Travel & Tech Trends to Watch Out for in 2015 [Part 2]

Last week we brought you Part 1 of our interview with Yeoh Siew Hoon, Founder of Web in Travel (WIT), the annual event series that brings together professionals in travel distribution, marketing and technology in the Asia Pacific region.

In Part 2 of our chat with Siew Hoon, the travel and tech entrepreneur shares her top trends in the travel and tech space for 2015.

What trends are you seeing in travel right now?

I see 4 in particular.

1. The Asia region is on the rise

2. Travellers across huge swathes of Asia are leapfrogging from offline to mobile

3. The effects of China outbound are now palpable and destinations are going to have to figure out how to handle the volume and new needs of this market

4. I would also watch the Middle East as a region of growth and influence

Are there any up-and-coming travel startups or companies we should look out for?

Yes, plenty!

1. Traveloka in Indonesia. The Indonesian online travel agent (OTA) market is still wide open for local dominance.

2. Travelmob, following acquisition by HomeAway – Asia’s first major player in accommodation sharing. It will be interesting to watch its growth with vacation rentals and the sharing economy.

3. Spacebase, a new start-up that won our WIT Start-Up of the Year 2014 award – it’s a P2P space for venue owners and those who hold meetings and events

4. I am also keenly watching the taxi hailing apps – GrabTaxi is a strong Southeast Asian localized play – it’s a huge market to be tapped.

5. Trippiece, a Japanese social travel site is changing how we travel. The networking site allows travelers to suggest travel ideas, meet and find travel buddies and then plan their next adventure together. It’s great for people who don’t want to travel solo. It won our Start-Up Pitch in 2012 and has since expanded outside of Japan.

6. Carousell, a Singapore start-up that many people didn’t give much attention to when they launched but they are making strides in how we buy and sell online. If you know how to snap a photo or send a text message using a smartphone, you essentially know how to buy and sell on Carousell.

Are there any new travel technologies that are helping to make travel better or easier?

Wearable technology – specifically watches. Asians love new gadgets. The iWatch could tip the game here.

Where do you see travel marketing or travel distribution going in the next 5 years?

It could be the case of “all roads lead to Rome” such as all channels will lead to that one screen in your hand and suppliers are going to have to fight for that small piece of real estate.

What challenges do you see in the travel industry and how would you like to see it resolved?

Biggest challenge is talent and upgrading of travel and tourism careers. To accommodate the growth in travel, we need more people. But not just more people – people who can do higher skilled jobs at higher paid salaries. Asia must no longer be seen as a source of cheap labour. We’ve got great talent here. Big brands should invest in emerging markets and not just keep tapping from the seriously dwindling pools of talent in the more developed countries. I would love to see someone build a Digital Travel Academy for Asia.

About Web in Travel

Web in Travel is a Singapore-based multi-media platform content provider best known for its event series related to online travel distribution in the Asia Pacific region. Their signature conference is held in Singapore every October in partnership with ITB Asia and is part of the TravelRave week of events, organized by the Singapore Tourism Board.

WIT also holds conferences in the Middle East, Japan and Indonesia.