Travel in transition – a reshuffle of leadership taking place before our very eyes
Wilson to AirIndia, De Schepper to TrustPilot, Peller leaves AWS, Agoda's Morgenshtern on the rise – watch this space
I WAS never a big fan of Sheryl Sandberg so the news of her leaving Meta (formerly Facebook) leaves me somewhat cold. But her departure did put into stark relief the transition [...]
Letter from Thailand: Take it slow, make it sustainable, be well – a destination in transition
I HAD waited more than two years for this moment and when it arrived, it was almost bitter sweet. This week, I got on a flight to Bangkok, a place I fell in love with at first sight decades ago and stayed in love with through the passage of time.
I had visualised it so hard – the moment when I [...]
Travel is roaring back – Yum Seng
I attended my first wedding in Singapore this week and what a joyous occasion it was. I had forgotten how raucous and noisy a Chinese wedding can be – yes, there were still rules around intermingling between tables and masks on (when not eating and drinking, rare moments indeed during a wedding ba [...]
Positively speaking, Asia is arising
The battle to recover begins
LITTLE did I know that when we set April 22 as the date for our “Asia Arising” event to share stories of our region’s travel recovery, that would be the day Thailand and Singapore both decided to scrap all testing for vaccinated travellers.
That these two major [...]
Letter from Manchester: At the end of the tunnel, this is what awaits
Singapore rolls out plans to recover, airline chiefs gather in Chester to talk about the future of flight
THE day Singapore Tourism Board (STB) rolled out its plans to bring back the destination with a vengeance, only better and reimagined, I was on a flight from Singapore to the UK which might her [...]
Letter from a “near normal” Singapore: Queues are back, travel is taking off
I never thought I’d say this but when I saw queues at immigration at Changi airport last night, my heart leapt with joy. It felt almost back to near normal.
Firstly, the Singapore Airlines’ VTL flight from Penang was pretty full – the crew told me 90%. Everyone just seemed so cheerful infli [...]
Letter from Penang: Once you get there, it’s all worth it
It’s about the destination, not the journey – for now
YOU know the old adage we love in travel, about how “it’s about the journey, not the destination”? Well, in these days of Covid travel, when the journey has become so fraught with red tape, tests and protocols, it has definitely become [...]
Confessions of an anxiety-ridden form-filling test-taking traveller
Whoop, whoop – Cambodia leads the way, scraps all tests
WOKE up this morning with messages pinging from Cambodia – friends there all excited about the latest news. No more pre-departure PCR test needed to arrive, no more on-arrival ART test, and visa on arrival re-introduced for all air, sea an [...]
How travel is turning the Great Resignation into the Great Renewal
“Best time to have a front row seat to travel's rebound and transformation”
Workation programmes, Unlimited Time Pay Off, Joy Allowances, Remote Work – these are some of the practices being rolled out by online travel brands as they adjust to life changed by Covid, and a talent pool that is a [...]
Even as travel recovers, The Great Resignation continues
Cronin leaves Wharf Hotels and Hong Kong to return to Australia
IT felt almost like the old days. I had just returned from a trip to Siem Reap and I was on my way to have drinks with Jennifer Cronin, president of Wharf Hotels Group, who had flown into Singapore from Australia, enroute to Hong Kong, [...]
