Letter from Seoul: A snowy backdrop to outbound trends, AI innovations and a search for community
Caught in the first snowfall in Seoul, Yeoh Siew Hoon has time to thaw out her brains while the plane is being de-iced on the tarmac to reflect on the key takeaways from WiT Seoul 2024.
The Koreans believe that first snowfall is auspicious. If this is true, then Seoul’s travel industry is in fo [...]
Letter from Phoenix: Of bomb cyclones, flight disruptions and super agents
On the day I was to fly out from Phoenix to San Francisco came news of the “bomb cyclone” that battered the Pacific Northwest and Northern California, causing power outages, downing trees and power lines, and tragically killing two people in Washington State.
It resulted in flight cancell [...]
Ice baths on a tropical island: This is how weird and wonderful travel’s going to get in the Next Generation
Key takeaways from WiT Singapore 2024
As I was lying by the pool at Cempedak Private Island, watching the sun set over a calm South China Sea and being grateful for the wonders of travel, a strange ritual was taking place nearby.
A group of wellness devotees from Singapore were taking part in a [...]
Letter from Ho Chi Minh City: From instant noodles to skyscrapers
Listen to the podcast here:
“When you live in it, you don’t see it.”My friend said this with a wry smile as she navigated the busy streets of Ho Chi Minh City. I sat beside her, wide-eyed, taking in the sweeping changes of a city I hadn't seen sinc [...]
The quest for longevity: What’s travel got to do with it?
Over truffled mushroom canapes and lemongrass-ginger infusion tea, I asked Dr. Athasit Amornthanomchoke, an anti-ageing and preventive medicine doctor, practising at the RAKxa Integrative Wellness Retreat in Bangkok, if he saw a lot of male customers and what was the most common reason for their vis [...]
I entered Singapore without a passport. Now that’s personal
Last week, I entered Singapore sans passport. I had arrived on a flight from Bangkok and at the immigration gates, when I wanted to put my passport on the scanner, I was told, “No need already. Just look at camera.”
Two camera clicks later and I was through. True to what had been announced a [...]
This Land Is Calling. Well, it called to me.
In my book, destination marketing should challenge perceptions, should reveal what is unexpected and Saudi Arabia’s new global campaign, "This Land is Calling", featuring a solo female traveller on an epic adventure through the kingdom, did it.
Albeit she looked a bit like a female Timothy Chal [...]
The secret sauce of “char koay teow”, storytelling and indie travel businesses
AI, it seems, is creeping into everything. In a little eatery called Jiashi Cafe in a local neighbourhood in Penang, far from the madding tourist crowd, the young entrepreneurs running it offer “AI Fried Char Koay Teow”.
For anyone who’s been to Penang, you’ll know that “Char Koay Teow� [...]
Lessons to take from Weeva’s closure
A long game with no immediate payback, says Greenview’s Ricaurte
The news of Weeva’s closure has come as a surprise and disappointment to many who had been following the company’s progress since its startup in 2021.
Borne out of the pandemic by two hoteliers’ passion for sustainability [...]
What’s your theme? If you’re dreaming of your own “Mousehole”, read on
Last week, I went into the studio to record an interview with Klook’s two co-founders Ethan Lin and Eric Gnock Fah, who are celebrating the 10th anniversary of their startup.
We talked about the last 10 years and what the next 10 will bring, and in the process, the two friends and business part [...]
