How Real-Time Data Can Drive Real Success for Asian Travel Marketers this Summer
By Russell Young, Managing Director, Sojern APAC
Travel brands will compete to captivate the hearts—and wallets—of travellers in Asia-Pacific as we move into the busy summer travel season. According to Phocuswright, the APAC online market will grow by double figures each year to reach a stagg [...]
The Millennial Traveller: Travel must set the benchmark for the future working economy
Preparing talent for a new economy is a question that pervades every industry. At the World Travel and Tourism Council Global Summit, held recently in Bangkok, April Rinne (Global Authority on the Gig Economy and Future of Work) named three major developments that will affect the future of work.
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Behind the Shangri-La & Taj partnership: A new vision of loyalty
I have three dogs so I know a little about loyalty. We love our pooches because they love us unconditionally and it doesn’t matter how we treat them, their loyalty is unstinting.
We humans are different. Some of us are more loyal than others and our loyalty is conditional on many factors.
In [...]
The Millennial Traveller: AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes on leadership in times of crisis
Naturally, the world is rife with examples of terrible leadership. Donald Trump sits on the tip of everyone’s tongue as the quintessential example. Yet, in the travel business, let us not forget the scrutiny and onslaught Oscar Munoz was under, following United’s handling of the assault and forc [...]
Eight lessons for startups from the sci-fi world
I believe every now and then we should venture into uncharted territory, whether that’s in travel or in life in general, and so when I was asked to get involved in the first science fiction conference in Hong Kong, I didn’t hesitate.
Melon, founded by Fritz Demopoulos, serial entrepreneur and c [...]
The Millennial Traveller: Gen-Z, the new millennial?
And so the focus now falls on Gen-Z. The new buzzword du jour. Millennials are so passé, they should have stopped ageing if they wanted to stay relevant.
So what is it that Gen-Z wants? Are their travel tastes so remarkably different to millennials’? Simply put… They want exactly the same th [...]
Letter from Penang: Beyond food to tech, heritage and startups
I have in my Dropbox a food guide to Penang. It saves me time whenever a friend tells me, “Hey I am going to Penang, what shall I eat and where?”
The problem with Penang is the good food is found in places which I don’t even know the name of, just the location – for example, right across [...]
Dara Khosrowshahi on pivotal leadership moments, confluence of 3Ms and being a tortured executive
In a catch-up over local coffee with Yeoh Siew Hoon, Dara Khosrowshahi, president and CEO of Expedia Inc, recalls his early stepping-back-in-leadership moments, and why it’s important to know where you are going, not just what you are doing. Plus, his thoughts on the confluence of the 3Ms and the [...]
The Millennial Traveller: The secrets behind cultivating real talent in hospitality
The second WIT Hospitality conference took place at Hotel ICON this week, one of Hong Kong’s more forward-thinking teaching hotels. The day saw close on 200 delegates attending, ranging from the usual CEO figureheads from major hotel groups to characters from ambitious startups.
Among them too [...]
Letter from Hong Kong: Hard questions posed at WIT Hospitality, the answer lies in commitment to change
The sky was blue. The air was distinctly chilly. Hong Kong put on her best winter frock for us as we kicked off our first WIT event of the year, our conference dedicated to hospitality.
The day prior to the event, we had held a Think Tank gathering of about 20 industry leaders and we were gathere [...]
