Winnow acquires leading food waste technology player Lumitics, grows APAC footprint
Winnow, the global Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered food waste measurement company, has announced the acquisition of Lumitics, one of Asia-Pacific’s leading food waste technology companies with deployments across more than 20 countries in the region and Middle East.
The acquisition brings t [...]
The Icelandic startup connecting the dots for air travellers, Asia next on radar
David Gunnarsson does not waste words. The CEO of Dohop, the Icelandic travel technology company that has spent two decades solving one of aviation’s most stubborn problems – how to connect passengers across airlines that do not talk to each other – speaks the way he thinks: directly, precisel [...]
Saudi travel’s new shape: Domestic, westward and betting on Itself
The interview with Muzzammil Ahussain, CEO of Almosafer, at WiT Phocuswright Middle East started with a provocation. Saudi Arabia is reportedly projecting a $44 billion deficit for 2026. Construction contract awards fell 72% year-on-year. NEOM wasn’t even mentioned in the national budget. So: is t [...]
APAC hotel distribution sees slower growth, rising regional OTAs, and direct channels under pressure
D-EDGE's 2022–Q1 2026 analysis shows booking growth cooling to 2.7%, Agoda pulling ahead of Booking.com, and wholesalers more than tripling their market share in three years.
According to a new report from hospitality technology provider D-EDGE, Asia-Pacific's hotel distribution landscape is shif [...]
The leaps made and those to come: Stephan Ekbergh on building in Africa
25 years in, Travelstart’s founder is still restless, still betting, and still asking the question: what’s next?
It probably comes from having lived the last 25 years amid the natural landscapes of Cape Town, South Africa. In his interview at WiT Phocuswright Middle East in Barcelona, Stephan E [...]
Air passenger demand falls 2.2% due to war in the Middle East
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for May 2026 global passenger demand.
Total demand, measured in revenue passenger kilometers (RPK), was down 2.2% compared to May 2025. Excluding the Middle East, demand grew by 0.7%. Total capacity, measured in available seat [...]
Who is the Asian indie traveller? | Report
Asia's indie travellers are rewriting the rules of tourism and AI is along for the ride
Forget the old image of the backpacker figuring it out as they go. Today's Asian indie traveller is just as likely to be a 50-something supporting a family-run guesthouse, a Swiftie crossing borders for a concer [...]
HopeGoo’s Malaysia Bet: China’s Travel Muscle Meets Local Manners
When HopeGoo, the international travel platform of Tongcheng Travel, entered Malaysia, it knew it had to take a highly localized approach so that it wouldn’t be just another Chinese app chasing Malaysian travellers but to become a travel companion for Malaysians heading to China — and eventually [...]
AI in ASEAN travel. What’s working, what isn’t, what’s next.
Because of the widespread nature of AI, conversations about its applications and potential can get pretty vague. We didn’t want that to be the case, so at Travel Tech Thursdays Vol 9, we had three experts on the panel who are already deep in the build - Sarah Wan, GM for Singapore, Malaysia, Indon [...]
The Ground Shift: 10 things we now know
Gathering the key takeaways from WiT Phocuswright Middle East 2026
“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” I simply had to open WiT Phocuswright Middle East last week in Barcelona with the opening line from Charles Dickens’ The Tale of Two Cities.
It felt apt – an event t [...]
