Asia Pacific corporate travel in strong rebound, technology and digitization will drive future
It was a strong start to the GBTA (Global Business Travel Association) Asia Pacific Summit this week in Singapore as the industry body shared data that showed, all things being equal, the slowest recovering region will reach 92% of pre-pandemic levels by year end.
Suzanne Neufang, CEO of GBTA, ca [...]
From mooncakes to hungry ghosts: The things AI and tech have not replaced
I received my first gift of mooncake last week, from the Pan Pacific Hotels Group. The white leather case it came in was truly gorgeous, probably cost more than the mooncakes in it. I will have to think of another use for the case after I devour the four round-shaped delicacies of lotus paste, ginge [...]
What AI can do, and what it can’t do
Indie travel businesses grapple with possibilities in the age of generative AI
On the night before WiT Indie, the edition of Web in Travel dedicated to creatives and independents, opened in Penang, Cinewav, the Singapore startup that offers “Event Audio in your Pocket”, held a first-time immers [...]
How my dog led me here – and now hail, the first inclusive/accessible tour guided by PWDs
Tribe to launch tours of Enabling Village with three local heroes
There is a place in Singapore that is little known even to locals. I only got to know of it after I enrolled my dog in a canine therapy programme run by EQUAL, a Singapore charity Institution that strives to transform lives through A [...]
Letter from Tokyo: A date with destiny in a place called Kabukicho
From Godzilla to Indiana Jones, ancient theatres to art-themed hotels, to embracing change and the human imagination, Yeoh Siew Hoon finds it all here.
Outside HOTEL GROOVE SHINJUKU, where I am staying on the 36th floor, is Toho Cinemas where a huge replica of Godzilla looks like it’s trying to [...]
Letter from the Priorat, Catalonia: Listening to the wines, and the silence
To be honest (and I’ve always been told to be wary of people who start their sentences with those three words but in this case, it’s sincere), I had never heard of Priorat until, well, this year when I started planning for my Catalonia holiday.
I had asked ChatGPT to recommend the top three d [...]
Letter From Langkawi: Luster Lost, Paradise Found
The last time I was in Langkawi, it was for a year-end trip with fifty friends and (ex) colleagues from a previous company. We wined and dined, soaked in the sun, and celebrated a good financial year for the brand. We partied. The holidays were upon us and the new year seemed pretty exciting.
Goo [...]
Letter from Barcelona: From Gaudi dreams to Dali metaverse, a whimsical journey through old and new
My first night in Barcelona after having spent a week traipsing around the coast of Costa Brava and rambling through the vineyards and isolated, mountainous villages of Priorat without encountering many tourists, indeed many humans, was a bit of a shock.
Back in this big, busting, beautiful city, [...]
Letter from Girona: The stuff of legends and travellers’ dreams
I suppose it is fitting that I should be staying in the Hotel Museu Llegendes in Girona because this ancient Catalonian city is so full of legends that even the locals have trouble keeping up with the stories.
The family-owned 15-room boutique hotel, opened 12 years ago, is like a homage to saint [...]
Letter from Phuket: A destination for all seasons, all tastes, Zombies included
As I boarded my Singapore Airlines flight from Singapore to Phuket this week, I couldn’t help but reflect on that first flight I took to New York back in November 2021 when travel was still largely restricted in Asia, and I was literally crying over my satay from the emotion of being at 30,000 fee [...]
