Home › News Sense

Somewhere in Hong Kong, a very red-faced tour guide is walking around. Should we blame her and what can we learn from this debacle? Yeoh Siew Hoon ventures an opinion.

Listen up, folks. Philip Yong has something to say about communication and you should heed it so that you know exactly what he means.

As every Australian state goes courting the Chinese market, tourism officials are mindful that the expected influx must not lead to anti-Chinese sentiment as happened with the Indian market. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

Edmond Ip, hailed “Trailblazer of the Year” by HICAP South-east Asia, is intent on blazing another new trail – he is working on a new hotel brand that will be like the Shanghai Tang of the industry. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

Wherever he invests, Sheldon Adelson makes it the right place at the right time, as he tells Yeoh Siew Hoon.

Yeoh Siew Hoon reports on the customer conundrum facing the Mekong countries as ASEAN emerges as a major source of travellers.

It was a depressing start to the HICAP conference in Singapore last month. But then things got happier. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

CEO of Amadeus Asia, David Brett, who has lived in Bangkok for the past 10 years, remains confident about Thailand's future but calls next few months pivotal.

ASEAN and Mekong countries should make it easier for cross-border road journeys, the Mekong Tourism Forum was told. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

Yeoh Siew Hoon reports on May 19, the darkest night ever in Bangkok.

What do you get when you mix 1,000 lawyers with a hotel that's still a construction site? Plenty of potholes to fall into, as Marina Bay Sands discovers. Yeoh Siew Hoon watches from behind the wall.

It was a big gamble but in the end, it was worth it. Yeoh Siew Hoon gets into the story behind Indigo Pearl and how a father-daughter collaboration made it happen.

When ash cloud brought global travel and trade to a standstill, guess who came to the rescue? Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

The latest report from the GfK tourism market panel, which examines European travel trends, points to a recovery in demand for the summer.

Yeoh Siew Hoon attends a workshop at ITB Berlin where the mandatory prescription is laughter.

Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with the longest-serving expatriate hotelier in China, Roger Fung.

History is made as a gay and lesbian travel panel makes itself heard at ITB Berlin. Yeoh Siew Hoon was there to steer the conversation and to record it.

Katherine Wong threw plenty away, but she never threw in the towel when she ran a café on Sydney’s Lower North Shore.

Banker-turned-hotelier Christopher Ong of Galle Fort fame tells Yeoh Siew Hoon how he turned an old black-and-white house in Penang into a six-suite heritage hotel and about a new type of traveller that’s discovering a gentler side of Penang.

It's the talk of the town – Singapore's first casino. Yeoh Siew Hoon listens in on the chatter.

Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with CEO of Small Luxury Hotels, Paul Kerr, in Singapore and finds out how you can land the best job in the world.

Nino Grüttke is the new Executive Director of ITB Asia, tasked to take the show to greater heights.

What happens when cougars are let loose in Kiwi land? Yeoh Siew Hoon looks at the latest anti-social media outrage.

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) shares its analysis on this landmark alliance between the region's two leading low-cost carriers.

Yeoh Siew Hoon takes a stab at predicting what 2010 will yield.

Leading Hotels of the World has joined forces with IFH to undertake what it says is the largest training and development initiative in its 80-year history.

At 68, Ray Stone is working his way out of fulltime corporate life. In this interview, he talks to Yeoh Siew Hoon about the journey he’s taken and the road he’s about to take, and the lessons he’s learnt on the way.

Forgive us for harping on the same theme as last week – that nothing can replace the power of face-to-face. But we are compelled to because of the events of last week.

You cannot condense the human element and put it into the telephone line, says The Honourable Sir Michael Kadoorie. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

Feel you need to transform your business model? Think again. If your answer is still yes, then take these tips from tour operating chief, Hans Lerch, to heart.

Partnerships, flexibility and investing in the future – that's what will separate the winners from the losers in the changing game of meetings.

Yeoh Siew Hoon previews a new travel and lifestyle website that will make its debut Monday. CNNGo is a born-and-made-in-Asia offering from the Turner Asia team.

Korean and Chinese travellers are the biggest duty free spenders in Asia Pacific, according to a survey commissioned by Visa International.

Yeoh Siew Hoon catches a play in an art gallery in a warehouse, and sees space in a different light.

New Asia Pacific chief wants BCD Travel to be seen as a strong local and regional player with a global footprint rather than a global player who happens to have a regional office in Singapore. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

Bob and Gillian Guy are off to a new chapter in their lives and it involves model trains, as Yeoh Siew Hoon finds out.

In Sabah, an upscale resort named after an exotic flower; in Singapore, a value hotel. Yeoh Siew Hoon contrasts the two.

Yeoh Siew Hoon attends a lunch hosted by Abacus where she heard some good news, and experienced a meal that requires as much new thinking as travel agents probably do to ride out the changes in the industry.

From Cathay Pacific to Orbitz, there seems to be signs the worst may be over but no one's bringing out the champagne yet, especially not Singapore Airlines.

Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up wth Kathleen Tan, head of commercial for the airline group that’s out to change even more the way we live, work, play and travel in Asia – and especially the way we buy travel.

How to sell travel in a weak economy – experts share some tips in a webinar organised by IATA and TravelMole recently.

Singapore is out of recession. Goldman Sachs reports a profit. Abacus sees hotel bookings increase. Should we jump for joy? Yeoh Siew Hoon shares some predictions.

News Sense salutes three travel industry projects that are all about doing good.

Ram Badrinathan, General Manager-Asia of PhoCusWright Inc writes about the move from brand value to intrinsic value.

With the power shifting to the consumers, how do companies balance the courage of their own conviction with the wisdom of the crowd? Yeoh Siew Hoon gets stuck into the branding debate.

Is the new luxury about stealth and simplicity or is it still about ego and face? It would appear both worlds collide in the new world. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

Get ready for the travellers of the future – the Grand, the Health and the Tribes. And oh yes, don't expect too many Japanese. Ian Jarrett reports.

Are green shoots really in sight or is the industry clutching at straws? Whatever the case, changes lie ahead for the hotel industry. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

Investment analysts and investors are banking that Asian family funds will be replace the vacuum left by the implosion of foreign hedge funds from the Asia Pacific hospitality market. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

Founder of Orange Hotel Group, Wu Hai, talks to Yeoh Siew Hoon about the “stupid” mistakes he’s made and why entrepreneurship is like “high wire action with a safety net”.

The price is right - and so are the concerts. Yeoh Siew Hoon was at the Destination Britain & Ireland event in Hong Kong, taking in the key messages.

Australia takes first steps and Accor Asia Pacific makes headway, but finding a hotel room is still the most difficult thing to do if you are in a wheelchair.

It's the attitude of the people that makes a destination accessible, not so much the infrastructure, says Kiji. Yeoh Siew Hoon recounts the travel experiences of a man who's about to make his 100th destination.

AAPA and STB reported a decline in the number of travellers for March 2009, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

Jetstar Asia is aggressively going after the corporate market as business travellers trade down to low fare carriers. Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with CEO Chong Phit Lian.

WIT-Web In Travel and ITB Asia, the B2B tourism trade show to be held in Singapore from 21-23 October, will expand on their partnership for 2009.

Lisa Akeroyd, Regional Director, Corporate Solutions of Amadeus Asia Pacific sheds light on managing travel costs effectively instead of eliminating travel altogether.

Kuala Lumpur is to have a new low-cost carrier terminal as the controversial KLIA-East@Labu bites the dust. Corinne Wan checks it out.

Corporate events are getting a bad rap in the current financial climate and whether justified or not, the industry has to be mindful of new thinking and change old habits. In other words, think ROO and ROI, says Yeoh Siew Hoon.

After 41 years with one hotel, legendary hoteliers Kurt Wachtveitl is retiring. Yeoh Siew Hoon recalls his words in 2006 and a world where retirement is being reinvented.

The first ibis has opened in Singapore and a second has been signed. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports on a brand whose time may finally have come.

Bad times? You wouldn't think so, walking around AIME. Yeoh Siew Hoon dwells on the power of people to lift people.

The GFC is spurring Singapore to come up with gems of initiatives to prep up the economy. YES! Yeoh Siew Hoon studies the phenomenon.

Who you going to call? Net Trans. Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with the Norwegian company that does nothing but recover commissions for travel agencies and is setting up shop in Asia.

AirAsia’s proposed low-cost carrier terminal in Labu is as good as off as Malaysia's government has reversed its earlier approval for the project.

AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes’ wants to have his own low-cost carrier terminal but his proposal is facing protests. Will he get his way? Corinne Wan reports on the storm in an airport in Malaysia.

The opening of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore skies to all airlines is a boon to travellers as they now have a viable alternative to coaches/trains. Corinne Wan is one happy traveller.

Yeoh Siew Hoon kicked off the year by speaking on accessible tourism at a seminar on assistive and rehabilitation engineering. Here are excerpts of her talk.

After seven years Lim Neo Chian will step down as Chief Executive of the Singapore Tourism Board. Although he will remain chairman, the former military man turned tourism chief is looking forward to quieter days.

David Brett, President of Amadeus Asia Pacific, is rarely in the limelight, preferring to steer the company from behind the scenes. Here, he shares some personal lessons from his career with the global distribution company.

It's all about what gets the most attention these days and, for better or for worse, tourism commands a lot of attention.

Tourism is under siege by mobsters and terrorists. Yeoh Siew Hoon comments on the week that was in Thailand and India.

Jumeirah Group’s marketing chief would like to see more of a balance between gut and science in the hospitality industry. Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with the youthful marketer who sees changes ahead in the way hotels are sold, marketed and distributed.

Two dark years lie ahead for airlines and out of that will emerge a different industry, says CAPA's Peter Harbison. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

In the second part of the excerpt from his speech at IT&CMA Hans Lerch, former Kuoni Travel boss, talks about how to get the best of your people and how they will be your best line of defence against the tough times ahead.

Hans Lerch, Kuoni Travel's former CEO, talks about about the financial mess the world is in and its impact on travel in a speech he made at IT&CMA in Bangkok. Part 2 in next issue of The Cafe.

In a week of financial turmoil, Luke Clark struggles for clarity and finds a few truths.

Thinking he is heading out of the news loop, Luke Clark instead has an unusual view of a world economy teetering on the brink.

Michel Geday, a hospitality consultant, shares a story of how an encounter opened his eyes to what needs to be done for the disabled in the hotel business.

Transit Cafe asks hospitality consultant Michel Geday for his take on what's in store for the hotel sector in Asia, following the financial meltdown.

Public relations has to get real too in today's age of fragmented media and new media consumption habits. Yeoh Siew Hoon shares the six reality rules of PR legend Al Golin.

Want success? You have to bust your butt to make it happen, says film maker Spike Lee.

So the Games is over. If there life after? Yeoh Siew Hoon muses over the aftermath of an event that had everyone watching and talking.

Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with Jetstar Asia's boss Chong Phit Lian to find out how she's coping at a time of extreme turbulence in the airline industry.

The founder of Wikipedia, Jimmy Wales, believes big companies should be supporting their “fans”, not censoring them.

Visa International, the worldwide partner for the Beijing 2008 Olympics, has been busy in the run-up to the Games.

Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with Robert Bailey, the new president & CEO of Abacus, to learn more about the man, his style and his thoughts.

What a difference a year makes, says JLL Hotels Asia's boss. From sunshine just 12 months ago, dark clouds have appeared over the hotel horizon.

Yeoh Siew Hoon discovers the Singapore Grand Prix is anything but the pits.

The Café has 10 good reasons to defy the doomsters. So don't just sit there, do something.

Last week the Transit Café brought you Forbes magazine’s list of the 25 most influential women in travel, which was heavily US-driven. Settle back and read the Café’s list of Asia's most influential women in travel.

WIT-Web In Travel 2008 is organising “The Start-Up Pitch” which will give entrepreneurs a chance to have their business ideas evaluated by investors.

The low cost airlines claim they are not being affected by the oil crisis. Do they have their heads, like their aircraft, in the clouds? Ian Jarrett looks beyond the rhetoric

Two industry leaders combine forces for WIT 2008.

In this second part of an interview with Yeoh Siew Hoon, Gordon Locke, Vice President, Airline Strategy, Sabre Airline Solutions/Sabre Travel Network, predicts a future where there will be only three types of airlines. In the meantime, we have to learn to live with the hybrid model.

Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with Gordon Locke, Vice President, Airline Strategy, Sabre Airline Solutions/Sabre Travel Network

The Transit Café sits down with Martin Symes, CEO of Bezurk, now Wego, to find out the reasons behind the name change and what’s ahead for the travel search engine.

A Sabre study shows that hybrid airlines are edging out traditional Low Cost Carriers, which are themselves transforming.

For world affairs, Barack Obama and China's leaders may share very similar destinies. And, as Luke Clark argues, as they both face fire, their essential arguments are in fact very similar. It's just a shame we're hearing it articulated better from one party than the other.

According to a new report, the long-suffering travel agent is far from expired - if US$110 billion in sales and a healthy 41% of the US market share of to be believed. An indepth new report sheds new light on an evolving industry.