US$500m new wings to fly for Tuniu, Chinese outbound still powering on
The US$500 million investment to be made by HNA Tourism into Tuniu, the Chinese online leisure travel company, will give Tuniu wings to fly and, more importantly, “greatly help us when we are organising our own package tours”.Conor Yang, CFO of Tuniu, told WIT that HNA’s ownership of 12 differ [...]
Amadeus Next wants to build ecosystem to nurture travel tech startups
Amadeus Next believes that “connectivity in the community” is the missing link towards fostering more startup opportunities in travel and wants to build up an ecosystem to nurture travel tech startups.Simon Akeroyd, vice president of corporate strategy and business development of Amadeus for Asi [...]
Peach wants to be Muji or Uniqlo of airlines as it champions Japan inbound
Peach CEO Shinichi Inoue wants his airline to become the Muji or Uniqlo of aviation. Accepting the Low Cost Airline of the Year award at the CAPA Asian Aviation Summit on Monday night, Inoue said with those two brands, you don’t think of them as where they come from but as global household names.T [...]
Fly around the world virtually with Flight Centre
Flight Centre Singapore is offering its customers the chance to immerse and transport themselves to a destination of their choice in-store with the launch of the Virtual Reality (VR) experience at its headquarters.The VR experience starts with three destinations –Hoi An in Vietnam, Tokyo in Japan [...]
The Lion king’s epic journey from keyboards and cakes to CAPA Legend
Things could have turned out very differently for Rusdi Kirana, recipient of the CAPA Legends Award 2015 if he had listened to a official from the Transportation Ministry when he first applied for a licence to start Lion Air.The advice he got was to start a condom factory instead. “If I had listen [...]
The Wrap: China, Thailand, Hong Kong most favoured destinations for Singapore travellers
In the news: GfK Travelscan report on Singapore travellers, lower booking costs for agents with VANs, AirAsia’s new mobile appChina, Thailand, Hong Kong most favoured destinations for Singapore travellers Travellers in Singapore have chalked up more outbound trips by air in the first three quarter [...]
Letter from London: Bacharach, Shakespeare and Southwark reimagined
In London, I caught the musical, “Close To You: Bacharach Reimagined”. Written by young Canadian artiste, Kyle Riabko, it’s a tribute to one of pop music’s most celebrated and prolific songwriters and while I normally eschew musical medleys, Riabko’s clever and contemporary arrangement and [...]
The Wrap: Smarter data care can improve travel companies’ revenue, finds Amadeus white paper
In the news: Amadeus white paper on safeguarding data, a ”Canvas” for independent hotels, Ascott’s expansion in ChinaSmarter data care can improve travel companies’ revenue, finds Amadeus white paperAmadeus has launched the white paper, Safeguarding information systems: A lever for revenue g [...]
Letter from County Wicklow: Like roses in Ireland, Asia is blooming
On the drive from Dublin airport – minus my baggage – I asked the driver if County Wicklow was where the water came from to make Guinness.He laughed and said, “The things tourists believe.”Thing is, it does take a certain suspension of disbelief to travel. That just the day before I had been [...]
How Stone saw the light and decided to bring it home to Uluru
“There’s something in today’s society that draws people to personal experiences more,” says Ray Stone as he explains why creating experiences such as the “Field of Light” exhibition in Australia’s most sacred place are key to drawing in more visitors to destinations.It was four years a [...]
