Letter from Penang: Why indies who pursue love matter in the big money world of travel
Each time I return to Penang, I discover
a new and interesting business set up by yet another entrepreneur out to make a
difference on the island. This island, after all, was built by traders,
merchants and immigrants, much like my father.
Hikayat is a new creative and arts space founded by [...]
For love and money: From Taipei to Penang, how two independent hoteliers are doing it their way
With the theme of “Love & Money: How To Do Both” threading through WiT Indie held in Penang on March 15, it was interesting to hear the responses from speakers when asked to choose one or the other.
Benjamin Liao, chairman of Taiwan’s Forte Hotel Group, created laughter when he said, [...]
Wego soars to profitability and $1b gross bookings on back of Middle East success
Six years after Singapore-based travel metasearch site Wego entered the Middle East, the region now accounts for half of its total business and is the key reason why the company achieved profitability 18 months ago on $1 billion worth of gross travel bookings across the entire business.
Said Ro [...]
APAC mobile sites lagging in speeds, while consumers increasingly depend on mobile
Consumers of today’s mobile generation are highly dependent on their devices and are an impatient lot. And APAC sites have some work to do to keep up with the expectations of these consumers.
These are some of the key findings of Think with Google’s Masters of Mobile APAC report. Commissio [...]
Here’s how to get your experience business discovered
Travel activities account for 9% of global travel market and is the third largest segment of the travel space after airlines and hotels. This is a significant space worth about US$129 billion (RM500 billion).
Nearer home, Asia Pacific is the largest regional market for tours and activities [...]
Marketing to the Chinese traveller: What you ought to know
“There are big changes in the China travel market, which also means big opportunities for marketers.” This was how Reene Ho-Phang, founder and, managing director of BrandStory Asia, described what lies in store for companies looking to do business with this outbound travel giant.
She was giv [...]
Al Tayyar Travel on the move as Saudi Arabia prepares to transform
Exciting changes are afoot in the Saudi Arabian online
travel market with the government’s Vision 2030 plan which sets ambitious
targets to diversify sources of income and reduce reliance on oil in the
kingdom.
There are plans to open up inbound tourism to foreign travellers and boost domestic [...]
David Kong on the transformation of Best Western through quality, talent and technology
Ever since he took over as CEO of Best Western Hotels & Resorts in 2004, David Kong has been a man on a mission to transform the company, and the process continues with the recent acquisition of WorldHotels, which added 300 hotels to its global portfolio. In Singapore for the first time, the so [...]
The Wrap: Introducing ZIPAIR Tokyo – Japan Airlines’ new low cost, long haul carrier
In the news: Japan’s new low cost carrier ZIPAIR Tokyo, Agoda and Adyen partnership, Aeroméxico’s use of chatbot to trace baggage, Rod Cuthbert's nomination to VELTRA board
Airlines: Introducing ZIPAIR Tokyo – Japan Airlines’ new low cost, long haul carrier
New carrier by Japan Airl [...]
Here are some of the ways the IATA NDC could transform air travel
At
the CAPA Global LCC Summit held in Singapore recently, a panel of experts
offered a primer on NDC (New Distribution Capability). Specifically, the panel
discussed how the NDC API has the potential to transform digital distribution
for air travel.
To offer a brief overview, the NDC Program re [...]
