WIT Speakers Corner: Travel specialist investor out to find ‘next big thing’ at WIT
Specialist travel fund, Travel Capitalist Ventures, is setting its sights on “the next big thing” in Asia. Abrar Ahmad tells Yeoh Siew Hoon what he's on the lookout for.1. Let's talk about travel investments in general – has the market come back after last year? What's the current mood?On the [...]
Letter from Bhutan, Pt 2: Of dogs, horse heads, phalluses and cordyceps
Day 2 in Bhutan dawns bright and clear. Fluffy white clouds floating on a canvas of brilliant blue sky. More Fluffy Dragon than Thunder Dragon, I thought as I woke up at the Namgay Heritage Hotel in Thimpu.Happiness, I thought. We had expected lots of rain and black clouds – all the guidebooks tel [...]
Letter from Bhutan: Happiness is a place, Part 1
Call it premonition but somehow I knew that my baggage would not arrive with me on the flight from Punta Cana via Paris. And so I wasn’t too flustered when I was proven right.In fact, in some ways it felt good to leave the airport so light – and it made me aware that too often we carry way more [...]
Letter from Punta Cana: First feel of the Caribbean
“What are the three things I must do while I am here?” I asked the woman sitting next to me on the Air France flight bound for Punta Cana from Paris.Despite my exhaustion, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of anticipation for what awaited me in the Dominican Republic, a place I had long wanted [...]
Beyond the new logo, here’s why you must learn from Airbnb
There’s been lots written about the new Airbnb logo. Some have panned it. Some have mocked it, comparing it to bits of the human gentitalia. Some have applauded it.But beyond the logo change, there's something bigger happening, something that we in travel should watch carefully.With its new logo, [...]
Letter from the road: Golden age of the customer is upon us, deal with it
While in Penang this week, the second leg of our WIT Hospitality Roadshow, I downloaded the HotelQuickly app to quickly check what rooms were available and at what price.The company had just raised US$4.5 million in a second round of funding and they were part of our panel of speakers at this roadsh [...]
Letter from Bangalore: The India story is just beginning
Each time I return to India, I am reminded anew of the wonderful hospitality of the country’s luxury hotels. There’s really no beating that willingness to be of service that’s the hallmark of Taj hotels.Our event, the first WIT India, co-organised with the Singapore Tourism Board, was held at [...]
“Little Big 10” things I wished I had known then
This October, we will mark the 10th edition of the WIT conference. Yes, in November 2005, we held our very first event at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront which was to become our home for the next three years.Much water under the Anderson Bridge, as you might say – did you know that this bridge, whi [...]
Letter to Mr UP and a date with Google Glass
Dear Mr UP, I hope you don’t mind me calling you a Mr because somehow I like to think of you as a man wrapped around my little wrist.I am also writing this letter because you’re kinda special to me. You are my first wearable device and although it’s only been a week and counting, I am beginn [...]
Watch out, sea change coming to cruising in Asia
I spent most of last week at a cruising conference and you could say it’s taken me into new waters (pardon the pun).
It’s opened my eyes to how big the market is getting, how much bigger the ships are getting and how, for the first time, instead of bringing their older ships to Asia, br [...]
