Boosted by General Atlantic deal, Kiwi.com wants to take virtual interlining to new highs
If Oliver Dlouhý, founder and chief executive officer of Kiwi.com, has his way, one day he will be able to fly on an unmanned civilian flight from Brno, the small town where he lives in Czech Republic, to any major European airport and connect to anywhere in the world.
Indeed, that was the reas [...]
How one Japanese genius detective boy whipped up a frenzy in Singapore
Yeoh Siew Hoon caught “Detective Conan: The Fist of Blue Sapphire” in action at the Singapore premiere and goes behind the scenes to find out why this first-to-be-set-outside-Japan-in-24-years manga and anime movie matters so much to Singapore tourism and the future of Japanese outbound.
It [...]
BeMyGuest raises new funds for expansion in Asia
Singapore-based provider of travel activities and tours in Asia, BeMyGuest, has secured a new round of funding in Series B "largely from internal stakeholders" to drive continued development in its Asian home market.
The technology and distribution specialist did not disclose the amount of the n [...]
Letter from Green Acres & The Habitat, Penang: Where the grass is indeed greener and nature richer
“I think something’s changed,” said Eric Chong, owner of Green Acres, an eco-resort built within a durian orchard in Penang. “Our occupancies have doubled since last year. I think travellers are really looking for different, authentic experiences.”
Where are they coming from, I asked.
[...]
The Wrap: Air NZ, ST Engineering team up to trail drones for aircraft inspection
News Roundup: An update on airlines in the Asian region with Air New Zealand adopting drone technology to improve operations, Emirates helping to preserve the environment with removal of single-use plastic and AirAsia acquiring more new generation aircraft in response to ongoing strong demand for t [...]
More funds in pocket, GuestReady Group set for Asia expansion
Short-term rental management company GuestReady Group, with the latest round of Series A funding of US$6 million, is now set to “fuel growth across Asia and Europe”.
This latest round was co-led by Dubai-based VentureSouq and Abramovich-backed Impulse VC, which led GuestReady’s Seed round [...]
Inside Inge De Lathauwer’s passion project: Changing lives in Sumba and proving a sustainable model in hospitality can pay off
Sumba Hospitality Foundation was one of the startups that qualified for a grant from Booking Booster, the Booking.com programme that supports social enterprises. With the 100,000 Euro funds, it hopes to boost profitability at its eco-resort so that eventually it can support the school that prepares [...]
Trip.com’s Lynn Qu on going global and building a super travel app
A year into her role as vice president, product and marketing for Trip.com, and Lynn Qu is taking her experience working for brands such as Microsoft, Expedia and HomeAway (now Vrbo) to take the Ctrip group brand global and using the Chinese edge in native app development to build a super travel ap [...]
The Wrap: Sabre and INFINI team up to boost tourism in run-up to Tokyo 2020
News Roundup: Of partnership and expanding footprint to capture more markets as Sabre links up with INFINI to develop Japan's tourism industry, Adara expanding presence in India, Amex GBT’s joining the Qantas Channel, Singapore-based Naumi Hotels acquiring another property in New Zealand,
Tra [...]
Travelstart to acquire Club Travel Group in bid to create full-service African travel entity
Following its change in investor from MTN to HarbourVest in late May, Amadeus Capital Partners-backed Travelstart has made the first of an expected series of acquisitions in its bid to own Africa – this week, it announced it is buying 100% of the Club Travel Group.
Travelstart’s CEO Stephan [...]
