Starting off the night, two entrepreneurs from Pigeonhole Live, Hew Joon Yeng (left) and Lyon Lim, introduced the use of their conference app for WITNext. The app built by these two recent graduates of NUS helped facilitate Q&A sessions between our audience and the speakers.
Ali Yilmaz of Google was the first of our industry speakers up on stage to share his story. He recently moved to Singapore from Turkey and is finding the place really easy and convenient. He loves it here!
However, in a city with all the large companies and a place where one can find everything, Yilmaz felt that the potential for entrepreneurship is not as high here. Out of all the places he has been to, Yilmaz found that Thailand has the highest potential for entrepreneurship. He believes that entrepreneurship is a spirit hugely driven by need.
Another interesting point brought up by this new resident is that the local Singaporeans seem to be more tech savvy and smart phone enabled, than those in places like London. However, businesses are not making full use of this technology advantage to improve their direct customer interactions. Banking was an example he quoted. Yilmaz observed that companies here seem to be playing “catch up” with the consumers, who are so much further ahead in their use of technology.
Questions from our audience to Yilmaz came in fast and furious. Many were interested to hear from Yilmaz regarding Google’s take on travel. One question relevant to intermediaries and OTAs – with Google being so active in aggregating travel information, is there still a need for OTAs? Yilmaz’s answer was that Google merely gathers information on search and analyses what people are searching for. Google does not sell. It is not replacing the role of OTAs. For example, Google recently noticed that box office movies like Hangover, Part II has generated increased interest in Bangkok as a destination.
With 4 billion searches per day, a customer-centric Google evolves with the way people search. Google constantly adapts to new searches and new keywords. Google has found that 18% of searches made on Google are done via mobile in Singapore. With increased activity in mobile, it will change the way consumers behave and companies conduct businesses. The next big thing could be a company or a technology. Either way, mobile will significantly affect the landscape.
Next up were Amit Saberwal of MakeMy Trip and Graham Hills of Wego. They gave us insights on the Indian and Indonesian market, respectively. Saberwal noted that for a long period of time, people in India were not comfortable with making purchases online, using their credit cards. But things suddenly changed when a train company started selling their tickets online. Agents no longer travelled with sacks of physical tickets.
Saberwal, interestingly, started MakeMyTrip with a team that had no prior industry experience and knowledge. This evidently proved to be an advantage, for their case, as it provided no limitations to their ideas and innovation in building up the company. Saberwal and his team were the first in India to partner with all low-cost carriers to better serve their Indian customers. They were also the first to create a call centre to sell holidays via phone in India.“Always the take the first move!” It was very inspiring to hear Saberwal constantly say “we were the first…”. Definitely a great story for entrepreneurs everywhere.
Saberwal also talked about how it is important for businesses to understand their customers. It is difficult to change the way people purchase. It is easier to understand what they want and find a way to get it to them most conveniently. His advice to those wanting to enter the Indian market was parallel to this concept – partner with a local Indian company. They understand the market and will help you achieve a greater outreach.
Graham Hills talked about his journey in travel and tourism. True to his article, Hills told us the story of how he networked to get to where he is now. Hills is a ardent advocate of Web In Travel as he strongly believes that it’s a great platform for anyone to want to get to know people in the industry. He says, “Attend events and network every chance you get. Make those connections”.
Both Saberwal and Hills welcome the Google into the travel landscape. Saberwal feels that OTAs will keep a close eye to Google to ensure that they stay ahead and that they will focus on running customer service, versus just providing travel information. Hills is very interested to see what Google will come up with next. He feels that Google will force OTAs, aggregators and other intermediaries to innovate. There will be lots of opportunities to compete, as well as partner.
When asked if the respective markets favour booking online, Saberwal said that 90% of all domestic travel and 10% of international travel are booked online in India. In Indonesia, however, it is more complicated, said Hills.
Our last panel consisted of Gen Next individuals who have made it in the industry, (from left) Charmaine Wee of New Majestic Hotel, Blanca Menchahca of Wego and Shawn Low of Lonely Planet. These young talents shared the story of how they got to where they are and truly inspired the students in our audience.
Wee, a trained lawyer, put it down to plain hard work and a lucky break from Low Aik Peng, her boss at New Majestic. She had no original plans of wanting to enter the industry. Wee wanted to be a waitress, having done part-time stints while she was a student in the UK. Alternatively, she wanted to pursue a career in music and dance, as it was one of her strong interests, having studied that when she was younger. To succeed in her position, Wee said that it takes a lot of hard work but also, you have to keep to your own personality. That is one of best thing about her job. In her position, she able to change the work environment, allowing people to stay professional while keeping true to their personalities.
Menchacha moved to Singapore from Australia 2 years ago. She was trained in marketing, but was very passionate about IT. She was lucky to find a position at Wego that allowed her to merge these two together as a Digital Marketing Manager. When asked, what was a crucial personality to have for someone in her position, Menchacha instantly said “You have to be a bitch”. Be straight forward and stand up for your beliefs. It will help you stand out, especially if you are in a male-dominated field. She enjoys that immediacy of her role, allowing free flow of instant information to customers.
Low credits where he is now, to luck, serendipity and the kindness of others in giving him chances. He said that he needs to constantly keep moving to remain relevant and engage with new things all the time. He has to ensure that he delivers content for travellers, as written by travellers. Low does not see photo and video sharing as a threat to his writings. He believes that there is space for all to co-exist. There are different audiences for these various mediums to target. Low loves that as a travel writer he is not desk-bound and is able to establish lots of friendships with locals all over the world.
True to the purpose of our event, this panel of Gen Next all agree that sharing their experiences and speaking at events like WITNext are one of the best ways to reach out to and inspire the young minds interested in our industry.
