The shortcut that wasn’t worth it: What Trip.com’s $765 million fine teaches travel
Last week, China's market regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), fined Trip.com Group $765 million USD for antitrust violations — one of the highest penalties, as a percentage of revenue, ever imposed on a platform-economy company in China. SAMR's findings: Trip.com had [...]
How Nikhil Ravishankar is navigating Air New Zealand’s perfect storm
Air New Zealand’s CEO, Nikhil Ravishankar, knows he’s in the hot seat. And Roger Sharp, chairman of Technology Queenstown, called it plainly when beginning their coffee chat that opened WiT Queenstown.
“You’ve taken over New Zealand’s perfect storm,” Sharp said. “Engine issues, high [...]
Letter from Queenstown: Of resilience, soil and microbes
Amanda Currie breeds microbes for a living now. She’s gone from reading spreadsheets in financial regulation to studying soil on a farm.
“I found myself looking at soil under a microscope,” she told a WiT Queenstown panel on “Food, Identity & Tourism”. “And when I did that, I realis [...]
Spotnana’s multi-agent AI. OTAs’ growth story. Mindtrip tackles AI answers.
Spotnana brings multi-agent AI to travel servicing
Spotnana has launched a multi-agent AI architecture on its travel platform, pairing specialized AI agents with its APIs to automate deterministic workflows, and is rolling out an open, customizable system that partners can build on; the initial rel [...]
Agoda CPO Ittai Chorev on the push into real-time travel updates and AI search
Agoda recently announced a batch of new features aimed at giving travellers more confidence when planning and managing their trips. The updates include real-time flight tracking, a redesigned hotel browsing experience, and AI tools built to help users pick the right property faster.
Travellers bo [...]
SMEs and the golden AI moment: Lessons on how to seize it
How ready are SMEs to seize the AI moment? That was the question asked at WiT Indie, and moderator Sarah Wan of Klook kicked off the session by asking her panellists to rate their AI-readiness on a scale of 1 to 10.
Vikram Malhi, CEO and founder of ZUZU Hospitality, a revenue management platform [...]
Middle East fuel shock reroutes Southeast Asia’s tourism recovery story
Velocity Ventures and Pear Anderson’s SAILOR 2H2026 report frames the second half of 2026 around a single dominant shock: the US-Israel-Iran Middle East conflict and the Strait of Hormuz closure, which more than doubled jet fuel prices, cut 5.2 million seats from Southeast Asian flight schedules ( [...]
We missed the resident: Rethinking who tourism is for
The closing panel at WiT Indie brought together Raul Guerra, Asia-Pacific Regional Director at the Catalunya Tourism Board, Mich Goh, Director of Public Policy for APAC at Airbnb, and Mildred Ang, Director of Social Commerce at Klook – a destination, a platform under regulatory pressure and an OTA [...]
Two deals, one vision: Omio’s CFO on building the world’s ground distribution backbone
In an exclusive interview with WiT – his first since the announcements – Omio Group CFO Jean-Bernard Moens explains why a $10 million Asia-Pacific investment and the proposed acquisition of Rail Europe landed in the same week, and how they both lead to the same destination.
Two announcement [...]
Australia’s digital arrival system. FAA bets on AI. Gen Z loyalty. DerbySoft x Travelodge.
Australia to phase out paper arrival cards by 2027
Australia is rolling out a nationwide digital arrival system, expanding on a Qantas app trial (running since October 2024 for flights into Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, with Perth and Adelaide added by end of 2026) into a universal web-based Aust [...]
