Travel changed her life and now Ayumi wants to influence others
Travel changed her life and so now the former office worker absolutely wants to share it with her Japanese followers and soon, an international audience. Meet Ayumi Amemiya, who calls herself a luxury backpacker and runs her own travel website to inspire others to travel.
Ayumi was an office wor [...]
Letter from Green Acres & The Habitat, Penang: Where the grass is indeed greener and nature richer
“I think something’s changed,” said Eric Chong, owner of Green Acres, an eco-resort built within a durian orchard in Penang. “Our occupancies have doubled since last year. I think travellers are really looking for different, authentic experiences.”
Where are they coming from, I asked.
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Inside Inge De Lathauwer’s passion project: Changing lives in Sumba and proving a sustainable model in hospitality can pay off
Sumba Hospitality Foundation was one of the startups that qualified for a grant from Booking Booster, the Booking.com programme that supports social enterprises. With the 100,000 Euro funds, it hopes to boost profitability at its eco-resort so that eventually it can support the school that prepares [...]
Meet the man who wants to change the way governments look at tourism in Asia
Ang Choo Pin left the world of politics and diplomacy to join travel because he saw an opportunity to make an impact in an industry that he believes is truly a force for good. Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with Expedia Group’s senior director for government and corporate affairs for Asia to find out [...]
End of standard room types, robotic concierge and achieving ‘cult status’: Is this the future of hospitality?
Travellers checking into hotels today are usually greeted by guest relations personnel, stay in the traditional room types (single, double, suite or family rooms) and avail themselves of a number of services. All tried and tested, and loved by most.
However, this picture is set to change as the [...]
The Wrap: Lost in translation in Japan? No worries, Miko’s here to help
In the news: Focus is on Japan this week with a virtual travel concierge to help tourists explore the country, a All Nippon Airways-OpenJaw partnership, and travel giant JTB's debut at ITB China to promote sports tourism
Chatbots: Lost in translation in Japan? No worries, Miko’s here to help
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How to thrive amid disruption in a globalised world: Lessons from tech and travel giants
At
the STB Tourism Industry Conference earlier this week, a cast of tech giants
from Expedia, Alibaba and Google, moderated by WiT’s Yeoh Siew Hoon, discussed
a burning topic in travel and beyond: how to thrive in the face of disruption.
Arguably each of the companies present on
stage has bee [...]
The Middle East is “golden goose” of travel: Opportunities revealed at WiT ME
Movers and shakers of the Middle East online travel industry gathered at WiT Middle East 2019 in Dubai on April 9 to share their plans to unlock the potential of a fast-changing market being driven by youths – 60% of consumers are Millennials and Gen Z, strong spending power and technology develo [...]
Letter from UAE: Excuse me, have you got my reservation yet? The art of dealing with the last minute
The last time I was in Abu Dhabi four years ago, there was a lot of talk about the development to come that would transform this emirati of 214 islands into a tourism destination – among them, the Saadiyat Cultural District that would comprise the Louvre, Guggenheim and Zayed National Museum.
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The Wrap: Kuala Lumpur-Singapore crowned world’s busiest international route for second straight year
In the news: Asia Pacific home to world’s busiest flight routes, more rail options for Ctrip users in Amadeus tie-up, Fliggy’s new shopping channel
Aviation: Kuala Lumpur-Singapore crowned world’s busiest international route for second straight year
The hour-long flght from Kuala Lumpu [...]
