Lessons from WiT Africa Part 2: The ties that bind us, from remote work to AI and sustainability
Web in Travel
by Yeoh Siew Hoon
8h ago
It’s been nearly two weeks since I left the majesty and scale of South Africa for the tiny dot of Singapore and here I am, in the even tinier (or as tiny) dot of Penang, Malaysia, where the evidence of global nomadism is in full play. This is the island off the west coast of Malaysia that was recently voted the third best island to retire in, out of a list of 15, by International Living. The article says, “Here, the lifestyle is First World – it’s possible to trade-up. A couple can live well on a monthly budget of between $1,500 and $2,500 a month. It’s a luxury life on an affordable budget wi ..read more
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Fritz Demopoulos on new frontiers in travel & beyond 
Web in Travel
by Yeoh Siew Hoon
2d ago
Where others see bad traffic and chaos, this entrepreneur sees opportunities. It was with this thinking that he fearlessly co-founded the first travel metasearch company in China in 2005, Qunar, which is now part of the Trip.com Group. Since his exit, he’s been keeping a watchful eye on travel tech investment opportunities – he is an early investor in GetYourGuide, the tours and activities unicorn. Other than venturing into new frontiers in travel, he is also curious about other worlds – he’s on the board of SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). In this one-on-one at WiT A ..read more
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AI and what it means for business travel management
Web in Travel
by Arvindh Yuvaraj
3d ago
In recent years, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into various industries has spurred transformations in operational efficiency and user experiences. The impact of AI on business travel was a central focus during the Big Idea sessions at both the GBTA APAC and GBTA Europe conferences, shedding light on the implications, opportunities, and challenges for the travel industry.  The results of the sessions paint a picture of how organizations are leveraging AI across different facets of business travel and the implications for travel managers and travelers alike. Here are some ..read more
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Average trip durations to popular destinations decreasing or stagnating
Web in Travel
by Arvindh Yuvaraj
3d ago
Skyscanner releases 2024 Travel Insights across EMEA, AMER, and APAC regions Global travel platform Skyscanner has unveiled its latest Horizon report shedding light on booking trends, destination preferences, and emerging travel hotspots across the EMEA, AMER, and APAC regions. The report’s key findings include:   Booking windows reflect forward planning:  According to Skyscanner’s report, travellers across all regions are demonstrating a propensity to plan ahead compared to the previous year, indicating a return to traditional seasonal travel patterns in 2024. Travellers in EMEA ar ..read more
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Of pain, suffering and low expectations: How to be happy founders and travellers
Web in Travel
by Yeoh Siew Hoon
6d ago
“If you’re not at one point about to go bankrupt, then you can’t say you really had a startup” Lately, I’ve been getting lots of messages sharing Jensen Huang’s speech at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, where he wished “pain and suffering” on students at his alma mater. Clearly the new tech hero of the day, the Nvidia CEO said, “Greatness is not intelligence. Greatness comes from character. And character isn’t formed out of smart people, it’s formed out of people who suffered.” Clearly too, he knows a thing or two about pain and suffering. He’s had three decades of it ..read more
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Surveying the surveys. Trip.com gets mobile with Amadeus. NusaTrip enters digitalised market. More.
Web in Travel
by Ian Jarrett
6d ago
From astro-pads to Spanish accents, there’s a survey for you Artificial intelligence has spurned the age of the travel survey. Just this week, I’ve been informed about the most difficult accents for Aussies to understand (Spanish), the world’s best cities for singles (Tokyo, followed by Doha), the best vacation rentals in the world (Earth, Moon & Conkers, an off-the-grid astro-pod in Wales, UK) and the World’s Happiest Countries, according to the United Nations (Finland, for the seventh consecutive year). Tip: if you want to be happy, according to the Finns, try taking a walk in the woods ..read more
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She went travelling for love; now she’s looking for global love for Yuko Yuko
Web in Travel
by Yeoh Siew Hoon
1w ago
Onsen ryokan business wants to target inbound and expand services beyond travel for Japanese seniors Fresh out of law school, Wakako Tokuda travelled the world looking for love and a potential husband in 52 countries across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America. During those eight months, she would ask any man she found attractive, “Are you my friend?” By the time she got to Europe she said she had spoken to more than 100 men. “Of the men I met, two made it to the short list,” she recalled in an interview with a local media. “The British man I met in Latvia later visited me i ..read more
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Inadequate airport-rail connectivity in Southeast Asia impacting aviation and sustainability
Web in Travel
by Arvindh Yuvaraj
1w ago
While Southeast Asian airports handle approximately 800 million passengers yearly, less than 1% of these passengers connect to trains. The Aviation Studies Institute (ASI) has commissioned Sobie Aviation to examine Airport-Rail inter-modality in Southeast Asia. This study, part two of a broader analysis on transport connectivity in the region, delves into recent investments in land transportation infrastructure, particularly high-speed rail, and its implications for aviation. As of current data, only 29% of medium or large-sized airports across Southeast Asia offer passenger rail connectivity ..read more
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From Africa to FREENOW, Meili’s out to reduce friction in car rental to drive direct bookings and loyalty
Web in Travel
by Yeoh Siew Hoon
1w ago
Domain expertise and experience count for a lot, says seasoned Irish entrepreneur Mike McGearty Right after Mike McGearty, CEO and co-founder, Meili Travel Technology, left Cape Town where he was speaking at WiT Africa came the news that his company had signed a partnership with FREENOW, Europe’s leading Mobility Super App. And as soon as that was announced, I got a marketing emailer from FREENOW, telling me that “Car Rental is here! We’ve got great news that car rental has come to FREENOW! With 3 big brands: Avis, Europcar and Hertz.” As though we needed more evidence that McGearty and his SW ..read more
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Exploring the travel payments landscape in Asia
Web in Travel
by Linda Fox
1w ago
Calling the travel payments landscape complex is an understatement. From a B2C perspective, travel companies are dealing with the increasing number of ways to pay and trying to get to grips with what mechanism to offer to which customer. Then there’s B2B travel payments, which bring their own set of challenges. It’s little wonder then that many travel payments startups have entered the market, while existing players are putting more focus on the payment services they offer, all seeking to help remove friction from the process and drive efficiency and, ultimately, conversion. In a Q&A with ..read more
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