Top Of The WiT is a grab of the trendiest news that happened this week in travel, tech and Asia - all condensed into a quick-and-easy nugget-sized podcast.  In this episode, we connect from different timezones - Siew Hoon takes a couple of road trips in Malaysia while Arvindh is in Queensland, Australia, covering the Australian Travel Exchange (ATE23).  Then, we talk about Fever - the billion-dollar company that's creating content while also serving as a ticketing platform. 

Top Of The WiT is a grab of the trendiest news that happened this week in travel, tech and Asia - all condensed into a quick-and-easy nugget-sized podcast.  In this special episode, we look back at some key learnings from China Arising: Hello, New China, WiT's first event of 2023 in collaboartion with Travel Daily China. Featuring insights from Juliana Kua (Assistant Chief Executive, International Group, Singapore Tourism Board), Kerry Healy (Chief Commercial Officer, Middle East, Africa,...

Top Of The WiT is a grab of the trendiest news that happened this week in travel, tech and Asia - all condensed into a quick-and-easy nugget-sized podcast.  In this episode, we continue our discussion of ITB Berlin with special guest Timothy O'Neil-Dunne (Principal, T2Impact). Tim goes over the meaning of "travel tech" and what it means in 2023.  We also get into new tech like the metaverse, virtual reality, and blockchain. Is VR a healthy component of travel, or does it take away the...

Top Of The WiT is a grab of the trendiest news that happened this week in travel, tech and Asia - all condensed into a quick-and-easy nugget-sized podcast.  In this episode, Siew Hoon and this week's guest, Tim Hughes, are back from ITB Berlin - jetlagged and buzzing with excitement about the return of the mega travel event. We discuss the booths, the business, and the technology that was discussed in the first post-pandemic travel event of this scale. We also talk about discomfort zones,...

Top Of The WiT is a grab of the trendiest news that happened this week in travel, tech and Asia - all condensed into a quick-and-easy nugget-sized podcast.  In this episode, we discuss the metaverse and how brands like Sentosa are using it as an extension of their physical space, and to also transform digital users into physical consumers.  We also discuss the value of loyalty in travel and hospitality, and what a good, clean points-and-rewards system is worth in today's landscape. And...

Top Of The WiT is a grab of the trendiest news that happened this week in travel, tech and Asia - all condensed into a quick-and-easy nugget-sized podcast.  We're joined by Christian Watts (Founder and CEO, Magpie Travel) to discuss the potential of ChatGPT in the Tours and Activities space. We also bring up Trip.com's new real-time travel-planning chatbot, TripGen, built on GPT tech.  Then, Christian talks about the importance of building products around ChatGPT fast or risk losing the...

Top Of The WiT is a grab of the trendiest news that happened this week in travel, tech and Asia - all condensed into a quick-and-easy nugget-sized podcast.  We're joined by Pete Comeau (Managing Director, PhocusWright) to unpack two reports - one about travel recovery and digital transformation in Southeast Asia, and the other about how Northeast Asia is projected to hit $11B in gross mobile bookings by 2025.  We also discuss the Global Startup Pitch, the lessons learned from last year's...

Top Of The WiT is a grab of the trendiest news that happened this week in travel, tech and Asia - all condensed into a quick-and-easy nugget-sized podcast.  On this week's episode, we talk about a recent interview with Greenview's Eric Ricaurte and how holding on to a belief in the future of sustainable travel has made him a "most wanted man". Then, we discuss Chinese New Year festivities and how the dance of the Golden Lion can be compared to the travel industry and the skills it had to...

Top Of The WiT is a grab of the trendiest news that happened this week in travel, tech and Asia - all condensed into a quick-and-easy nugget-sized podcast.  On this week's episode, we talk about Singapore's tourism projections for the next twelve months and how it forecasts a doubling of tourism receipts compared to last year's inbound traffic.  Then, we discuss an interview with Omer Chehmer, COO and co-founder of Bookaway Group, and how the ground transportation bookings company is...

Top Of The WiT is a grab of the trendiest news that happened this week in travel, tech and Asia - all condensed into a quick-and-easy nugget-sized podcast.  On this week's episode, we hear from two industry experts on China's reopening and what's in store for the country's tourism scene, as well as what the world can expect from China's outbound travellers.  We also discuss a recent interview with Keith Tan, CEO, Singapore Tourism Board, and his view on how Singapore's soft power will help...

In this episode, we speak to Keith Tan, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Tourism Board, on the recovery trends he’s seeing in Singapore, and in Asia.  Here are the key takeaways.   On China's reopening Keith is optimistic about what China holds for its tourism prospects in 2023 although he confessed to being surprised by the somewhat sudden lifting of restrictions. “Initially, we thought China would only open up later in 2023. So anything earlier than that, which is what we're seeing...

On “Top Of The WiT”, we bring you a grab of the news that happened this week in travel, technology and Asia – interesting nuggets that caught our eye and made it into the weekly WiT newsletter. This week, social media was stormed by talk of Artificial Intelligence. ChatGPT, a bot by OpenAI that's capable of replicating human-like responses, has become quite the controversial figure. However, it also has a few suggestions on how to reduce anger in the world and bring about more peace. We...

On “Top Of The WiT”, we bring you a grab of the news that happened this week in travel, technology and Asia – interesting nuggets that caught our eye and made it into the weekly WiT newsletter. This week, we look back at a few articles that were published at the end of 2021, with answers by key players in the travel space predicting, describing, and anticipating 2021. What did they get right? What did they get slightly less right? And what words did they use to describe the last twelve...

On “Top Of The WiT”, we bring you a grab of the news that happened this week in travel, technology and Asia – interesting nuggets that caught our eye and made it into the weekly WiT newsletter. This week, we talk about the convergence of the "old world" and this new, endemic one. Siew Hoon, having just returned to Singapore from The Phocuswright Conference 2022 in Phoenix, Arizona, shares some key takeaways from the event. The timing is perfect as we move into the final month of 2022 and...

On “Top Of The WiT”, we bring you a grab of the news that happened this week in travel, technology and Asia – interesting nuggets that caught our eye and made it into the weekly WiT newsletter. This week, we tackle timezone differences and lessons from The Phocuswright Conference 2022, as Siew Hoon dials in from the event grounds in Phoenix, Arizona. And to celebrate the tenth episode of the podcast, we invite Pete Comeau, Managing Director, Phocuswright on the show to give us his key...

On “Top Of The WiT”, we bring you a grab of the news that happened this week in travel, technology and Asia – interesting nuggets that caught our eye and made it into the weekly WiT newsletter. This week, we talk about Gen Z, the future of the industry, and how they're hopeful about the hospitality space. We also discuss major takeaways from WiT Seoul - the blurring of lines with Online Travel Agengies and new demographics in the market. Then, we touch on consumer behaviour and how some...

On “Top Of The WiT”, we bring you a grab of the news that happened this week in travel, technology and Asia – interesting nuggets that caught our eye and made it into the weekly WiT newsletter. This week, we talk about returning to South Korea for WiT Seoul, our first live event there since 2019. We also discuss an interview with Caesar Indra, President of Traveloka, and how he prefers to be a trendsetter in the travel space instead of a follower. There's also talk of robots, payments, and...

On “Top Of The WiT”, we bring you a grab of the news that happened this week in travel, technology and Asia – interesting nuggets that caught our eye and made it into the weekly WiT newsletter. This week, we talk about a company that wants to transform mobility, through data and analytics, for developing nations in the region. We also discuss the return of cruises and how its engaging with millennial consumers, as well as reaching new travel and sustainability goals by being the "dreamers...

On “Top Of The WiT”, we bring you a grab of the news that happened this week in travel, technology and Asia – interesting nuggets that caught our eye and made it into the weekly WiT newsletter. This week, we make like Doctor Strange but instead of travelling the multiverse, we try to comprehend the Metaverse... of Madness! Siew Hoon is also joining the pod on-site from HICAP 2022, so we dig into some of the lessons learned from the conference. Then we talk ordering food from robots, as...

On “Top Of The WiT”, we bring you a grab of the news that happened this week in travel, technology and Asia – interesting nuggets that caught our eye and made it into the weekly WiT newsletter. It has been a busy week for the WiT crew as the dust still settles from WiT Singapore 2022 that took place live and in-person from Oct 3 - 5. On this episode, we look back at some of the key takeaways from the event - from the rise of digital nomads and how some companies like Airbnb are paying...

On “Top Of The WiT”, we bring you a grab of the news that happened this week in travel, technology and Asia – interesting nuggets that caught our eye and made it into the weekly WiT newsletter. This week, we're talking about India as the world's fifth largest economy and what that means for its tourism sector, how one B2B payments company is embracing Web3 disruption, and whether or not the aviation industry is better prepared for another global crisis. Hosted by Arvindh and Siew Hoon

On “Top Of The WiT”, we bring you a grab of the news that happened this week in travel, technology and Asia – interesting nuggets that caught our eye and made it into the weekly WiT newsletter. This week, we're talking about stunning artwork created by artificial intelligence, Airbnb's report on how remote work has changed the nature of travel, Malaysia's newest low-cost carrier, MYAirline, and a Gen Z author's honest perspective on the travel and hospitality industry. Hosted by...

On “Top Of The WiT”, we bring you a grab of the news that happened this week in travel, technology and Asia – interesting nuggets that caught our eye and made it into the weekly WiT newsletter. This week, we're talking about a couple of digital nomads expanding their short-term rent cleaning service in Southeast Asia, high-tech on the high seas, and the adoption of cryptocurrency by the travel and hospitality scene. Hosted by Arvindh and Siew Hoon

This is the first of a weekly series called “Top Of The WiT”, in which we bring you a grab of the news that happened this week in travel, technology and Asia – news that caught our eye and made it into the weekly WiT newsletter.  This week, we're talking about the need for "boring" jobs in the travel industry, the adoption of new tech by the age-old railway system, and why demand for wellness tourism is seeing a major uptick. Hosted by Arvindh and Siew Hoon

In this episode, we speak to Vikram Malhi, who’s the co‐founder of ZUZU Hospitality, on the recovery trends he’s seeing in the small, independent hotel segment in South‐east Asia and how this could be a breakout moment for the longtail of hospitality. Here are the key takeaways.   On recovery Every market is seeing different recovery. Destinations like Bandung in Indonesia and Chonburi in Thailand did well domestically, but not Bali or Phuket which relied on inbound visitors. But numbers...