News
AI in the air. Toyota backs air taxis. A boost for Podcasters. Switchless, pay less. More
04/10/2024 by Ian Jarrett
This is your Captain AI speaking Turkey’s Pegasus Airlines has launched a multilingual project allowing flights to Spanish, Arabic, and Russian-speaking countries to feature AI-generated announcements in the respective local language, following the English version. The Pegasus Innovation Lab, [...]
A brief history of online travel, 1999-2024, visualised
03/10/2024 by WiT
Inspired by Hans Rosling’s “200 years in 4 minutes”, where the late Swedish stats guru and public educator visualised the story of the world, using 120,000 numbers, Wego’s vice president, strategy and planning, Nedyalko Terziev, has put together this visualisation telling the story of online [...]
Truely raises US$3.5 million financing, plans B2B2C eSIM solutions for major travel operators
03/10/2024 by WiT
Truely, a Travel eSIM provider enabling global connectivity for travellers, has announced the completion of a US$3.5 million round of financing led by 1982 Ventures with participation from Beenext, and Kopital Ventures. The round also saw participation from the founding team members and various stra [...]
These podcasters aren’t real: Our AI experiment with Google’s Notebook LM
01/10/2024 by WiT
Google's new AI tool, NotebookLM, has the tech world buzzing for good reason. Users of the platform can feed it with any sort of raw data in the form of a text document or PDF - from a simple short stories to staggering reports on complicated subjects - and NotebookLM will turn it into a podcast.  [...]
Travel is a great place for scientists, says Agoda’s Idan Zalzberg
01/10/2024 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Going full power on using AI to give better, quicker answers to customers Growing up, Idan Zalzberg never had any doubt that he would end up in the intersection of science, engineering and tech. Travel just happened to fall into the mix. Now the Chief Technology Officer of Agoda, one of Asia [...]
The New Work Paradigm: Covid’s lasting legacy
01/10/2024 by Timothy O'Neil-Dunne
We are not going back to the office, not in the way we used to. The pandemic forced us all to re-evaluate how we live, how we work, and how we balance our lives. The forces that powered the old way of working—the service economy built around office towers and cubicles—are permanently disrupted. [...]
Tech is the key: 64% of passengers okay with biometrics for shorter lines at airport
30/09/2024 by WiT
Amid skyrocketing traffic, passengers look to digitalisation to upgrade their travel experience, SITA 2024 Passenger IT Insights report finds In 2023, air travel soared, surpassing industry expectations. IATA predictions suggest that demand will only continue to grow, reaching 8 billion global pass [...]
Klook eyes US markets, further expansion in Asia, and new social commerce features in next phase of growth
27/09/2024 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
"If we can bring that West-meets-East confluence to life, it could be a game-changer. We’re just getting started," says Klook's VP of Global Marketing Interview with Marcus Yong conducted by Henry Beh As Klook celebrates its 10th anniversary, the travel and experiences platform is positioning [...]
World Tourism Day: Rebuilding peace through women-led tourism in Rwanda
27/09/2024 by Dr. Stroma Cole
The World Tourism Day 2024 theme of "Tourism and Peace" presents a chance to reflect on the transformative role women-led tourism can play in post-conflict recovery. by Dr. Stroma Cole, Co-Director of Equality in Tourism Rwanda offers a powerful example. Tourism has become a pillar of the nation [...]
Chinese tourists explore beyond capitals and opt for live entertainment during Golden Week 2024
26/09/2024 by WiT
As millions of Chinese travellers prepare for the upcoming Golden Week holiday in October, both Trip.com Group and Alibaba Group-owned Fliggy have released data revealing travel flows for their last major travel period of 2024. Already, Trip.com Group is witnessing hotel bookings peak in arrivals on [...]