Sectors
WiT Singapore 2019: Finding love in the arms of a robot
16/10/2019 by Yon Heong Tung
In the 1999 film Bicentennial Man, Robin Williams plays a robot, Andrew, who is gifted with the capacity of emotion and creativity. Andrew eventually falls in love with a human lady and decides to marry her. When he petitions a regulatory body to recognise their matrimony, however, he is rejected a [...]
WiT Singapore 2019: How Generation Alpha is influencing travel, from planning to in-trip activities
16/10/2019 by WiT
They are born after 2010 (nine years and under) in the same year as Instagram and the iPad, are known as the children of millennials, the largest generation that is still being born on a daily basis, and the longest living generation. This is Generation Alpha. “If you don’t know about Alpha, [...]
WiT Singapore 2019: Accor and Expedia Group on how to save the hotel-OTA relationship
15/10/2019 by WiT
The hotel-OTA relationship has always been a tricky one. The two are co-dependent and must care for each other, but not too much. On a panel at the WiT Singapore 2019 Main Stage, Louise Daley, deputy CEO, Accor APAC and Melissa Maher, senior vice president, marketing and innovation, Expedia Group e [...]
WiT Innovation Stage: Marketing to the post-‘90s Chinese traveller
15/10/2019 by WiT
Young Chinese travellers are shaping the future of outbound from the world’s biggest travel market. What appeals to them? How do they book their travel? How do you target this segment? Anita Chan, CEO of Compass Edge, shared insights into this market segment yesterday at the WIT Innovation Sta [...]
WiT Singapore 2019: WiT celebrates new heroes for 2019
15/10/2019 by WiT
WiT is pleased to announce six more inductees to its Hall of Fame, which was launched in 2017 to recognise and honour individuals/ companies who have had the greatest influence on the progress and professionalism of the digital travel industry in Asia Pacific.  Here are our 2019 recipients: [...]
Forter’s Whiteford on why travel is highly susceptible to fraud and how to fight it with tech, scale and network
10/10/2019 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Imagine how much bigger travel would be if we took on the bad guys collectively and with a level of sophistication that combines human intelligence with machine learning? That’s the message Angela Whiteford, chief marketing officer of Forter, wants to bring to WiT when she speaks at the Singapore [...]
New Travelport CEO not interested in third place, aims to top market with agility and speed
10/10/2019 by Vera Ong
“I plan to win. Period,” declared Greg Webb, the 71-day old CEO of Travelport but a long-time veteran in the industry, having spent more than 20 years at competitor Sabre. “I do not plan to be the third player for long.” And the gauntlet is thus thrown. Travelport currently sits behind [...]
Guest Blog: Redefining loyalty in the experience era
10/10/2019 by Brandon Meyers
The days of mass tourism are behind us, as modern travellers demand more. In the age of social media, experiential travel is fast becoming the new normal, and travellers are shunning packaged tourism for authentic and unique offerings. Loyalty in the experience era In this hunt for more enri [...]
The Wrap: Accor debuts ibis budget brand in Singapore
09/10/2019 by WiT
News Roundup: ibis budget brand's first showing in Singapore, Travelstart's acquisition of Travel Club Group finalised, TripAdvisor Connect's launch on social media platforms, a 24/7 online chatbot for Cebu Pacific Hotels: Accor debuts ibis budget brand in Singapore Lobby of ibis budget Singa [...]
APAC online payments may have leapfrogged, but there’s plenty of work to be done, says Ingenico’s Neil D’Souza
09/10/2019 by WiT
In APAC, it’s alternative payments galore. With a spectrum of internet and credit card penetration levels throughout, many markets have begun developing independent payment solutions to overcome the limits of their local banking infrastructure. According to the eConomy SEA 2019 report by Goog [...]