Expert Opinions

Despite the pandemic, NDC implementation progress among airlines and travel agencies in the Asia-Pacific region has not been derailed. Ramona Bohwongprasert, senior vice president - India, Southeast Asia & inside sales, travel sellers, Amadeus, shares why investments made in NDC will play a key role in tourism recovery by not only opening new digital retail opportunities, but also helping to deliver tailored offerings to travellers

As the travel industry makes its long and slow trek to recovery, airlines have to find operational efficiencies to ease their financial burden. Sébastien Fabre, CEO, SITA for Aircraft, believes that the answer lies in technology adoption and sustainable actions

When tourism recovers in Asia, the integrated resort sector will become a hotbed for foreign investors and owner operators looking to capitalise on the market, says Matthew Pryor, managing director at Tenman Project Management, part of MaceTpm, a leading project and programme manager for hospitality, integrated resorts and gaming projects in Asia

Automation, efficiency, and simplicity will define a decade of air travel, and the air transport industry must act now to avoid a congestion crisis, warns Sumesh Patel, president APAC, SITA.

A holistic, sustainable change requires the combined motivation to extend the business runway and protect our world, opines Linh Le, founder of Luxperia and Luxperia Collective

With vaccine rollouts fuelling the restart of travel, and more destinations around the world reopening to vaccinated travellers, the hospitality industry will need to adapt to a changing travel landscape in order to ride the recovery wave, says Joon Aun Ooi, president, Asia Pacific – Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.

In the midst of the pandemic, some destinations have swiftly seized new business opportunities to keep the tourism dollars flowing, shared Jameson Wong, director of APAC for tourism & hospitality at ForwardKeys.

As the pandemic accelerates the adoption of alternative payment methods, ensuring a payment system that is not only seamless and secure, but tailored to local preferences is crucial to drive aviation's recovery, says Roc Harry, head of global enterprise eCommerce, APAC, Worldpay from FIS.

Tim Hentschel, CEO and co-founder of HotelPlanner, sets out key actions tourism and hospitality stakeholders can undertake for a united front against Covid-19.

Beyond robust vaccination drives, travel health credentials and verified information channels play a crucial role to revive cross-border travel, says Vinay Malhotra, regional group COO – South Asia, Middle East & North Africa and Americas for VFS Global.