Letter from Tokyo: It’s all happening here as city goes into hyperdrive
Got into Tokyo on the red eye from Singapore – landed at Haneda just as the sun rose over the city. I got so excited at immigration that I even engaged in conversation with the officer.
“I am so happy I don’t need a visa anymore,” I said, as I handed her my Malaysian passport.
� [...]
The Wrap: AirAsia world’s first airline to pilot Interpol I-Checkit system
In the news: AirAsia pilots Interpol I-Checkit system, Travelport expands marketing reach, Inmarsat offers free tracking service, Myanamar and Indonesia ink visa deal
AirAsia world’s first airline to pilot Interpol I-Checkit system
Asia's largest low cost carrier, AirAsia, will adopt [...]
ASEAN Open Skies: A Long Way to Go?
Alan Khee-Jin Tan, Professor of Aviation Law at National University of Singapore (pictured below left), shares his views on the “ASEAN Open Skies” and the project’s implications on the region’s aviation industry.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its 10 member [...]
Japan steps up inbound efforts but faces challenges in catering to foreign tourists
The third WIT Japan opened last week to the personal welcome of a Prime Minister and the beating of drums, heralding what many believe is the rise of a new dawn for the country’s travel industry.
In his video message, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (right) told delegates that the Internet had [...]
Recruit wants to liberate small businesses to unleash ‘omotenashi’ globally
More than 50 years ago, in 1960 precisely, the founders of Recruit Holdings saw an opportunity to match students with jobs and thus started the company’s magazine business.
In the 1990s, with the rise of the Internet, the company began developing information services for the new media a [...]
The Wrap: The Residence by Etihad – ultimate in luxury at 30,000 feet
In the news: Etihad redefines luxury in the sky, Wego signs two Middle East airlines, Pan Pacific Group’s new websites, Cruiseline.com relaunches app for Android
The Residence by Etihad – ultimate in luxury at 30,000 feet
Etihad Airways has redefined flying in style and luxury with [...]
“Add + Our Uniqueness” idea wins WIT Indonesia Design Challenge
The WIT Indonesia Design Challenge, run with Kreavi, the Indonesian crowd-sourced designer community, and Wego, which challenged designers to come up with an idea to promote Indonesia, produced one winner, Mahwari Sadewa, who came up with the theme, “Visit Indonesia. Add (+) Our Uniqueness.”� [...]
GfK brings its travel tracking services to Asia to shed light on online-offline relationship
When I asked what GfK meant, Laurens Van den Oever (right), global travel director at the 80-year-old German company said three highly unpronounceable German words (to me anyway) but suffice it to say, in English, it means “Growth From Knowledge”.
And it is this mantra that this fam [...]
Inbound fillip for Japan, online travel boom for South Korea – WIT Japan opens May 16
Usually at this time of the year, I’d be fretting about having to get a visa to travel to Japan – the forms to fill, the documents I must secure, the approval process …
You cannot imagine what a liberating feeling it is that I no longer have to go through the process since visa regula [...]
Think about mobile differently, don’t make the same mistake as in 1995 – Bellhop wins WIT Indonesia Start-Up
It was interesting to watch the pitches at the WIT Start-Up competition in Indonesia and realise that out of the six who presented, how heavily into mobile they were.
And social – a lot had to do with trip planning using the power of the crowd. I am not sure how the social piece will p [...]
