Fear only the fearmongers
It’s an interesting place to be. Here we are planning for our first WIT Europe conference in London and we don’t know if by June 30, Britain will still be part of the EU depending on how the referendum on June 23 goes.
Some people would call it awful timing but for me, it's the best of time � [...]
Making work so fun you never want to leave and how not to kill creativity
Even though it was just 8am, the canteen at Facebook’s Singapore office was pretty packed with employees having breakfast. I was a bit surprised – I had this idea that kids working at these new tech companies were not early risers and preferred working late at night.
“Hey, maybe they never [...]
Want to invest in travel startups? A tip sheet from Fritz Demopoulos
Fritz Demopoulos (CEO of Queen’s Road Capital) laid his cards on the table at the WIT Japan & North Asia Bootcamp, with a crash course on what any successful investor needs to think about when stepping into the marketplace.
Take your time to do your research
Before making any decisions o [...]
Letter from Matsumoto: Post-WIT, the struggles of Japan’s family businesses amid boom in private accommodation and inbound
A three-hour ride on the Super Azusa Limited Express from Shinjuku Station takes you to the historic town of Matsumoto in Nagano Prefrecture. It’s a quiet little place where the air is fresh and the spring water so clear and cool that ice cubes look like crystals.
I am staying at Hotel Matsumot [...]
Letter from Tokyo: Subtle changes speak of a deeper shift
For the last eight years, I’ve been visiting Tokyo pretty regularly – more so after visa restrictions for Malaysians (and the rest of South-east Asia) were lifted a couple of years ago. But it’s only this year that I am noticing discernible changes in the visitor experience for foreigners.
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Letter from Macau: Will they still come? Taking a bet on the future
My first impression on entering Macau after two years away is it’s still being built – it was exactly the same impression I had from the last visit as well. The airport is being built, Cotai Strip is still being built, there are cranes everywhere and you wonder how in a small place like this for [...]
The Millennial Traveller: Not all dogs need new tricks, says Walk Japan’s Paul Christie
A conversation with Paul Christie, the CEO of Walk Japan, takes a fair bit of contemplation.
While much of our chat revolved around Walk Japan and its success as a tour operator in Japan, very little technical corporate travel jargon was used. There was no talk of social media strategy, direct bo [...]
Dreamers may still win the day in online travel as brands go “upper funnel”
Ten years ago, we struggled to get the word “inspiration” mentioned at online travel conferences. Everyone was more interested in clicks, conversions and transactions.
I remember a debate we had at the WIT Conference over “Inspiration vs Transaction” and the dreamers among us voted with o [...]
Art in hotels, and the role it can play in the grey space
This was my third stay at The Gibson in Dublin. I like this hotel. It has the right touch of creativity without being too contrived. Its staff are friendly without trying to be too cool. Its rooms are contemporary in design but functional and comfortable.
Themed around music – it’s located ri [...]
Google’s quest to become our personal travel assistant – to be loved or feared?
You could almost feel the air being sucked out of the room as Oliver Heckmann of Google closed off Day 1 of Phocuswright Dublin with a talk on everything the world’s largest search engine was doing in travel. I sensed everyone was grappling with the massive implications everyone of its products wo [...]
