Abacus, Amadeus: Mobile and GDS deregulation will shape China in 2013
Jack Zhai, Chairman, Abacus ChinaQ: What are the three things you think will happen in the travel distribution, marketing and technology space in China in 2013?Mobile will play an increasing role, especially with the development of 3G/4G networks and higher penetration of smartphones, which is expec [...]
Thailand is most searched destination in Singapore, says Skyscanner
In its annual travel trends report conducted by leading global travel search site Skyscanner, Thailand is revealed as the top favourite of 20 destinations for the outbound Singapore market.Thailand’s incredible variety of prime travel spots coupled with a broad number of flight options appeared [...]
Tokyo takes top spot for best taxi service, cleanest and safest streets
A survey by TripAdvisor among 40 key tourist cities worldwide found Tokyo with the best taxi services and local public transport, as well as having the cleanest and safest streets.Singapore came in second for both categories.As for the friendliest taxi drivers both cities scored, with Tokyo in [...]
Predictions for China 2013: Part 1
Trends to watch out for in this rising Asian dragon in the new year.• Cui Guangfu, CEO, eLongQ: What are the three things you think will happen in the travel distribution, marketing and technology space in China in 2013?Mobile will become ever more important.Difficulty in increasing PC traffic d [...]
Meet the Indonesian digital consumer
A few key words come to mind when describing the Indonesian digital consumer – male, youths, videos and social.In presenting “The Story of the Indonesian Digital Consumer” (details in slides below) at the Alpha Terra Digital Marketing Conference in Jakarta last week, Kerry Brown, VP South-east [...]
Under new branding, Dorsett blends British and Asia as it expands
Two years after spinning off from Hong Kong-based Far East Consortium, public-listed Kosmopolito Hotels International has rebranded as Dorsett Hospitality International, promising a mix of Asian and British cultures in all its properties.Winnie Chiu, president and executive director of Dorsett Hos [...]
Top travel websites for October: Australia, China
Wotif, Agoda and Jetstar were the most visited websites in Australia in October, while over in China the top players were Qunar, MaFengWo and China Eastern Airlines. (Full details in slides below)AustraliaThe online travel space Down Under remained fairly consistent for the seventh consecutive mont [...]
Letter from Sydney: Australia wakes up to the Asian century
So it seems like I’ve arrived in Sydney at the dawn of a new Asian century.And it certainly feels like it on first impression – I was driven to the hotel by a taxi driver from India, I am staying at the Shangri-La Hotel, a Hong Kong-based and big-on-China brand and for dinner, I had Thai chicken [...]
View from Abacus: Asia’s the place to be and mobile favours intermediaries
While air passenger volume has moderated in the second half of the year, Asia’s the best place to be at right now, affirmed Abacus International at its International Conference in Seoul this week.
“The industry is still healthy, growth is still ahead that of last year and the money is [...]
Letter from Seoul: A land of high status and fast connectivity
I think I’ve still got garlic on my breath from my 36-hour whiz biz trip to Seoul. They consume raw garlic there like they do their gadgets.Must say bulgogi (left) wrapped in green leaf topped with raw garlic and soy bean paste is yummy-licious and because everyone’s doing it, no one notices it [...]
