was supported by organic growth and the contribution of acquisitions, the company said in a media release.Adjusted profit for the period grew 8.9% to €381 million, while [...]
The Wrap: Boarding a flight the smartphone way
In the news this week: Your smartwatch as a boarding pass, Amadeus’ light ticketing solution for AirAsia, Air India's 50th airline on Travelport merchandising platform, Amadeus partners with Alipay Boarding a flight the smartphone way You may soon board a flight with just a mere flick of your wris [...]
Northstar Travel Media promotes Sullivan
New York-based Northstar Travel Media, parent of Travel Weekly, has promoted Bob Sullivan to president of the company’s Travel Group. He was most recenly executive vice president of the group.Sullivan is responsible for Northstar's Retail Group (Travel Weekly and TravelAge West), PhoCusWright, the [...]
