Startups
Bangkok bike-hailing. Expensify’s chat super app. Token answer for busy airports. More.
09/05/2024 by Ian Jarrett
Travel search on the cusp of a new era Speaking at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) this week in a session on “How To Build Influence with Gen Z in Just 30 Seconds”, Marc-Antoine Simon, industry manager, Travel and Tourism – MENA, TikTok, shared insights on the latest trends in community-led marke [...]
Global Startup Pitch returns with new format
02/05/2024 by WiT
The Global Startup Pitch, by WiT, Phocuswright and PhocusWire, is back for the third year running in its quest to unearth the brightest stars on the gleaming edge of travel tech. Welcoming both travel and non-travel startups who believe their businesses have application in the industry, the compe [...]
With 213% growth in transactions, record 2023 for Holibob on track to be broken
24/04/2024 by WiT
Company’s growth already accelerating in 2024 driven by its focus on online travel sellers and tourism boards Holibob, the B2B2C provider of tours & experiences technology to online travel sellers and tourism boards, has confirmed that it saw record growth in 2023 and provided an update on th [...]
How an Indian techie, inspired by his first computer, is disrupting corporate travel
16/04/2024 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
Building tech alone won’t make an impact, says company co-founder. Products must be business-first. You’ve heard of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), but Travel-as-a-Service is a term uniquely coined by Spotnana – a service provider that calls itself a cocktail of ‘Online booking tool provider, [...]
Gamifying a storytelling product and redefining tours | Changemaker Chat
04/04/2024 by WiT
In this new WiT Studio video series, we catch up with winners of the 2023 WiT Travel Changemakers Awards, supported by ATTIA, and dive deeper into the work they do and what drove them to 'build back better'. In this episode, Yock Song, Head of Partnerships at Tribe Tours, joins us to talk about [...]
Rewards take a hit. Quicktext and Velma speak your language. Cirium’s trendy data. More.
04/04/2024 by Ian Jarrett
Reward points losing their power If you think your airline reward points are losing their value, you would be right.   The latest IdeaWorksCompany Reward Seat Availability Survey looked at the cost of points redemption across six US airlines - Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and Unit [...]
WiT Podcast: Creating customer love in tours and activities
28/03/2024 by WiT
How “the connected trip” is evolving in Booking.com and how Klook is solving local pain points This final episode of “Customer Love” fittingly covers tours and activities – the things travellers do in destination. It’s the most exciting part of travel and it’s coming online at great s [...]
Booking bullet trains. Azgo cashback. Velma assists Warwick Hotels. More.
15/03/2024 by Ian Jarrett
Booking the bullet now easier Tokyo-listed Inbound Platform Corp has launched its Shinkansen (bullet train) ticket service, which includes basic fares, express tickets and ticket issuance via QR codes, for international travellers and foreign residents in Japan. Through the ‘Japan Bullet Train [...]
Wayra and HBX Group unveil winning startups to join TravelTech Lab
07/03/2024 by Arvindh Yuvaraj
B2B platform HBX Group and Wayra, Telefónica's Corporate Venture Capital arm, have announced the winners of the second TravelTech Lab challenge. The announcement comes after a rigorous evaluation of 120 companies hailing from 25 countries, including Spain, France, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Sing [...]
SITA invests in Indicio to lead in digital identity
06/03/2024 by Yeoh Siew Hoon
SITA has confirmed its strategic investment in Indicio, participating as the lead investor in the company’s Series A funding round. It did not disclose the amount but said “the investment in Indicio, the global market leader in decentralised identity technology, cements a long-standing partners [...]