How Katsumi Sakakura conquered himself to bring Japanese cool to the world
It was two days before Katsumi Sakakura was due to perform at the opening of WIT Japan & North Asia 2017 in Tokyo and I was curious to meet the artist who had captured my imagination with his performances which blend, as he calls it, “screen power with human power”.
In dress and look, h [...]
Imagine a future of travel through avatars – how ANA wants to impact all 7.5b people on earth
It is said that a good idea either makes you laugh or makes you very scared and the idea of travel avatars shared at the sixth WIT Japan & North Asia elicited both reactions from the audience.
Akira Fukabori, market communication intrapreneur of All Nippon Airways and Kevin Kajitani, Digita [...]
Mobile shopping spend in Asia Pacific to surge this year, research reveals
‘Shop till you drop’ is a common phrase among most Asians as shopping is a favourite past time and, for some, an indispensable part of their life.
With the ‘invasion’ of technology into so many aspects of our lives and the proliferation of mobile gadgets, shopping online has become very p [...]
Letter from Amsterdam Part 2: Fear of ghosts and bikes, and trends that rock in Asia
In Amsterdam, I stayed at the Grand Amrath Hotel. It’s reputed to be haunted. I didn’t know it because unlike 80% of travellers who read reviews before they book a hotel, I didn’t do any research.
I stayed there because it was the hotel of choice for the Phocuswright team. It’s a very [...]
The Wrap: Is this the future of inflight service? A sneak preview from Air New Zealand
In the news: Air New Zealand’s vision of future inflight service, TripAdvisor's revamped iOS mobile app, flydubai in new partnerhips with Amadeus
AIRLINES: IS THIS THE FUTURE OF INFLIGHT SERVICE? A SNEAK PREVIEW FROM AIR NEW ZEALAND
On your next flight on Air New Zealand in the near fut [...]
The Millennial Traveller: Traditional air miles are getting us nowhere
Growing up, I remember my sister and I finding ourselves giddy with excitement, unable to sleep the night before our annual Singapore Airlines flight to Europe.
As a kid, I loved to fly. Thirteen hours of endless games and movies, flight attendants serving us copious amounts of peanut packets (a [...]
The Wrap: ZEN Rooms brings cash-on-delivery concept to hotel booking
In the news: ZEN Rooms' new pay-at-hotel feature, Amadeus’ expansion in Indonesia, new partnerships - Serko and HRS, Hotels.com with Standard Chartered
HOSPITALITY: ZEN ROOMS BRINGS CASH-ON-DELIVERY CONCEPT TO HOTEL BOOKING
ZEN Rooms, a leading online budget hotel franchise in Southeast [...]
Letter from Seoul: Tensions there may be but in travel, it’s business unusual as competition heats up and mobile rules
Over Korean barbecue with real beef (my Korean hosts insist on using the adjective, which makes me wonder if there’s a lot of fake beef going round like news), I asked my friends, “How do you think living in a place that’s always in the middle of tensions and threats of nuclear bombs shape you [...]
Unveiled: Behaviours of Chinese travellers, and what motivates them
Chinese international travellers currently numbered an estimated 100 million, making China the world’s largest outbound travel market. By 2030, the country will have about 600 million middle class citizens and most of them will want to travel.
What drives the Chinese to travel so often and in s [...]
Eight lessons for startups from the sci-fi world
I believe every now and then we should venture into uncharted territory, whether that’s in travel or in life in general, and so when I was asked to get involved in the first science fiction conference in Hong Kong, I didn’t hesitate.
Melon, founded by Fritz Demopoulos, serial entrepreneur and c [...]
