ITB Asia Stickman helps children smile again
Messe Berlin (Singapore), organiser of ITB Asia, has launched a special social media project to help raise funds for its adopted charity – Operation Smile Singapore.The star of the project is the ITB Asia Stickman (pictured left), a smiling, bendable rubber figurine in the signature ITB orange. T [...]
ITB Asia survey tips rise in social media spending
An ITB Asia survey has revealed that 98% of travel industry respondents said they would increase or maintain travel industry marketing spend in 2011. Some 56% said they would increase; 42% said they would maintain budget levels.The findings were based on a survey of 212 travel industry professiona [...]
Lessons in revenue management and an OTA experiment
I was catching up with a Singapore hotelier the other day. I say this because this is a very rare occurrence these days. They are very busy because their occupancy’s going through the roof, as are their average rates because they’ve been spending a lot of time yielding them.As I understand it, t [...]
Lost in the silence of the Sounds of Marlborough
The weather couldn’t quite make up its mind whether to be autumn or winter the day we left for Nelson, gateway to the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island.The last time I had been in Nelson was to attend the Wearable Arts Festival and I remember meeting the then-Prime Minister Helen Cl [...]
Snow on the hills, sakura on the trees, travel in Japan unearthed
On my last day in Japan, I visited a forest created by a Welshman and tasted tempura made from shitake which had been freshly plucked from the soil.And even though it was late spring, there was still snow in the mountains, sakura on the trees and spring water running down the hills.I also visite [...]
From the top, same view but different thinking, I hope
Had lunch at the top of One Raffles Place yesterday, tallest building in Singapore, I am told. Used to be called UOB Centre but now changed to the more fashionable One. Taxi driver moaned on way over, “They always changing names.”The views looking out over the bay are amazing. It still looks lik [...]
From Tane Mahuta to Eiffel: What lies ahead in 2011
So in one week, I went from hugging New Zealand’s oldest tree, Tane Mahuta, to standing at the base of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. A somewhat surreal experience actually – one an approximate 2,000-year old living thing whose name means “Lord of the Forest” and the other, a mere babe in the w [...]
Fogel: The hedgehog who believes in sticking to his knitting
Early September in Beijing. A Christmas jingle is playing in the lobby lounge of the GeHua New Century Hotel. Glenn Fogel, executive vice president of corporate development of Priceline, and I are having a chat over coffee.We looked at each other and laughed at the surreality of it. It’s what I lo [...]
Hog-ging HWY 94
Flying at 140 km/h down HWY 8 on the back of a Yamaha V-Star 950, I thought my helmet was going to fly off from all the wind gushing straight at me. I couldn't even glance sideways, for when I tried, it just pushed my whole head to the side and then it took a full neck workout to get my head align [...]
Final touches, outrageous requests – are you ready?
Woke up this Friday morning to realise that two Fridays from now, I will be taking an AirAsia flight to Chiang Mai where I will then take a five-hour ride to the Golden Triangle to take a breather in the hills of Northern Thailand.The weather should be superb this time of year and I am looking forwa [...]
