Emotional marketing, speedy AI-powered searches and creator content top highlights at EXPLORE 24
“AI does not create magic; you need human intelligence to know where to use it and how to use it,” says new CEO
EXPLORE, Expedia’s annual partner conference, reached a milestone this year with its 25th installment. It was also Expedia’s first flagship event in two years, albeit having held [...]
Starlink in Bali. Flying with Meta. Skyscanner gets Savvy. Virtual pink soup. More.
A star is born in Bali.
Starlink is coming to Bali – a move that will no doubt delight the island’s global nomads and tech entrepreneurs – although whether they will fork out the extra dollars for the Starlink service rather than stick with local Internet providers remains to be seen.
Elon [...]
How did we allow this to happen? Viator’s founder Rod Cuthbert on the rise of Google
As Google continues to roll out AI-powered search features, which will undoubtedly increase its dominance in travel, Rod Cuthbert, the founder of Viator and generally acknowledged as the “Godfather of tours and activities”, got quite indignant during his session at WiT Japan & North Asia in [...]
People are the metric in new Perfect Somewheres awards, spotlighting top hotels worldwide
Expedia's Mel Fish on tackling 'choice paralysis' and balancing quality with affordability
Expedia Group's Hotels.com introduced the 'Perfect Somewheres' 2024 at EXPLORE 24, a program that awards the top 1% of hotels available on the Hotels.com app, with hotels like Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo and Hotel [...]
Letter from Tokyo: The human-machine and tradition-innovation dance unfolding in Japan
Inbound rush, outbound slump, new tech and travellers shaping future of travel – how will it play out in Japan? WiT Japan & North Asia 2024 had it all covered.
There is no better place in the world to observe the twin revolutions of human and technology unfolding at this time than in Japan, a [...]
Expedia launches AI travel assistant and creator shops in 40+ spring product slate
At EXPLORE, Expedia’s annual partner conference held in Las Vegas, the company announced the launch of 40+ new products and features across its tech ecosystem - chief of all being the introduction of Romie, an AI-powered travel assistant.
Romie is designed to assist travellers at every step of [...]
Go City’s Gauthier on cultivating strong partnerships and Asia’s great potential for growth
Sightseeing passes provider, Go City, announced a few weeks ago that it had formed a partnership with Merlin Entertainments, a prominent player in branded entertainment destinations. This collaboration significantly adds to Go City’s popular London Pass, now celebrating its 25th year of operation, [...]
Bangkok bike-hailing. Expensify’s chat super app. Token answer for busy airports. More.
Travel search on the cusp of a new era
Speaking at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) this week in a session on “How To Build Influence with Gen Z in Just 30 Seconds”, Marc-Antoine Simon, industry manager, Travel and Tourism – MENA, TikTok, shared insights on the latest trends in community-led marke [...]
Saudi tourism chief Fahd Hamidaddin on lessons from his mother, Hafawah and keeping it authentic
Travel on verge of transformation, driven by AI – STA experiments with unconventional partners
Given how openly most Saudis speak about their family, especially their mothers, I thought it fitting that I should start my interview with Fahd Hamidaddin, CEO of Saudi Tourism Authority, with a questi [...]
The Symphony of Humans and Machines: A travel CTO’s balancing act
At the Phocuswright WiT Middle East summit in Dubai, held May 3, 2024, a panel of four senior CTOs discussed the critical issue of AI’s interface to humans. Timothy O’Neil-Dunne provides this summary.
In the ever-evolving world of travel technology, CTOs stand at the precipice of a [...]
