Not a clash of titans
Nobu Hospitality believes its upside-down model from restaurants to hotels is hotter than hell’s kitchen. After expanding in the US, Europe and the Middle East, it is now whipping up interest in Asia. CEO Trevor Horwell talks to Raini Hamdi
Fresh optimism
New Zealand’s 2025 tourism ambition is still in its infancy but Tourism New Zealand’s (TNZ) chief, Kevin Bowler, is reporting good progress. He tells Karen Yue what has been achieved so far
Sense of a woman
The poster girl for Asian female success in a male- and western-dominated industry, Rainy Chan, regional VP and GM of The Peninsula, Hong Kong, tells Raini Hamdi why intuition, passion, patience and loyalty are still the backbone of success
Tourism’s samurai
He became president of Japan National Tourism Organization just after the Tohoku earthquake in 2011 and led Japan to become a top hit among Asians today. Ryoichi Matsuyama is far from finished, Raini Hamdi discovers
More ammo post-IPO
Gordon Wilson, CEO, Travelport, is bent on providing travel agency customers worldwide with the broadest possible travel content - and he's got more ammunition after the IPO last September. He talks to Raini Hamdi
Better partners now
Believe it or not, airlines still love travel agencies. That, in a nutshell, is what Conrad Clifford, who replaced retired Maunu von Lueders as...
Kuoni’s sale logic
Kuoni Travel Holding CEO, Peter Meier, tells Raini Hamdi that ‘focus’ is the key to triumph in a fast-changing environment, which is why the group is lopping off its tour operating division and concentrating on two other core divisions
Strictly beachfront
Outrigger aims to be 'the premier beachfront resort brand in the world'. Bitsy Kelley, a member of the Kelley family which owns the group, and its vice president-corporate communications, tells how the family thinks and operates.
Out of the wraps
Veteran hotelier Edmond Ip arguably created the wave of contemporary China brands and is back to take his Zitan out of the wraps. Raini Hamdi talks to the vice chairman of Artyzen Hospitality Group.
Newsmaker: Ho Kwon Ping bites the bullet and restructures
FACED with challenges like a prolonged economic downturn and consolidation in the hotel sector, Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts (BTHR) is biting the bullet...