Startups
Letter from the South China Sea: Time for unusual thinking, unorthodox partnerships and old-fashioned making money
23/10/2019 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Yeoh Siew Hoon gets stranded on a coral reef off Cempedak and ponders the secrets of the travel universe as they were revealed at last week’s WiT Singapore 2019. The sun was about to call it a day when we set out on a boat from Cempedak Island off Bintan, Indonesia. Our destination was a coral [...]
Corporate investors in travel: Deciphering strategy and knowing the limits
23/10/2019 by Mitra Sorrells
Three of the travel industry’s most active corporate investors have shared tips for startups on how to attract their attention.Speaking on a panel at WiT Singapore, moderated by Agoda vice president of corporate development, Timothy Hughes, Amadeus Ventures’ head Suzann [...]
IDEM Hospitality takes top prize of WiT Startup of the Year 2019 in Singapore
17/10/2019 by WiT
IDEM Hospitality has taken the top prize in this year’s WiT Singapore Startup Pitch, powered by Amadeus, after the finals were held earlier this week at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre. IDEM Hospitality beat two other finalists – eRoam and Travenues – with its solution to he [...]
WiT Singapore 2019: Being level-headed, judicious and open key to making wise investment decisions, say VCs
15/10/2019 by Yon Heong Tung
Startups today are inundated by the narrative of being showered with copious amounts of funding. Companies can hit astronomical – and some would say logic-defying – valuations, as investors place large bets on companies in the hopes of landing a golden goose. Indeed, there’s a lot of hype aro [...]
Innovation and startups take centre stage on first day of WiT Singapore 2019, launch of WiT Africa announced
14/10/2019 by WiT
WiT Singapore 2019 kicked off with the day dedicated to companies and speakers representing sectors and markets where innovation and entrepreneurship drive change. Underscoring the day’s theme of innovation and change was the announcement that WiT will embrace Africa into its family of events [...]
WiT Innovation Stage: How startups Jayride and BookMeBus are tackling the last mile in-destination
14/10/2019 by Yon Heong Tung
For many commuters or travellers, Google Maps is the first stop when it comes to planning travel routes; it automatically crunches the time it would take for various transportation types, as well as the costs if you are booking rides from some of the more popular ride-hailing apps. Yet, there is [...]
WiT Singapore 2019: WiT celebrates new heroes for 2019
15/10/2019 by WiT
WiT is pleased to announce six more inductees to its Hall of Fame, which was launched in 2017 to recognise and honour individuals/ companies who have had the greatest influence on the progress and professionalism of the digital travel industry in Asia Pacific.  Here are our 2019 recipients: [...]
Forter’s Whiteford on why travel is highly susceptible to fraud and how to fight it with tech, scale and network
10/10/2019 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Imagine how much bigger travel would be if we took on the bad guys collectively and with a level of sophistication that combines human intelligence with machine learning? That’s the message Angela Whiteford, chief marketing officer of Forter, wants to bring to WiT when she speaks at the Singapore [...]
On the back of booming Internet economy in SEA, WiT takes bird’s eye view of travel 2020 and beyond
08/10/2019 by WiT
It’s been a momentous time for online travel and on the cusp of a new decade, the WiT Singapore 2019 conference – being held Oct 14-16 – will take a bird’s eye view of the industry and project into the future of what travel could look like in 2020 and beyond. And it’s a promising futu [...]
How Zouba intends to build its way to become a meta-book marketplace for destination products
08/10/2019 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
Malaysia-based GoQuo, which calls itself an “airline’s best friend” helping them sell ancillary revenues, has taken the plunge into the tours and activities space by launching Zouba (meaning “let’s go” in Mandarin), a “meta-book marketplace” for destination products. “We’re a [...]