The crocodile effect
What was the original spark behind launching Cairns Crocodiles, and did you imagine it would become what it is today?
It certainly wasn’t the plan. We launched during Covid because Australians couldn’t travel to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France. We thought there was a nice play on words with ‘Cannes in Cairns’. More importantly, there was an industry desperate to reconnect after lockdowns.
Initially, we thought it might be something we’d do once. But the industry got behind it immediately and said, ‘No, this has to continue’.
Since then, it’s evolved into Cairns Crocodiles, with its own identity. We’ve added the Crocodile Awards, the only awards in the region judged by clients, recognising the best creative work across Asia-Pacific, and the event has grown every year. Today, it’s become a genuine must-attend festival for advertising, media and marketing professionals across the region.
Attendance has grown again this year. What’s driving that momentum?
This year we welcomed just over 2,500 delegates, up from around 2,200 last year. About 14 per cent came from overseas, primarily India, Japan, Singapore and Thailand, with the US also well represented.
We’re really pleased with that growth because there were plenty of economic headwinds. The technology sector, which is a major part of our audience, has been going through significant change, and there was also uncertainty around international travel.
I think Cairns Crocodiles has simply reached the point where people know they need to be there. One of our partners told us they achieve three months’ worth of sales meetings in three days because everyone they needed to see was in Cairns. Once an event reaches that critical mass, it begins driving itself.
Cairns Crocodiles is often described as more of a festival than a conference. What makes that approach so successful?
The whole atmosphere is more relaxed.
Nobody wears suits. People are networking, hearing world-class speakers, then heading off to amazing lunches, dinners and parties before coming back for more content.
That changes how people connect. They’re no longer just having business conversations. They’re connecting as people. When that happens, they’re more open to ideas, they’re willing to challenge their own thinking and they have much deeper conversations.
I think the creativity becomes more authentic because people aren’t sitting inside boardroom mindsets anymore.
Why has Cairns proved to be such an effective destination for the festival?
Geographically, it has a unique advantage.
For delegates coming from Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong or Mumbai, the flights are manageable. The weather in May is fantastic. It’s also a tourism destination, so it has the accommodation capacity, great restaurants and a convention centre that’s exactly the right size.
Just as importantly, Cairns has changed enormously over the past decade. The accommodation product has improved, the dining scene has matured and there are now some incredible venues that allow us to create experiences you simply couldn’t stage elsewhere.
Also, the council and Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) are constantly helping us unlock venues and experiences that wouldn’t happen in most cities.
The welcome party became one of this year’s highlights. Why are experiences like that so important?
We always try to surprise people.
This year we transformed a sugar cane farm into a festival site with live-fire cooking by local restaurant Nu Nu, large-scale art installations, a bush band, DJs performing inside farm sheds and a drone show over the cane fields.
Last year we held a massive dance party inside a former Bunnings warehouse. Before that we staged a fairground-themed event in an old timber mill that had never been used as a venue. Another year we used Tanks, a former World War II oil tank complex in the Botanic Gardens.
Those kinds of venues aren’t easy to work with. For this year’s welcome party on the sugar cane farm, rain continued almost until bump-in, high winds damaged installations, and every generator, light, piece of staging and catering infrastructure had to be brought onto site.
Pulling it all together is complex, but that’s what excites us. We all love the problem and love the solution even more. Delegates remember those experiences because they’re unlike anything they’d expect from a business event.
The festival also now has its own mascot, Greg the giant gold crocodile. How did that happen?
It started as a throwaway idea. I said I wanted a giant crocodile and one of our partners rang me and said: “I think I’ve found you one.”
Greg is 10 metres long and every year he has to be transported on a logging truck before taking pride of place outside the convention centre. Then, once the festival is over, he gets wrapped in plastic and goes into hibernation for another 11 months.
Every year I repaint him because delegates climb all over him for photos and inevitably break a leg or two. This year I had to bandage one of his legs and left a marker pen beside him. A few hours later the bandage was covered in signatures from delegates.
He’s become part of the festival. Everyone wants a photo with Greg. It’s silly, it’s memorable and that’s exactly the point.
How important is the destination itself in encouraging delegates to extend their stay?
It’s a huge part of our thinking.
We deliberately start on a Tuesday and finish on a Thursday because it gives people the opportunity to add a weekend before or after the festival.
Many delegates bring their families, enjoy a few days beforehand, attend the event and then stay on afterwards to experience the Great Barrier Reef, the rainforest and everything else Cairns offers.
We know it’s a significant journey for someone travelling from Tokyo, Singapore or Mumbai, so if they’re making that commitment, we want to create every reason to stay longer.
How are you working with TTNQ to grow the festival internationally?
We’re completely aligned.
We both want to increase international visitation and extend length of stay, and we work very closely together to make that happen.
The Crocodile Awards are becoming a major driver because agencies across Asia-Pacific are increasingly competing against each other for recognition. This year, we saw very strong participation from Asia, and many of the awards were won by agencies from the region.
We’re also expanding the festival itself. This year, we introduced a film and screen stream, which exceeded expectations, and we’ll continue adding complementary creative industries over time.
At the same time, we want to keep attracting world-class speakers who don’t normally appear in Australia. Bringing someone like Taika Waititi to Cairns was a total highlight in all the feedback we’ve had, and was an absolute coup to get, as he rarely speaks publicly. This creates experiences delegates simply can’t access anywhere else.
What advice would you give destinations hoping to create their own signature business event?
Find some crazy people.
You need creative people who are willing to push ideas beyond what’s comfortable, but they also have to be clever enough to know when an idea isn’t working.
Only hindsight tells you whether an idea was brilliant or terrible, so you have to give creativity enough space to develop instead of shutting it down too early.
At the same time, you need the humility to throw an idea away if it isn’t right. That requires leaving your ego at the door.
For us, that’s been the biggest lesson. Keep pushing for experiences people have never had before because those are the ones they’ll remember.
Japan sees apartment hotel boom as travellers stay longer
Japan’s apartment hotel sector is expanding as developers respond to growing demand from large families, groups and long-stay visitors seeking shared social spaces, kitchens and laundry facilities.
Demand for these social and co-living accommodation options has increased since Japan reopened to international tourists in 2022. Interest is particularly strong among multi-generational families from South Korea, Taiwan and China, as well as travellers from longhaul markets including Australia, Europe and the US, who typically stay for 10 to 17 days.
“Travellers now demand a wider variety of accommodation options and value flexibility more than ever,” said Christian Baudat, country general manager, Ascott Japan.
Driven by inbound demand, Japan’s aparthotel, serviced apartment and co-living market is forecast to record a compound annual growth rate of 14.4 per cent from 2025, reaching projected revenue of US$7 billion by 2030, according to Grand View Research.
Mimaru, which operates 27 apartment hotels in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, plans to open two properties in Osaka this year. Shinsaibashi Central will offer 66 rooms for four to six guests, including bunk beds and layouts designed for families and friends to socialise in shared living spaces. Namba Station Annex will feature 68 rooms designed for larger groups and longer stays.
Mao Mochizuki of Mimaru’s operating company, Cosmos Hotel Management Co., said the expansion reflects growing demand for accommodation that allows guests to stay together while maintaining privacy.
“In addition to multi-generational family trips, we are seeing more workcation stays that combine remote work with leisure travel, as well as group trips where families travel together with close friends,” she told TTG Asia.
The sector is also attracting new entrants.
Waypoint, an apartment hotel brand launched by Mitsubishi Estate Co. and Mitsubishi Estate Hotels & Resorts Co., entered the market in April. Its first property, converted from an existing building in Tokyo’s Tsukiji district, has 52 rooms accommodating up to six guests each. The companies plan to open 10 Waypoint hotels by 2030.
Private equity firm Keystone Partners has also invested in an apartment hotel fund to develop a 31-key property under the Sumu brand in Tokyo’s Akihabara district. Designed for multi-person stays, the hotel is scheduled for completion in 2028.
Radisson Hotel Group grows South-east Asia, Pacific pipeline
Radisson Hotel Group is expanding its presence across South-east Asia and the Pacific with new hotels and signings in Vietnam, the Philippines, Australasia, Thailand and Indonesia, taking its regional portfolio to 89 hotels with more than 17,000 rooms in operation and under development.
The group said it is pursuing a market-specific development strategy, matching brands and operating models to different destinations and owner requirements across business, leisure, meetings and extended-stay segments.
Vietnam remains a key growth market, where Radisson Hotel Group has 14 hotels and more than 3,100 rooms in operation and under development. Recent additions include the 352-key Radisson Blu Hotel, Ha Long Bay, while the 182-key Radisson Hotel Westlake Hanoi is scheduled to open in 2028. The developments add to the group’s presence in Cam Ranh, Danang, Phu Quoc and Hoi An.
In the Philippines, the group has eight hotels with 1,559 rooms in operation and 17 hotels with 3,762 rooms under development. It plans to introduce seven of its 10 brands in the country by 2030.
Recent openings include Lime Resort Bohol, a member of Radisson Individuals Premier, the first Radisson Individuals Premier property in Asia-Pacific, and Radisson Red Cebu Mandaue. The pipeline also includes projects in Metro Manila, Cebu, Boracay, Bohol and Cagayan de Oro, spanning lifestyle, luxury, urban and branded residential developments.
Across Australasia, the group is expanding through new openings, signings and repositioning projects in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa. Recent milestones include the opening of Radisson Red Auckland, while Radisson Red Queenstown is scheduled to open in late 2028. In Fiji, Radisson Blu Mirage Resort, Fiji Naisoso Island and Mana Island Resort & Spa Fiji, a member of Radisson Individuals, are expected to open in 2027, while the group will also enter Samoa with Return to Paradise Resort, a member of Radisson Individuals.
In Australia, The Merchant Hotel, a member of Radisson Individuals, will mark the brand’s Brisbane debut, while Canterbury International Hotel Melbourne, a member of Radisson Individuals, will strengthen its presence in Melbourne.
In Thailand, Radisson Blu Resort Phuket Mai Khao and Radisson Resort Layan Phuket have opened, while the 118-key Radisson Serviced Apartments Rawai Phuket is scheduled to open in 2029. In Indonesia, the group has signed the 116-unit Anta Hotel Bali Canggu, a member of Radisson Individuals, which is expected to open in 2027.
Ramzy Fenionos, chief development officer, Asia-Pacific, Radisson Hotel Group, said: “South-east Asia and the wider Pacific region offer significant long-term growth potential, but success depends on being highly selective and relevant in each market.
“Our recent openings and signings demonstrate how we are working with both established and new partners to create distinctive hotels and resorts that are right for their destinations and positioned for long-term performance.”
Are aggregators hijacking the neighbourhood storyteller?
I have a deep and unapologetic love for the concept of the free walking tour. When it is done right, it is the purest transaction in the tourism industry.
A passionate storyteller stands at a pre-designated meeting point, invites a group of strangers to walk with them as they share their love letter to their home. At the end, the guest pays what they feel the story was worth.
When Indie Singapore started, this was our entire business model. Today, even as an established agency running premium culinary and corporate experiences, we still conduct free walking tours at a loss to the company. Our guides get to keep 100 per cent of their tip, while we pay for the administration and marketing.
We keep doing it because we believe in the philosophy. It is, truly, the most romantic and idealistic part of the company.
To this end, we need to talk about tour aggregators – the business model popularised by tech disruptors – and why they represent a crisis for independent guides and the industry at large.
The illusion of disruption
Operators have argued that free walking tours disrupted traditional paid tour agencies a decade ago, and now tech platforms are disrupting the walking tours.
These critics see this as a natural evolution of business. They point to companies like Sandemans New Europe, which popularised the tip-based model in the 2000s by charging independent guides a per-head marketing fee to join its network.
However, this is not a fair comparison. Sandemans New Europe built a brand, it trained guides, and created standard operating procedures. In many cities, Sandemans New Europe led the day-to-day operations of tours itself.
Tour aggregators today do none of that. They take zero risk. They do not train the guides. They do not create the narratives.
Instead, they use the money they extract from guides to bid on Google Search terms, and in doing so, artificially place themselves between the traveller and the local operator.
To put it crudely, this is not disruption, but SEO blackmail because passionate storytellers have to pay to not be buried.
The casino economics of guiding
For a local storyteller who wanted to show off his city, tour aggregators seem like a great starting point. The platform provides the eyeballs, after all.
However, over time, the financial structure reveals that the house always wins.
In the tour aggregator model, the platform’s revenue is guaranteed while the guides revenue is entirely variable. Tour aggregators charge the guide a fixed fee for every guest who books.
Should 20 people show up for the walking tour, the guide would owe the platform a fixed commission for every head.
Should it rain, or should guests choose to leave only a token two-dollar tip at the end of the tour, the guide would have to pay out of pocket for the privilege of working.
Defenders of these platforms are quick to point out that guides can dispute “no-shows” to claw back those fees. But this argument misses the point – this is an asymmetrical risk in which the platform receives its fixed cut while the guide absorbs 100 per cent of the shock.
What about accountability?
To placate operators, tour aggregators recently introduced guest ratings, allowing guides to flag serial no-shows or chronic bad actors. But guides will tell you that this process is largely performative. We routinely see guests with documented histories of ghosting tours allowed to remain on the platform free to book again.
Every user represents another guaranteed booking fee. The aggregator has no incentive to ban a bad guest.
The erasure of identity and intellectual property
Perhaps the most damaging long-term effect is the systematic erasure of the personal brand, and what makes each of the storyteller unique.
Today, if you were to go to a busy meeting point in any major city, you will see a chaotic scene of multiple guides holding similar umbrellas. When guests approach, they rarely ask the guide: “Are you from Indie Singapore?”.
Instead, they ask: “Are you from Guruwalk?”
The guide is no longer a storyteller with a brand. He is now white-labelled, just a commodity on a digital shelf.
This tightening grip is alarming. We are seeing platforms restrict “hobby” accounts – slashing the number of tours an independent guide can list from three down to one, and then monthly sign-ups are capped.
The worst development in my point of view is that platforms are now demanding guides to upload their proprietary, step-by-step itineraries just to remain listed. By doing so, platforms are absorbing the intellectual property of local passionate storytellers, who could have spent months perfecting a route. This information could then be used to train the platform’s own ecosystem.
How to build without the tollbooth
If you are a local who wants to start a walking tour company today, how do you survive without handing your margins and identity to an aggregator?
You need to own your digital real estate. Build a website – it does not have to be expensive. Start capturing the email addresses of every guest who walks with you.
Partner locally, not globally, and cross-pollinate with human beings in your neighbourhood. Do this by walking into the coffee shops, boutique hotels, and local bakeries on your route. Tell them you will bring them foot traffic if they let you leave a flyer at their counter.
Command your reviews. At the end of every tour, ask your guests to review you on Google or TripAdvisor under your company name, not on the tour aggregator platform. Those reviews are your armour against SEO hijacking.
The free walking tour is too beautiful a concept to be reduced to a labelled algorithm.
Tell your stories; own your own brand.
Winnow acquires Lumitics to strengthen AI food waste solutions in Asia-Pacific
Winnow is expanding its presence in Asia-Pacific following its purchase of Singapore-based Lumitics, an AI food waste technology company with deployments across more than 20 countries in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
The acquisition brings together two companies providing AI-powered food waste measurement technology for the hospitality sector. Winnow combines its global AI platform and international customer base with Lumitics’ regional presence, product development and hospitality partnerships across Asia-Pacific, strengthening its support for hotel and foodservice operators in one of its key growth regions.
Founded in 2013, Winnow provides AI tools that help commercial kitchens measure and reduce food waste. Its platform is used by hospitality and foodservice operators including Ikea, Hilton and Accor, with operations spanning almost 100 countries. The company has offices in London, Chicago, Dubai, Singapore and Cluj-Napoca.
Founded in Singapore in 2017, Lumitics developed AI, computer vision and data analytics technology for commercial kitchen food waste management. Its customer base includes hospitality groups such as Accor, Hyatt, Marriott and Four Seasons.
Following the acquisition, Lumitics customers will gain access to Winnow VisionAI, including plate waste tracking and the company’s Throw & Go technology, which uses AI to automatically identify and weigh food waste as it is discarded without manual scanning or input. Existing services will continue during a phased transition to Winnow’s platform and hardware over the coming months, with customers retaining access to their existing data.
The acquisition also expands Winnow’s support network across Asia-Pacific through larger local teams, additional regional expertise and wider customer collaboration on food waste reduction.
Marc Zornes, co-founder and CEO of Winnow, said: “Asia-Pacific is one of the most critical frontiers in the fight against food waste, and Lumitics has built a strong regional platform through its customer relationships, technical know-how and deployment experience.”
Rayner Loi, co-founder and CEO of Lumitics, said: “Through our deployments across the region, Lumitics has built deep technical and operational insight into how food waste shows up across different cuisines, kitchen formats and hospitality environments. Combining that regional intelligence with Winnow’s global AI platform will help strengthen the platform for Asia-Pacific use cases, while giving our customers access to an even more advanced food waste reduction solution.”
Palace Hotel Tokyo pairs luxury stay with Japan fashion tours
Palace Hotel Tokyo has launched Couture Tokyo: The Art of Japanese Fashion, a new package that combines a luxury stay with curated fashion experiences showcasing Japanese design, craftsmanship and textile traditions.
Part of the hotel’s Best of Japan series, the package offers guests an introduction to Japanese fashion through privately guided tours curated by fashion and luxury culture scholar Kaori Nakano. Guests can choose from three fashion districts – Ginza, Daikanyama, or Omotesando and Ura-Harajuku – each highlighting the history, craftsmanship and design philosophies behind some of Japan’s best-known fashion brands.
Depending on the itinerary, guests will visit brands including Wako, Jun Ashida, Mizen Tokyo Atelier + Showroom, Kimono Yamato, Kimono Arch, Y. & Sons, CFCL and Porter. Guests can also choose to be accompanied by a guide trained on Nakano’s tours or book a personalised tour hosted by Nakano herself at an additional cost.
The package includes two nights’ accommodation, daily breakfast, a kaiseki dinner at Wadakura inspired by the late fashion designer Kenzo Takada, a Palace Hotel Tokyo tote bag by Japanese textile brand suzusan, private car transfers for the guided tour, and a gift from one of the featured brands.
Guests may also upgrade to a customised six-hour fashion tour tailored to their interests. At Wadakura, the included kaiseki dinner features a shabu-shabu course inspired by one of Takada’s favourite meals during his stays at the hotel.
The package is available for stays from July 22, 2026, with rates starting from 372,000 yen (US$2,291) based on double occupancy.
Reservations must be made at least 14 days in advance.
For more information, visit Palace Hotel Tokyo.
Singapore Tourism Board, Traveloka to boost visitor arrivals from five markets
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Traveloka have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote Singapore as a preferred destination for travellers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Australia.
The partnership supports the next phase of tourism growth through joint marketing efforts across the five markets, with campaigns designed to encourage more leisure travel to Singapore.
Malaysia remains one of Singapore’s largest visitor markets, with around 1.3 million Malaysians travelling to Singapore in 2025. On Traveloka, Singapore is also among the most-booked destinations for Malaysian travellers, with booking volume almost doubling year on year.
Building on this demand, STB and Traveloka will work together to develop campaigns and travel experiences aimed at Malaysian travellers, reinforcing Singapore’s position as a preferred shorthaul destination.
The collaboration forms part of broader efforts to strengthen Singapore’s appeal across key regional markets and encourage repeat visits through targeted promotions and destination marketing.
Trip.com, Seat Unique bring VIP experiences to travellers
Trip.com Group has partnered with premium hospitality platform Seat Unique Group to add official hospitality and VIP packages for sporting, music and entertainment events to its travel platform.
The partnership will introduce a new live events category across Trip.com Group’s platforms, giving travellers access to more than 500,000 official hospitality and VIP packages covering Formula 1, Premier League football, major concert tours and other events. For Seat Unique, the deal marks its first major expansion into Asia-Pacific.
The move reflects growing demand for experience-led travel. According to Trip.com Group research, two-thirds of Asia-Pacific travellers have planned a holiday around a concert at least once, while 66 per cent said they would travel internationally to see their favourite artists perform. Football, basketball and Formula 1 also rank among the most popular live sporting events for travellers.
Through the partnership, travellers will be able to book official hospitality packages sourced directly from Seat Unique’s network of more than 140 rights holders, including sports clubs, venues and event organisers.
Seat Unique works with organisations including Arsenal FC, Everton FC, Real Madrid, AC Milan, Co-op Live and several Formula 1 Grands Prix. Official hospitality and VIP packages are expected to become available on Trip.com in the coming months.
Robin Sherry, CEO, Seat Unique Group, said: “By partnering with Trip.com Group, we’re giving millions of travellers access to official premium experiences at some of the world’s biggest sport, music and entertainment events through a platform they already know and trust.”
Bo Sun, chief marketing officer, Trip.com Group, added: “Experience-led travel is reshaping how people plan their journeys, and travellers are increasingly building trips around the moments that matter most to them. Live events are a powerful expression of that shift, and through this partnership we’re bringing fans closer to some of the world’s most exciting sports, music, and entertainment experiences.”
Langham hotels turn food waste into menu additions
Langham Hospitality Group (LHG) is expanding food waste reduction initiatives across its hotel portfolio, with properties introducing new food and beverage offerings that make use of surplus ingredients as part of the group’s sustainability programme.
The initiative encourages culinary and bar teams to develop menu items using excess ingredients that would otherwise go to waste, supporting more efficient kitchen operations while maintaining the quality of guest dining experiences.
At Cordis, Auckland, orange peels and pulp from freshly squeezed breakfast juice are repurposed into a marmalade compote served with yoghurt, diverting around 390kg of food waste from landfill each year.
The Langham, Jakarta has introduced house-made sausages using fresh cuts of meat, while The Langham, Boston serves a Coastal Catch Burger made from cod and salmon trimmings, helping utilise up to 220kg of fish each year.
At The Langham, Gold Coast, Wagyu beef trimmings are used for beef skewers, while rendered Wagyu fat is turned into cooking tallow. The hotel’s bar also creates cocktail infusions using near-overripe fruit and citrus peels.
Eaton HK has developed cocktails using citrus peel and recycled coffee grounds, giving food by-products a second use.
LHG CEO Bob van den Oord said: “Sustainability becomes most meaningful when it is embedded into the everyday decisions we make, including how we source, prepare and serve food. This programme reflects how our teams are translating broader sustainability commitments into practical action, finding thoughtful ways to respect the ingredients we work with while enhancing the guest experience.”
The initiative follows several sustainability milestones for the group. Earlier this year, The Langham, Huntington, Pasadena achieved EarthCheck Master Certification after 15 years of continuous certification. It joins Cordis, Auckland, Cordis, Hong Kong, Eaton HK, The Langham, Hong Kong and The Langham, London in attaining EarthCheck’s highest certification level.
LHG now has 18 EarthCheck-certified properties across its portfolio.
