Letter from Sydney: Chatbots are hot but they are no silver bullet
Travelport Live in Sydney kicked off with two female “robot” dancers wearing suits that were more lit up than a Christmas tree, their robot-like movements a hint of where the discussions at the one-and-a-half day conference would be heading.
Futurist Ross Dawson opened with a br [...]
The Millennial Traveller: LUXE’s Simon Westcott on the key good of travel and luxury beyond the price tag
Simon Westcott’s extensive career in the travel media industry is undisputed. His most notable roles are as the former publisher of the famed Lonely Planet guides from 2001 to 2008, being the co-founder of Mr & Mrs Smith Asia Pacific, and his current position as owner and CEO of LUXE City Guid [...]
The Wrap: Sabre pilots an AI-powered chatbot for buying and selling travel
In the news: Sabre’s creation of an AI-powered chatbot for travel, Amadeus’ new market place for APAC agents, TripAdvisor’s partnership with Deliveroo, Air New Zealand’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ inspired safety video
ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE: Sabre pilots an AI-powered chatbot for selling [...]
Letter from Lisbon: From Konichiwa to Ni Hao and Sawasdee
It is funny how like with handbags, destinations too have their trends. For example, these days, you will see people everywhere carrying Anello backpacks – these bags aren’t particularly good to look at, they are unwieldy and cumbersome to use in my opinion but suddenly it seems everywhere you l [...]
Letter from Madrid: Humans must do what technology cannot
We arrived in Madrid on a Sunday, the last day of the Gay Pride weekend in which we were told two million people descended on the city. Across from the Westin Palace, a protest was being staged.
The hotel doorman shrugged his shoulders when I asked what they were protesting about. “Happens all [...]
Who is upfront? Woman, Man, Mouse or Machine?
This is a guest blog by Timothy O'Neil-Dunne, managing partner at T2Impact and co-founder of Air Black Box.
We all know there is supposed to be someone competent upfront when we fly. A lot of what I do is about travel technology, and I spend a lot of time looking at the issues of how technol [...]
Backstreet Academy and Seabin get a boost from Booking.com
Backstreet Academy has clinched the top grant of €400,000 from Booking.com’s first accelerator programme for startups in sustainable tourism, Booking.com Booster.
After three weeks of workshops and intensive coaching, which started last month in Amsterdam, the 10 teams of finalists pitched [...]
Letter from Porto: Jewels of the Duoro and gold in the silver market
I am on my first river cruise. As I write this, our ship, Queen Isabel, has just crossed the deepest lock in Europe, the Carrapatelo Dam, at 35 metres. It’s quite an amazing experience, watching your boat rise to meet the other side of the river, and you marvel at the engineering feats that have m [...]
When in Japan, do as Japanese do – how to maintain “chowa” as Japan opens door to “minpaku” accommodation
As Japan gears up for inbound growth – 40m visitors by 2020 – one growing concern is the maintaining of “chowa” (harmony) between tourists and residents as a previously-closed country opens its doors wide to tourism.
After all, across the globe, there is a trend of destinations fighting [...]
Next Story reimagines urban spaces with Kafnu, the vertical village
Next Story Group, formerly Silver Needle Hospitality, will be launching two spaces in Taipei and Hong Kong under a new brand, Kafnu, by year end. Seeking to reimagine urban spaces through technology and story, the company says the new spaces will synthesise “the best aspects of co-working, co-livi [...]
