At this year’s WIT Singapore 2018 Conference, taking place at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre from October 15 to 17, attendees will be encouraged to imbibe the values of curiosity, courage, experimentation, acceptance and character.
Themed Through the Looking Glass, WIT Singapore 2018 will look beyond the travel industry to explore and discover other verticals including tech, media, retail and banking.
“Lines are blurring and traditionally separate industries are melding together in new and unforeseen ways. The travel industry can no longer afford to work within the neat lines of its fortified silos. As the world continues to become more connected and daily life becomes increasingly inseparable from technology, we must look beyond ourselves,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder and managing director of Web In Travel (WIT).
Issues WIT hopes to tackle include new technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and voice, the evolution of personalisation, new forms of disruption coming from all fronts from messaging to marketplaces and ride-sharing, payments, the evolution of content and storytelling, trends in digital marketing, and the increasingly sensitive issue of privacy in the world of big data.
WIT Singapore 2018 will be seeking answers to how travel businesses should brace themselves for the future and, more importantly, come out ahead of the pack.
The conference will be complemented by its other flagship event, the WIT Bootcamp (October 15), featuring the semi-finals of WIT’s famed Startup Pitch – an annual competition that celebrates young businesses (aged 0-5) for their unique approaches to solving travel issues and pain points familiar to the industry.
WIT Singapore 2018 will also see the second annual WIT Hall of Fame, an event that recognises and celebrates the industry’s pioneers that have had the most significant impact and influence on the advancement of digital travel in their respective sectors.
Last year’s inductees include Ctrip’s Jane Jie Sun, Agoda’s Robert Rosenstein, Tujia’s Melissa Yang, AccorHotels Asia-Pacific’s Michael Issenberg, Queen’s Road Capital’s Fritz Demopoulos, MakeMyTrip’s Deep Kalra, AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes and Peach Aviation’s Shinichi Inoue.
Over 500 delegates are expected to attend the conference this year. The programme features more than 100 speakers and is supported by over 30 sponsors and partners.
