Where’s travel going? Place your bets
WHAT would you do if you received a check for $175 million, the only condition being that you had to invest it in travel and transportation technology companies? Mark Farrell and Chris Hemmeter are working through that very puzzle, having raised that sum and sorting through "a firehose" of possible [...]
Asia’s digital consumption behaviours see quick evolution in 2020
COVID will be remembered not just as a time when the world stood still, but possibly when consumer behaviours around digital consumption were changed for good. Consulting firm Redseer highlights some of these changes that are already evident after one year, in its latest report.
Last year witne [...]
Winning this year not about highest revenue growth but investing in right pillar, says Klook’s Gnock Fah
FRESH from raising another $200 million, Klook’s COO and co-founder Eric Gnock Fah spoke to Yeoh Siew Hoon about how this new round was not about staying afloat but growing, its strategy to build an eco-system of services, backed by a merchant model, and how this year will not be about highe [...]
Indonesia’s Traveloka finds strength in local markets amid the pandemic
TRAVELOKA president Henry Hendrawan discusses how the online travel unicorn has rebounded by helping travelers in Southeast Asia find—and finance—fun close to home.
A year ago, Henry Hendrawan was working on expanding offerings on the eight-year-old online platform while preparing for th [...]
Undaunted, LokaLocal forges ahead with virtual tours for activities in Malaysia
EVEN before Malaysia entered its first MCO (Movement Control Order) in March last year, LokaLocal, the travel tech platform founded in 2016 to connect travellers to local experiences hosted by Malaysians, had started seeing a drop in bookings.
It quickly moved to a content
and media play, settin [...]
IATA Travel Pass, set for March launch, seeks to give governments confidence to re-open borders
With APAC air travel at 5% of 2019 levels, need for “globally accepted framework” is acute.
THE IATA Travel Pass, currently in pilot phase with Singapore Airlines, IAG Group, Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar Airways, and targeted for launch by March, will hopefully give confidence to governments [...]
Here’s looking at you, 2021, Part 4: Disappointing start for China, proceed with caution and hope
WE kick off the year with a gathering of views and opinions from our community of industry leaders on their outlook for 2021, from their level of optimism and their plans to get through the year. Here’s the fourth collection.
Steve Saxon, partner with McKinsey & Company, China (f [...]
The Wrap: Singapore Airlines pilots pre-departure testing, Skyscanner appoints new CEO, and more …
THE Wrap is a round-up of news in the
travel and technology industries, and to keep track of developments in these
sectors as businesses adapt and reset to meet challenges in the era of
coronavirus.
Singapore Airlines trials pre-departure Covid testing in partnership with Collinson
Travellers [...]
Klook proves mettle, raises $200m to digitise industry on back of Covid
KLOOK today announced that it has raised US$200 million in additional funding. The Series E round was led by Aspex Management, an investment fund focused on Asia Pacific, in addition to other new investors. Sequoia Capital China, Softbank Vision Fund 1, Matrix Partners China, and Boyu Capital, who [...]
WiT to launch monthly Travel Roadshow to guide community through uncertain year
WiT will launch The Travel Roadshow (2021 Series) in March. To be held monthly, it will provide a regular hangout around which the WiT community can gather to chart new trends, exchange ideas, share lessons and forge a sense of camaraderie to get through the uncertain year ahead.
Said Yeoh
Siew [...]
