“Data is the new gold” has become “data is the new dirt”
What a week it’s been – first the Facebook data scandal and then the Grab-Uber deal in South-east Asia, and at the heart of it, our identities.
The former led to outrage that we could have been so manipulated by marketers targeting our social profiles (we always have been, it’s just the sca [...]
WIT Future Leaders Forum: Five ideas on building better careers and leaders in hospitality
You could say the hospitality industry is currently in the throes of a technological revolution. Traditional roles in hospitality will not exist in the way we know them in the near future. Naturally, changes in technology bring change in the people that work with and around it.
Pressure is buildi [...]
8 key takeaways from WIT Hospitality 2018: Cash flow and real estate may still rule but transform or be left behind
I am sure by now hoteliers must be tired of hearing people tell them they must change. But they do say if you say something often enough, it will happen sooner rather than later.
And It looks like something fundamental is shifting. It felt palpable at WIT Hospitality which took place in Hong Kong [...]
Melon, Magic, Money: The blurring of sci-fi and reality and the changing world of content creation
From editing DNA in mice so as to learn how to make humans more space-faring to the continued search of habitable other worlds, to deep algorithm learning to make machines smarter and growing human organs in animals for future transplant, it was a day of mind-blowing inspiration for the 150 or so of [...]
Jane Sun: Shattering the ‘Glass Ceiling’ – Greater female presence needed for innovation
By Jane Sun, CEO of Ctrip
Women have been asking for equal labor right and social status since the establishment of the International Women’s Day in 1910. It is common sense for a responsible company to provide equal career development and remuneration for women. According to the report by the� [...]
Longhaul low cost the next wave – airlines have to become ecommerce companies that fly
In the last 10 years, longhaul low cost airlines have mushroomed with international seats growing by 900%. Newcomer World Airways, the first longhaul LCC in the US, will be 100% digital and Millennial-focused while Cebu Pacific is trying to think of itself less as an engineering company but more of [...]
Letter from Penang: As Year of the Dog dawns, so will new travellers and citizens with different aspirations and expectations
Tomorrow, February 15, will be the peak of travel as millions of Chinese and their diaspora make the journey to wherever home is to gather for their Lunar New Year reunion dinners.
You can already feel it in Penang, when the population of the island more than triples with the return of Penangites [...]
SIA launches loyalty digital wallet: Travel retailers are clearly hoping blockchain is their Internet 3.0 moment
The hottest word on the block these days is blockchain. Even though it’s been on the periphery for a few years, it’s been in the shadow of the other hotter word, cryptocurrency.
But as the technology underpinning cryptocurrency, it’s been getting more attention of late.
Like everyone els [...]
Letter from Assam, Part 4: Cruising on the Brahmaputra and sleeping in the middle of nowhere
The final leg of our Assam Tea & Wildlife Adventure takes us on a five-hour drive to the city of Guwahati where we board a river boat, our home for the next two nights. On this cruise on the Brahmaputra, I learn about time, silk and breathing in the moments.
On our way out of Kaziranga Wildli [...]
Letter from Assam, Part 3: Creatures great and small, and sunsets to make you weep in Kaziranga
From Majuli Island, the third leg of my travels through Assam takes me to Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve. This being my first safari experience in India, I really didn't know what to expect. All I know is I got more than I bargained for.
I knew I was in for something magical when, o [...]
