WIT Bootcamp 2017: Four startups offering alternatives from the usual big boys
Travellers these days want an authentic, local experience. Something unique and different from offered by the ubiquitous brands. This has opened up room for startups offering alternatives from the usual big boys.
From Tripping.com and Favstay’s apartment rental — Favstay had in April just lan [...]
Cruises, growth in Asia and a keen eye on Japan and China
To be a better startup, one has to keep an eye on key trends and a nose on where the money is. At the WIT 2017 Bootcamp in Singapore last October, three experts shared their observations on where the funding is, how to use data for more sales, and the rise of cruises in Asia.
Asia travel startups [...]
WIT Bootcamp 2017: Vision, motive, resilience, right team: These make for a better startup
“The best founding teams are like cockroaches, they get stepped on and go crunch a little but then keep on running,” a quote by William Bao Bean, general partner of SOSV and managing director of Chinaaccelerator best sums up what make a better startup, and perhaps set it on the road to being a [...]
Google’s Heckmann on how machine learning will Translate to better travel and how Asia is setting pace in mobile
Ahead of his speaking on the WIT Main Stage on Tuesday, October 24, Oliver Heckmann, Vice President, Engineering for Travel and Shopping, Google, shares what's top of his mind on how new technology such machine learning/AI and voice can make better travel.
Q: As you get set for to speak at WI [...]
Letter from Hong Kong: From real estate to community, from brick to clicks, can hospitality make the leap?
The sky is piercingly blue, as blue as it could only get after a huge storm has just whipped through. I am in Hong Kong two days after the last Typhoon 8 visited this city built on a rock.
At the Hotel Investment Conference Asia Pacific (HICAP), I heard a panel of investors saying perhaps [...]
South Korea’s MyRealTrip gets US$6mil investment to step up expansion
MyRealTrip, South Korea’s leading tour and activity platform, has received ₩7 billion (US$6.2 million) investment from five VCs, bringing its total funding to ₩12.3 billion (US$10.9 million).
The new investors are SmileGate Investment, Altos Ventures, Imm Investment, Mirae Asset-Naver Fund [...]
The Wrap: Second edition of AirAsia Japan takes off end October
In The News: AirAsia takes second shot at Japan; BeMyGuest adds two industry veterans to its team; Virgin Australia implements Sabre Branded Fares; CWT in new deal to remove distribution fees for customers
AIRLINES: Second edition of AirAsia Japan takes off end October
In June 2013 when th [...]
Outgoing Malaysia Airlines CEO says “love for country” behind move to rejoin Ryanair (Updated)
In the past month speculations were rife that Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) group managing director and chief executive officer Peter Bellew would return to his former employer Ryanair, but he dismissed them as just that and instead expressed “his commitment to Malaysia Airlines”.
But the spec [...]
APAC destinations gaining favour with Chinese travellers, drop in trips to Europe
In 2016, while international travel grew by about 4%, China registered a growth rate of 13%, further consolidating its position as one of the world’s most important source markets for international travel. The country exceeded the Asian Pacific average outbound growth rate of 9% in the same year.
[...]
AccorHotels expands footprint in Australia, acquires Mantra Group for A$1.3bil
AccorHotels is on the acquisition trail again, this time buying Mantra Group, one of Australia’s largest hotel and resort marketers and operators with 127 properties and over 20,000 rooms.
The French hotel group has just inked the agreement to buy the group and to acquire all of the issued ca [...]
