S’pore works on roadmap, Phuket gets green light, online travel brands make their bets – all in a Covid kind of day
EPISODE 4 of the WiT Travel Roadshow on June 24 was a jumble of emotions – from exhilaration with the news today that finally, Singapore is preparing its population to deal with Covid-19 as part of their daily lives, to the mixture of excitement and trepidation in Phuket with six days to go befor [...]
Americans are off and cruising, new cruisers hop onboard in Asia
GIVEN the timeless, borderless virtual world we live in these days (ironic in itself I know), I tuned into the Expedia Cruises 2021 Virtual Conference, which set sail around 11.30pm SG time on Tuesday. I was curious to find out what was happening on the other side of the ocean – are people really [...]
The time of living vicariously
What happens when the world opens up and you’re still at home staring at
your Zoom screen
THE word “vicarious” means “experienced in the imagination through the feelings or actions of another person”. So to live vicariously means to live through the experiences of others. For example, [...]
As restrictions tighten in Asia, let’s keep our eye on the horizon
Travel recovery reflected in Booking and Expedia Group results, European Commission proposes easing of travel restrictions using Digital Certificate – could this be a model for Asia?
I’VE never
been a good sailor which is why the best piece of advice I ever got from a
friend when out sailing [...]
Amid the constant setbacks, the good that came out of Covid
“DO you
think this thing will ever end?” asked my niece this week as Singapore
announced a tightening of Covid restrictions – groups of eight to five,
workforce in office back to 50%, events down from 750 pax to 250 pax (with
pre-event testing), three-week quarantine for travellers from “hi [...]
It is simple. Travel passes have to be easy to use. Tech has to connect the dots.
IT is evident that Covid has forced us out of our comfort zone – from writing about travel tech, we’ve had to speak to psychiatrists (how to manage fear), learn about viruses and transmissions (ad naseum) and last week, interviewed a medical doctor on stage to find out how vaccinations would he [...]
Travel will emerge safer and more sustainable, digitised and grateful – with Mixed Reality thrown in
Key lessons from WiT’s first Travel Roadshow as a medical expert weighs in on the intersection of health, travel and identity
WIT'S first Travel Roadshow kicked off yesterday (March 25) on a positive note with speakers believing that the industry, both travel and events, will emerge better and [...]
Philip Wolf, pioneer, legend, mentor, traveller
EVER since I could remember, from the day I started WiT in 2005, everyone would ask me, “Have you been to Phocuswright?” That was the gold standard, they told me, in travel tech conferences. “And Philip Wolf, have you met him? You must.”
For years, those two phrases rang in my mind as I [...]
“Cannot stand anymore” – after a year of no travel, what have you learnt?
“CAN you believe it? Today’s the day WHO called Covid a pandemic a year
ago,” said my caller this morning (March 11, 2021).
At this stage I am ready to believe anything. Well, not everything because there’s a lot of mixed reality out there – there’s someone’s truth and then there� [...]
“The mess of the passes”: The battle by airlines to open borders
THERE’S not a day that goes by these days that I do not receive a news release about a new travel/health pass or some other initiative designed to help governments open their borders with some measure of confidence that by so doing, they will not invite another outbreak.
The day after the [...]
