Letter from the Mekong: A more-than-virtual-reality adventure
So there we were, sitting back in the longtail boat, enjoying the cool breeze in our hair and preparing to enjoy the cruise on the Mekong.The camera equipment which would shoot the Virtual Reality footage had been set up – six GoPros mounted on a rig which Morris Sim (CEO of Brand Karma) had tied [...]
Letter from Kuching: Excuse me, do you want my hot spot?
I’ve just returned from Kuching where we ran a Digital Marketing Bootcamp for the travel trade. The objective was to basically arm industry players with information and knowledge of how to make their business, and their destination, easily discoverable in the digital world.If you’ve been to Kuch [...]
The Wrap: Marriott welcomes Chinese travellers with Alipay
In the news: Alipay in Marriott hotels, GfK Travelscan for Vietnam's travel agents, Japanese ardent F1 fans.
Marriott welcomes Chinese travellers with Alipay
Chinese travellers staying in Marriott hotels and resorts can settle their bills with Alipay, a third-party online payment platform with [...]
Best of TW Asia Global Wrap: Indonesia haze blows beyond own borders, emergency declared
Featured stories from TravelWeekly Asia: Worsening haze in Asean region, cash incentives for booking Tasmania cruises, new air terminal in TaiwanIndonesia haze blows beyond own borders, emergency declaredWhile Indonesia has declared a haze emergency in Sumatra's Riau province, the smoke has already [...]
AccorHotels sees jump in direct bookings thanks to Chinese website
One year after revamping its accorhotels.cn Chinese-language website, and proving the power of the Chinese market, AccorHotels has seen a 53% increase in direct bookings revenue across its Asia Pacific network and an increase of 93% for China hotels year on year between July 2014 through June 2015.* [...]
Middle East online bookings set to surge
The Middle Eastern travel market is poised for major growth in the next few years, according to new research from travel industry research authority Phocuswright.As Internet penetration increases, so does the population of young adults ready to travel and as the region's technology infrastructure im [...]
Priceline Group and its plans to cast its integrated web over China
This is a guest article by Ritesh Gupta, a reporter for ChinaTravelNews.It was almost a decade ago when The Priceline Group’s Glenn D. Fogel (Head of Worldwide Strategy and Planning) spoke to me in Shanghai about the timing of making of a foray in the Chinese market.Fogel said, “While early par [...]
Best of TW Asia Global Wrap: Hunter Valley seizes opportunity to showcase MICE offerings
Featured stories from TravelWeekly Asia: MICE offerings from Hunter Valley, Hugh Jackman’s Qantas’ global ambassador, self check-in at Jetstar AsiaHunter Valley seizes opportunity to showcase MICE offeringsAustralia’s regional areas are keen to let the MICE industry know of their capabilities [...]
The making of Cempedak Island and the bamboo that went missing for a month
Writing about clicks all the time, it makes a nice change to write about bricks or, in this case, bamboo.Just caught up with Andrew Dixon, the former banker-turned-hotelier of Nikoi Island fame, who's right in the throes of building his latest resort, Cempedak, on an Indonesian island he bought more [...]
Letter from Bangkok: Same, same but different
It seemed not much had changed in Bangkok. The day I arrived, it had been raining – which can only mean one thing. Bad traffic.After an hour into the ride from airport to hotel, I asked the driver how much longer we had and he said, “One more hour.”“What!” I exclaimed – a typical respo [...]
