News
Experiences are central to travel booking decisions, particularly for younger travellers
24/03/2025 by WiT
Two-thirds of travellers say activities, experiences influence where to go on holiday – a topic that will be explored at the upcoming Arival 360 event in Valencia A new report from Arival reveals that experiences are now a driving force in travel planning, and that this is being driven by Gen-Z [...]
Beyond the ‘White Lotus’ hype: Can Thailand’s set-jetting fame be turned into lasting growth?
24/03/2025 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
Marketing and understanding traveller demand are key to sustaining surge in visitors The third season of HBO’s hit show, “The White Lotus”, has cast a spotlight on Thailand, igniting a surge in global interest, particularly for Koh Samui. The hotels featured in the series, like The Four Seaso [...]
Catch-up Podcast: True power of AI. Alipay’s success in Malaysia. OTAs in UAE. Africa’s unique path.
24/03/2025 by WiT
We're trying something new with our weekly-ish podcast - we're outsourcing it to Artificial Intelligence. This is both an experiment and, if we're being honest, a convenient way to digest the top articles of the week from the WiT website into a nugget-of-a-podcast. We'll release a new episode every [...]
Fritz Demopoulos on self-awareness, fishing and outsiders | Conversations On Turning 20
20/03/2025 by WiT
When you get to the ripe young age of 20, you’re bound to collect lots of stories – not only about the past but lessons for the future. As WiT marks its 20th year in 2025, we turn the spotlight on our community, our tribe pioneers and leaders, to tell their stories and share their views on th [...]
Beyond gorillas: Rwanda and its pursuit of high value, low impact tourism
20/03/2025 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
How the ‘Singapore of Africa’ sees conservation, hospitality and the role of women Rwanda is often synonymous with mountain gorilla trekking, but this East African nation of 14 million is rapidly transforming into a global leader in high-value, low-impact tourism. During the "Spotlight: Rwa [...]
Don’t write off AI as hype: Once-in-a-generation transformation, says Chris Hemmeter
20/03/2025 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
An existential threat to suppliers and golden time for startups Yes, there is a lot of hype around AI right now and some of us may have become immune or even cynical about it but you'd be wise not to, warned Chris Hemmeter, managing director of Thayer Ventures. Opening his talk on “Gen AI and [...]
Enrich-ing Singapore Airlines. Business travellers trust AI. TripAdvisor vs fraud. Mabrian and WTTC want to drive tourism. More.
20/03/2025 by WiT
Enrich adds Singapore Airlines as new partner Malaysia Airlines' Enrich loyalty program has added Singapore Airlines as an earn and redeem partner, allowing members to accumulate Enrich points on select Singapore Airlines routes. These routes include flights between Singapore and Malaysia, Europe, [...]
OTAs in UAE set for double -digit growth in both air and hotel categories
19/03/2025 by WiT
VIDEC Consultants has released insights from its latest VIDEC’s GCC & Egypt Travel Market Study, 2019-2028. VIDEC is a boutique research, consulting, and M&A advisory company with a singular domain focus on the global travel, tourism, and hospitality industry. The company undertook an [...]
Alipay+ contributes over 80% of inbound QR payments via DuitNow in Malaysia
18/03/2025 by WiT
A partnership between Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet) and Ant International has boosted cross-border transactions for visitors, with Alipay+ now contributing more than 80% of inbound QR payments via DuitNow. Alipay+ says this growing integration is enhancing the travel experience, making [...]
Letter from Cape Town: Of luxury living, butts and dogs
17/03/2025 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
“You stopping off in Johannesburg?” asked the Singapore Airlines stewardess. “No, I am getting off in Cape Town,” I replied. “Good,” she responded. “Better. Safer.” Clearly a woman of few words, she captured the essence of what makes Africa travel so different from everywhere else [...]