Wego secures new funding for expansion in the Middle East
Online travel marketplace Wego has picked up more investment, this time from Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP) in exchange for an equity ownership.
The equity stake and the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by both companies.
MEVP is a leading venture capital firm in the Middle [...]
The Wrap: Meet Toby the Chatbot – Tigerair Australia’s new personal travel consultant
In the news: It’s all about airlines and flights this week with Tigerair Australia’s new chatbot, KLM’s offering of WeChat Pay and booking flights on hotel websites
CHATBOTS: Meet Toby the Chatbot - Tigerair Australia’s new personal travel consultant
The next time you make a bookin [...]
6 openings, 3 months – AccorHotels’ rapid move into APAC’s luxury hotel space, first Sofitel in Malaysia
Soaring high above the office blocks and residences in Damansara Heights, an affluent suburb of Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara is an impressive sight with its wide driveway, sparkling marble floors and lofty ceilings.
Opened last month the 312-room hotel is the fir [...]
Japan Airlines, TripAdvisor join forces to grow Japan’s inbound tourism in lead up to 2020
Japan Airlines (JAL) and TripAdvisor have formed a strategic partnership to launch an immersive multi-media portal, Untold Stories of Japan, to promote inbound tourism to the country, as well as encourage repeat visits.
The portal, which will be launched next month, highlights the best that Japan [...]
Fried scorpion may not be his thing but helping travellers have better vacations is: Steve Kaufer on TripAdvisor’s great end game
Steve Kaufer, CEO & founder of TripAdvisor, could hardly remember what he ate for dinner the evening before. “It was something interesting,” he said. I was curious because he kept talking about how TripAdvisor wants to help travellers have awesome experiences in destinations – from tours t [...]
Malaysia’s Tourism Tax: Finally enforced, but still faces long road to smooth implementation
On September 1 Malaysia implemented the controversial Tourism Tax (TTx) for foreign tourists, a RM10 (US$2.40) daily levy on hotel accommodation, much to the chagrin of the industry given that many questions remain unanswered.
There is no clarity yet on how the tax should be collected even though [...]
AirAsia wants to remove “cash from the plane”, first step a new Freedom Flyer scheme
Low-cost airline, AirAsia launched its new Freedom Flyer Programme last week at RedQ in Kuala Lumpur, a first step in group CEO Tony Fernandes’ dream of “removing cash from the plane”.
At the launch, he said, “we never really knew loyalty very well… having said that, we have 13 million [...]
Writing about failures taught him, “be a person of character, not a personality”
My first question to Vincent Ng, the co-author of “Why You Should Fail”, was, of course, “have you failed?” To which his eyes lit up with glee and he said, “Yes.”
“I’ve been doing entrepreneur things since I was 16,” he said proudly. “I sold candy to my schoolmates. The money [...]
Are these your ideal travel companions?
Who do you like to travel with? If you enjoy discovering the world with your family or friends then you are in good company, as a survey conducted by AccorHotels finds that the preferred travel companions are spouses (67%), children (44%) and friends (36%).
The survey was carried out in collabora [...]
Airports investing big in smart technology with Asia at the forefront
Airports are making large strides towards ameliorating traveller experiences through technology, according to both Sabre Travel Network APAC and SITA reports, and Asia is unsurprisingly at the forefront.
The top three positions in Skytrax’s World Airport Awards 2017 were awarded to Singapore Ch [...]
