The WiT Podcast

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...

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 tour...

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...

In this episode, we speak with Mieke de Schepper, Executive Vice President and Managing Director Asia Pacific Amadeus IT Group, about coping with fatigue in a region that's lagging behind in travel recovery, how technology can facilitate the return of safe travel and boost confidence of travellers and how governments and travel companies need to collaborate to get us out of this and through this t...

Experimentation and adaptation has kept Madrid-born Fernando Gibaja, General Manager of Capella Singapore, energised the past 20 months. From a period of uncertainty – not knowing what would happen when the pandemic first happened – to now its greatest period of creativity, Capella is enjoying healthy increases in average daily rates and RevPar, thanks to the huge array of activities and experienc...

In Episode 36 of The WiT Podcast Lee Cheh Hsien, Divisional Director, Planning, Sentosa Development Corporation, talks about about breaking down the big topic of sustainability so that island destinations like Sentosa and businesses on the island can play their part to contribute towards a greater, collective goal. And it doesn't have to stop at the business level – given the 20 million guests who...

Singapore-based infectious disease expert Dr Paul Tambyah said that unless the industry works with the medical fraternity to come up with a scientific, calibrated approach to give confidence to governments, that will become the default mode, given the success seen in countries like New Zealand and Australia that implemented sharp lockdowns over isolated cases. In Episode 35 of the WiT Podcast, Nat...

The cable car is one of Singapore's oldest attractions, built in 1974. Covid had an impact on the number of riders in 2020 and Singapore's Mount Faber Leisure Group, which markets the cable car as well as related attractions, has had to adjust its business to a 100% local market. In this podcast Tracy Lui, Senior Assistant Director, Marketing & Communications, Mount Faber Leisure Group, reveals ho...

In this podcast we learn how Luke Johnson, General Manager of AJ Hackett, Singapore, has taken lessons from adventure sports in dealing with Covid, why his jump masters would make the best coaches in resilience and how the park helped thousands of Singaporeans destress from the confines of living on a small island with closed borders. In the process, Johnson has also learnt what matters most to Si...

January has come and gone and still the world doesn't look that much different from when we ended 2020. International borders are still closed, countries are still in various forms of lockdowns and restrictions and airlines are set to face another disastrous year. So what will 2021 hold for us in travel? Well, we begin the first podcast of 2021 with a collection of views – a poem of hope read by E...

Here's Part 2 of The WiT Podcast, Dear 2020, in which we feature "Dear 2020" letters from our friends from around the world. What would they say to it? How would they want to remember it by? This Part 2 is an extensive collection covering a diversity of voices, from New York to Australia to Europe and across Asia. So sit back, relax, soak it in or if you are walking or running, keep on moving. Let...

The island of Sentosa has become the main playground of Singaporean residents and the Sentosa Development Corporation and its partners have been busy adapting, creating and experimenting in a global world gone local. In this wide-ranging conversation with Mira Bharin, Director, Brand, Marketing and Communications, Sentosa Development Corporation, we speak about how Sentosa and its businesses have...

Welcome to Part 2 of our special report from the Middle East, where we present a summary of our event held on November 25 when we gathered close to 30 speakers to share their knowledge and insights over four hours. In this episode we hear how critical aviation is to the distribution of vaccines and how Covid has impacted airlines in the Middle East, and how Expo2020 is forging ahead in Dubai. Over...

We thought long and hard about how to mark this year end – have something tangible to remember it by, so that say in five years from now, we could look back and remember what it was like. Like a time capsule of sorts. In this Podcast, we reached out and asked some of our industry friends to write their "Dear 2020" letter – what would they say to it? Here's the first collection. Have a listen at yo...

This is a special report from the Middle East where we present a summary of our event held on November 25 when we gathered close to 30 speakers to share their knowledge and insights over four hours. In Part 1, we hear tales about aviation, why this is a watershed moment rather than a "glitch", stories from online travel agents not only surviving but keeping extremely busy with product and market l...

In Singapore Scott Peterson and his team at Resorts World Sentosa have certainly felt the pressure and worry as to the future of their industry. But that doesn't mean they have stopped creating – if anything, they are busier than usual. In this podcast the Singapore-born executive, who started out in local theatre, talks about how his team has been managing the crisis, how they have responded and...

As Covid devastated the lucrative sector, Ong Wee Min , Marina Bay Sands' Vice President, MICE, who's been in the industry for more than 20 years, found himself having to think quickly and creatively on his feet, and to lead his team through a massive sea of change in their business that is requiring them to develop new skills almost overnight. In this podcast, he shares his fondest memories of hi...

I n this episode we caught up with Timothy Hughes, Vice President, Corporate Development, Agoda, to find out his views living and working in a virtual world, what he thinks of virtual and hybrid events, what were his key takeaways from the recently-concluded WiT Experience Week, what he feels are two interesting trends to watch and at the end, he speaks about the most memorable "conference swag" h...

In Asia we love to eat. We also love to talk about it, almost as much as we eat. Because if there's one breakout star of Covid 19 and the great human experience of staying home for prolonged periods, it is food. It kept us alive, cheered us up, opened up our world to new food choices. There was wholesale migration online of those who cook, as well as those of us who eat. Food delivery, in particul...

This is a story that begins on Koh Lipe, an island in the Andaman Sea near the border of Malaysia, a popular spot for travellers and is known for lots of small islands, sandy beaches and coral-rich waters. Tom Peacock-Nazil and wife Pamela needed a break from their hectic urban life in Singapore, their home for the past seven years, and about two and a half years ago they headed off to Koh Lipe fo...

I n this podcast Carl Jones, VP and Head of Travel, APAC and Greater China, SAP Concur, speaks on the change in corporate traveller sentiment, citing a recent study done by SAP Concur that shows travellers are now more concerned about health and safety, rather than costs, and that the industry must adapt to this shift. He also discloses what these shifts imean for travel management companies as th...

Todd Arthur, Vice President, Sabre Travel Network, Asia Pacific, is himself an avid traveller. He's been to 117 countries and you can imagine how antsy he is to make it to 118. But for now, like all of us, he's had to get used to a new routine at home and picking up a new life skill (and it's not cooking or baking). And even though he says Sabre is seeing some positive signs of recovery in certain...

On July 25, Greg Schulze, senior vice president, Expedia Group, flew back to the US after completing his four-and-a-half year stint in Singapore as the first global head to be based in Asia Pacific. In this podcast Schulze speaks of the lessons he's learnt in his time in the region, what he's learnt in his dealings with travel leaders like Ferry Unardi, CEO and co-founder of Traveloka, and Tony Fe...

More than halfway into 2020, and still there seems to be no easy or clear resolution to the Covid-19 crisis that has grounded travel and pushed economies into free fall. We had hoped it would be a year of two halves, but at this midway point into the first year of the new decade, it feels like we are at "Year Zero. O" – almost everywhere, travel plunged to zero and almost everywhere, everyone's tr...

She describes herself as a "life-long food explorer, driven by a passion for food". But Karni Tomer, founder and CEO of Wok 'n' Stroll in Singapore, is more than that. She is an entrepreneur through and through, driven by creativity, resourcefulness and resilience. In this episode, we learn how she overcame her personal anxieties when the Covid-19 pandemic wiped out all bookings from the business...