Defiance by design and the big themes for 2019. Happy new year
After a year of intense travelling, it seems fitting to end my letters with a missive from my home island of Penang. If there’s one place that has been transformed by travel, this is it.
In my lifetime, I’ve seen it go through what I call the three ages of tourism – the first wave, that of [...]
How Expedia Group is building diversity through Leading 4 Change
As Expedia Group globalises, with a third of its business now coming from outside the US, the company recognises the need for a more diverse workforce. Melissa Maher, senior vice president and innovation at Expedia Group, is responsible for the “Leading 4 Change” programme which includes drivin [...]
Curious about diversity in 2019? Me too
My first encounter with the author, Ursula K Le Guin, was through “The Left Hand Of Darkness” which I read, growing up in Penang, Malaysia. In a society where one was defined by not only gender but also race, my imagination was fired by her portrayal of a world without gender where one accepted [...]
Reflections of 2018 and Predictions for 2019, Part 2
As we come to the close of 2018, we asked some of our industry peers to give us their take on the year that's passed and to stare into the crystal ball and make predictions about the one ahead. Read on to see what travel trends they find most exciting (and boring), what they predict the biggest gam [...]
Uncovering stories of startups in Asia Part 2: Of size, investments and restrictive policies
Startups from China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Nepal and Israel took to the stage at the WiT Bootcamp held in conjunction with WiT Singapore 2018 conference last month to share their stories and the state of the startup ecosystem in their countries.
In the second part of the report we h [...]
Grab partners with Indonesia Ministry of Tourism to boost inbound travel to new destinations
Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of Indonesia has partnered with O2O mobile platform, Grab, to accelerate inbound travel growth within ASEAN. The one-year partnership will comprise ‘Smart Tourism’ initiatives on Grab, designed to offer users a “value-added experience” for both domestic an [...]
Book publishing, crowd funding, experiences – Mr & Mrs Smith’s formula for expansion
By many accounts, boutique hotel booking platform Mr & Mrs Smith has had an interesting year.
In April, it announced its step into the experiences space with the acquisition of UK-based tours and activities company, SideStory. Then, it announced plans to raise funds, albeit in an unconvention [...]
Uncovering stories of startups in Asia Part 1: Of challenges, funding and going global
Startups from China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Nepal and Israel took to the stage at the WiT Bootcmap held in conjunction with WiT Singapore 2018 conference last month to share their stories and the state of the startup ecosystem in their countries.
In this first part of the report we f [...]
Tushar Khandelwal: An entrepreneur’s Interstellar-inspired voyage into tours & activities
We remember Tushar Khandelwal, COO & co-founder, when he first pitched the idea of Voyagin at a WiTNext event aimed at future leaders. Since then, the tours & activities startup has gone places, been acquired by Rakuten and claims a solid footing in the most exciting space in online travel. [...]
e27 Academy Scholarship is open for entries, deadline November 23
Calling all entrepreneurs! e27 Academy – a three-day startup learning programme in Batam (November 28-30) – has launched a scholarship programme, open to any early stage startup founders with an innovative business idea or market-ready product.
e27 Academy will offer a series of workshops, ro [...]
