Tourism stories

SiteMinder extends hotel distribution into AI chat tools, aiming to keep 53,000 hotels bookable as travellers increasingly start searches there.

Mastercard and Apple expand contactless transit in South Korea for overseas visitors, letting iPhone and Apple Watch users top up fares in Apple Wallet.

Minor Hotels teams up with Google, Salesforce, OneTrust and Deloitte on an AI-led data platform to sharpen guest service across 640 properties.

Agoda opens Bangkok technology hub to unite nearly 4,000 staff in a seven-floor office at One Bangkok, boosting regional operations and collaboration.

Cloudbeds report shows independent hotels face softer rates, rising OTA reliance and stark regional splits, with Asia Pacific hit hardest.

Malaysian kiosk specialist Vendfun names PT Murni exclusive Indonesia distributor in its biggest push yet into the archipelago's hotel sector.

Wise wins full Thai licences to launch cross-border wallets and cards, challenging banks in a USD $9.46 billion remittance market.

Ubigi teams with Tripsora to fold travel eSIM data into AI trip planning, promising savings of up to 75% and fewer roaming bill shocks.

TerraPay and Sabre have struck a multi-year deal to power instant cross-border bank payouts for travel agencies, airlines and hotels.

Tinaba expands Alipay+ tie-up to let Italian travellers pay in euros via its app at over 80 million QR code merchants in mainland China.

Digital payments will be non-negotiable for Malaysian businesses by 2026, Paydibs says, as liquidity, speed and visibility demands intensify.

Vodafone teams with Netcompany on a global travel eSIM, promising instant, data-only connectivity in 200-plus destinations worldwide.

Indosat's mobile data traffic jumped about 15% over Indonesia's year-end holidays as digital use surges beyond major cities and tourist hubs.

Curtin University and Cisco extend Innovation Central partnership to Singapore, boosting regional collaboration in AI, cybersecurity and digital health innovation.

Hotel bookings across Australia for Easter 2025 have surged by 19.6% compared to last year, signalling a trend towards earlier travel plans.

Smartvisit is set to launch its innovative app designed to transform tourism engagement, enhancing visitor experiences and boosting revenues for operators.

PayNet and Ant International have significantly boosted Malaysian SMEs' growth in 2024, with Alipay+ driving over 80% of cross-border QR payments via DuitNow.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and AIonOS have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding to enhance Indonesia's AI ecosystem, promoting economic growth across key sectors.

Babeltext's multilingual chat platform revolutionises business communication, translating messages across 135 languages into English for seamless customer engagement.

A Cloudflare study reveals 41% of cybersecurity leaders in Asia Pacific faced data breaches last year, amid growing fears over AI's role in such incidents.