Digital Travel Summit APAC 2024
August 14 - 15, 2024
Equarius Hotel, Sentosa, Singapore
Digital Travel Summit APAC Main Conference | Day 2 Wednesday, 3rd April 2019
8:00 am - 8:50 am
Conference Registration & Networking Breakfast
8:50 am - 8:55 am
Welcome Remarks
Gladys Caligagan, Conference Director, Digital Travel APAC 2018
8:55 am - 9:10 am
Chairperson’s Opening Remarks
Timothee Semelin -
Global Head of Digital Marketing & Transformation,
Rosewood Hotel Group
The APAC Travel Titans – Part 2!
9:10 am - 9:20 am
Opening Keynote: Asia is eating the world – How can you capitalise on the unprecedented growth of the online travel industry powered by the most engaged mobile internet users in the world
Filip Filipov -
VP of Product Management,
Skyscanner
Filip leads a range of teams focusing on the supplier side of the marketplace. With an extremely strong understanding of the travel arena and an avid traveller himself, Filip has contributed to their Future of Travel whitepaper and has been instrumental in in Skyscanner’s move into the word of Bots with Facebook, Skype and Amazon. Join this opening keynote presentation where Filip will demonstrate how, in many areas and aspects, the products of software-driven companies in Asia – especially, though not exclusively in China – are simply being adopted more quickly and growing faster than those of companies in the West and what this means for the digital travel industry. Filip will share trends on:
· Population and internet penetration in APAC paving the way for opportunities to grow internet accessibility
· The size of APAC is bigger than EU and US: The tremendous opportunities in terms of product and innovation
· Fantastic growth of mobile usage in APAC: Trends in social networks and chat platforms
9:20 am - 9:40 am
Keynote Address: Opportunities in Indonesia and South-east Asia – How Traveloka became South-east Asia’s travel unicorn
Dannis Muhammad -
Chief Marketing Officer,
Traveloka
The SEA digital and e-commerce landscape has been attractive to many players across different industries, and Traveloka has expanded across these markets with different products. It has been an exciting journey, and they have worked around different hypothesis to tailor and customise their products in new markets. Every customer is unique and they have observed different behaviors once they have launched their products. He is building and executing the marketing strategy to acquire new customers and to accelerate the adoption of new Traveloka products using digital channels and partnerships. In this keynote session, Rotsen will shed light on:
· How to manage existing and new partners to expand your services in Asia and more
· How to increase awareness among target audiences by 8%, ad recall by 5%, and more than doubled its daily traffic to the website
· What products and services you can add for a more accessible and hassle-free travel
9:40 am - 10:20 am
Airline Keynote Power Panel: With the travel experience shifting at a dizzying pace how will you reinvent yourself to be more relevant? And can you uncover additional value using data hidden within your company to your advantage?
Jonathan Hardy -
VP of Asia,
ADARA
Kim Chua -
Assistant Professor,
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Asia
Shane Hodges -
VP of Sales, APAC,
American Airlines
Ruusa Koskelainen -
Head of eCommerce Marketing & CRM,
Finnair
Marc Cavaliere -
Chief Commercial Officer,
Fiji Airways
Travelers today seem to have a wider variety of options to consider when jet-setting. In addition to the traditional or legacy airlines we’re all familiar with, there is also a growing number of low-cost – or budget – airlines taking to the skies. While they may share some similarities, traditional and low-cost airlines each offer distinct experiences. So, what do traditional airlines do differently to be more advantageous for travelers?
· How low-cost airlines changed the way you fly? Do you need to operate a low-cost flight as well to increase your number of sales?
· How do you approach personalisation? Do you focus on mobile and desktop design differentiation?
· How do you leverage AI to improve personalisation?
· Where are you at now with your chatbot? And, how do you use it to take your service to a higher altitude?
10:20 am - 10:50 am
Hotel Keynote Power Panel: How are hoteliers rebooting their thinking to keep up with changing customer preferences, increased competition, new technologies and alternative accommodation to own the experiences they deliver to their guests 24/7?
John Sinke -
Marketing Director,
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
Mindy Teo -
VP of Brand, Marketing & Digital Innovation,
The Ascott
Marcos Cadena -
VP of Digital Marketing, eCommerce & Distribution,
Minor Hotel Group
Tejveer Bedi -
Group Revenue Director,
Park Hotel Group
In an age of ever-expanding digital interconnectivity, hotel digital marketing professionals must adapt to changing customer demands. But the best in the business aren’t satisfied to just adapt. And they would rather lead than follow, by surprising and delighting clients with daring and imaginative initiatives. Best practices in hotel digital marketing are changing on the fly. And in this session, you should be up to speed on, along with fascinating examples of how the hotel chains are putting them into action.
· 360-view of customers – How do you create a comprehensive accurate value of true customer behaviour and preferences and how do you take advantage of that?
· Revenue management, marketing and operations are operating in silos for hotel industry: How do you create a synchroised process that uses the technology across 3 departments?
· OTAs and the rise of sharing economy: How do you keep your focus on a quality experience while maintaining your leadership in the online world?
10:50 am - 11:20 am
Morning Networking Break 1
Future CX - Engaging the Channel-Less Customer
11:20 am - 11:50 am
Keynote: Creating Adventures in Realtime: How to deliver near real-time, context-driven and personalised experiences
Mike Tansey -
Managing Director & Travel and Hospitality Lead, AAPAC, ME & Turkey,
Accenture
The case for personalization is well known and defined – increased revenue, margin and customer loyalty, in addition to crucially gaining control of more of your customer relationships. For any travel business the potential commercial benefits are very material and so why do travel companies find it so difficult?
In his keynote Mike Tansey will explore the barriers as well as the critical success factors to deliver near real-time, context driven personalized experiences at speed and scale
11:50 am - 12:30 pm
Case Study Revolution: Making channel-less personalisation powerful – How to segment your data to group and target your users according to specific attributes
Rashmi Chadha -
Founder,
wovoyage
· Uniting touch points – How to structure your data and activate audiences for better customer experience
· Predictive marketing – How to make recommendations that are highly accurate to drive sales and improve customer satisfaction
· How to precisely anticipate future trends to influence every arm of your marketing
12:30 pm - 12:50 pm
Keynote Case Study: Chatbots, AI and the Customer Journey – How to deliver real value for your business
Erez Reshef -
Regional Manager, Solutions Consulting, APAC & India,
LogMeIn
The travel industry, perhaps more than any other industry, relies on creating long-term customer relationships. Consumer expectations mean you are competing against everybody, and to stand out means having exceptional customer experience. Join this session discover on how to more industry organisations are leveraging AI to help optimise the customer journey and grow their business.ngful
Erez Reshef
Regional Manager, Solutions Consulting, APAC & IndiaLogMeIn
12:50 pm - 1:10 pm
Morning Networking Break 2
Big Idea Keynote
1:10 pm - 1:40 pm
‘Out of the Box’ Keynote: Magic of the mind - Witness the impossible, as Tom plants thoughts in the head of unsuspecting audience members or predicts the outcome of decisions made entirely at random
Tom Weil -
Mind Reader and Magician,
Tom Weil
Sometimes also called Mentalism or Magic of the Mind, this style of magic will leave you amazed how the mind reader can possibly know such things. Predictions of the future and seemingly random decisions pre-determined are just some of what you can expect.
No thought is safe!
Using a combination of psychology and suggestions techniques, combined with conjuring methods, Tom will tell you things he CAN'T POSSIBLY KNOW! But don't worry, Tom would never share his secrets, so he won't share your's either. Witness the impossible, as Tom plants thoughts in the head of unsuspecting audience members or predicts the outcome of decisions made entirely at random. Tom's half-hour stage show is like nothing you've ever seen before! There are no dancing show girls or appearing doves. This show will leave you questioning "Is it real, or is it all in my mind?"
Tom Weil
Mind Reader and MagicianTom Weil
1:40 pm - 2:40 pm
Networking Lunch
Track A: Customer Experience- Mastering Omnichannel
2:40 pm - 3:10 pm Power Panel: Rethinking customer experience for an era of infinite touchpoints – How can you design, execute, and measure marketing campaigns to better engage with customers? Rashmi Chadha - Founder, wovoyage Ruusa Koskelainen - Head of eCommerce Marketing & CRM, Finnair MIke Chen - Head of Innovation Center, KKday Jay Pring - Head of Sales, APAC, Resulticks Yoshihiro Sakurai - Head of Accommodation Business, LINE TRAVEL jp, Venture RepublicToo many travel businesses are stuck using legacy methods of building marketing campaigns around specific channels or devices. In fact, when a brand develops a channel-specific campaign without integrating it with other efforts, they miss the chance to create the type of holistic, seamless experiences that is essential to meet the expectations of today’s consumers. This panel will show you how to design, execute and measure campaigns to:
· How can you shift your focus to creating holistic campaigns rather than marketing designed for specific channels?
· How can you build a “single view” of customers that you can track across their journeys?
· How can you build integrated organisations, teams, and departments that can help eliminate gaps in the end experience for guests?
· How can you get employees to understand the value of cross-functional collaboration so that they are open to the changes needed to break down silos?
Track A: Customer Experience- Mastering Omnichannel
3:10 pm - 3:30 pm Case Study: How to differentiate your travel brand and drive revenue through personalised omnichannel experiences Anthony Chan - VP & Head of Strategic Products & Value Engineering, APJ, Sitecore· How to manage all customer communications, allowing you to create one consistent experience across channels and devices – from customer interface, right through to backend technology
· How to place customer convenience at the forefront of their operations to remain competitive
· How to connect online and offline sales in one system, we are excited to offer seamless customer journeys
Track A: Customer Experience- Mastering Omnichannel
3:30 pm - 4:10 pm Case Study Revolution: Breaking down my omnichannel marketing roadmap – How to quickly identify which channels are working so you can put together a high performing strategy Ravish Doctor - Head of Growth Marketing Asia, Luxury EscapesRavish Doctor leads Growth Marketing in Asia for Luxury Escapes, one of Australia’s fastest growing travel companies, and is currently focused on building the brand in the region. Without a way to measure marketing channels you will have no way to discern what content, delivery venue and channels are most effective. Making an effort to measure marketing channels means you will be able to justify the expenditure and put together an omnichannel marketing plan that delivers customer experience results and contributes to the bottom line. During this interactive case study, you’ll chat in groups and solve a key challenge raised during a case study presentation by Ravish who will break-down Luxury Escape’s omnichannel marketing plan:
· How to determine what channels are most effective for the priority audience, based on past impact, audience needs and preferences, and channel availability
· How to combine different channels based on the advantages and disadvantages of each
· How to determine the appropriate timing and scheduling of the messages
· How to decide on the resources available and how they will be allocated to different channels
Track B: Digital Marketing- Mastering Content, Brand & Creative
2:40 pm - 3:00 pm Power Panel: Future agencies – To what extent are consultants taking over the role of the agency, and what new agency models are needed? Paul Pruangkarn - Director of Communications & External Affairs, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Chandler Nguyen - VP of Product, APAC, Essence Christopher Brewer - Senior Consulting Partner, Ogilvy Rochelle Chhaya - Chief Digital Officer, APAC, Omnicom Media GroupThe future of agencies will be in creating platforms that help brands make a customer's life easier and even better. To pull this off, agencies need to be consultants, and consultants need to be agencies. Helping clients design and manage platforms requires bringing business, brand, design, operation and technology together. But many agencies don't have the depth to play at this level. No wonder consulting firms are moving aggressively to this space. This panel will explore:
· How can agencies better help a brand to come up with its main organising idea and establishing the disruptor vision?
· How can agencies act as a partner to execute marketing operations that drive genuine, relevant and quantifiable outcomes for the business?
· How agencies create/ co-invest in an "accelerator" construct that starts to create new propositions through a rapid test-and-learn model for future growth?
Paul Pruangkarn
Director of Communications & External AffairsPacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
Rochelle Chhaya
Chief Digital Officer, APACOmnicom Media Group
Track B: Digital Marketing- Mastering Content, Brand & Creative
3:00 pm - 3:20 pm ANA & Accor’s Case Studies: How to Unlock Social Video Success – How to use data and insights to build content stack that's fit for purpose in Asia's digital landscape Caroline Troman - GM of APAC, Brave Bison Greg Fournier - Executive Director Strategic Partnerships, APAC, Unruly
Track B: Digital Marketing- Mastering Content, Brand & Creative
3:20 pm - 4:10 pm Case Study Revolution: The New Inbound Marketing – How to focus on selectively, strategically positioning yourself as a true thought leader to better serve the connected consumer and gain their trust Brett Henry - President Director, MG Holiday GroupPowered by the emergence and popularity of social media platforms, which in turn gave rise to a more empowered and informed consumer, the shift from “outbound” to inbound marketing meant that brands had to prioritise value-adding content and connection over direct response tactics. In order to stand out today, brands need something more. They need to focus on selectively, strategically positioning themselves as true thought leaders. In this interactive case study Brett will demonstrate why this is happening, and why your brand should be on board. In this interactive presentation, Brett will shed light on:
· Outbound tourism vs. inbound tourism - Which countries rely the most on tourism spends?
· Outlining the need for outbound travel, as a means of research into global standards, to develop service and marketing for inbound travel
· How to implement the right strategies that helps you grow your customer base and optimise budgets
How to select the right approach for your business
Track C: eCommerce
2:40 pm - 3:30 pm Case Study Revolution: Combating third party rate disparity – How to maintain consistent rates for the same product in all online distribution channels to encourage consumers to book direct with you Andy Khen - Corporate Director of Revenue & Distribution, PMG Hotels & Resorts
Track C: eCommerce
3:30 pm - 4:10 pm Case Study Revolution: Do new technologies (like direct connections between airlines/ hotels and travel agencies or consumers) pose a threat to the dominant role played by global distribution system providers in the travel ecosystem? CK Cheng - CEO & Founder, AsiaYo
4:10 pm - 4:40 pm
Afternoon Networking Break
Track A: Customer Experience
4:40 pm - 5:20 pm Case Study Revolution: Delighting your customers during their stay – How to use voice recognition for digital concierge or room control system to deliver a stimulating guest experience Christopher Chan - General Manager of Research and Technology, The Hongkong and Shanghai HotelsChristopher oversees a group of 26 engineers, project staff and software developers engaged in the development and implementation of the latest in cutting edge guestroom technology for new and existing developments globally. In this interactive presentation, he will shed light on:
· How to deliver a seamless, intuitive experience that’s aligned with the expectations of today’s “always on” traveller
· How to ensure that their on-trip experience is well managed and that any issues can be dealt with quickly and efficiently
· How to ensure that a positive trip is capitalised on to turn customers into repeat customers and loyal brand ambassadors
Christopher Chan
General Manager of Research and TechnologyThe Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels
Track A: Customer Experience
5:20 pm - 5:40 pm Presentation: Mastering the last mile - influencing your visitors' experiences: How destinations use digital transformation and innovation to influence international visitors' experiences Uri Keren - Chief Revenue Officer, WishTrip• Discussing tourism dispersion (over/under tourism) and changing visitors' demographics and behaviors
• How Social Networks are influencing decision making of visitors
• How critical in-destination experience management is for creating a successful tourism destination and how can technology and innovation be of rescue
• Case study: The city of Jerusalem
Track A: Customer Experience
5:40 pm - 6:10 pm Power Panel: Creating more meaningful on-trip engagement – How to promote the idea that your brand truly cares about your customers during the trip Purav Shah - Founder & CEO, QuaQua Zelia Leong - Co-Founder, Anywhr Kiran Girija - Director of Digital Marketing & Online Distribution, Asia, Millennium Hotels and Resorts Liu Weichun - Co-founder & Executive VP, KKday Brendan Daly - General Manger, YOTEL SingaporeMost, if not all are familiar with the planning stage and acquiring stage. But, are you thinking of the on trip experience of your customers? From this interview you will learn:
· How to design an exceptional experience strategy that targets individual, rather than homogenous group, to engage your customers before and during the flight
· What personalised services you can offer to your most loyal customers to keep them coming back for more?
· How to make your customers post on social media during their trip to help you promote your brand
Kiran Girija
Director of Digital Marketing & Online Distribution, AsiaMillennium Hotels and Resorts
Track B: Digital Marketing
4:40 pm - 5:20 pm Case Study Revolution: Go where the Chinese tourist goes – How to provide services tailored to Chinese customers to solve their trust issues and increase revenues Warren Wang - Chief Financial Officer, TujiaIn recent years, tourism has taken off in a big way in China propelled by rising disposable incomes and government support to the sector. Riding this boom is Tujia, an online holiday rentals website. Tujia, which was founded in 2011, is often called China’s Airbnb because it has a similar model: of connecting home owners with travelers looking for a place to stay. Warren Wang, who has a fruitful experiences in finance, accounting, internal control and capital market will shed us light on how in just about four years since its launch, this sharing economy company has already reached a valuation of more than $1 billion, and it has attracted investments from the likes of LightSpeed Venture Partners, GGV Capital and All-Stars Investment as well as travel industry players like Ascott, HomeAway and Ctrip.
· In China the tourism boom has encouraged other companies like Maiyi and Xiaozhu to enter this segment. How do you rank vis-à-vis local rivals as well as Airbnb’s China operations?
· Managing partnerships – How do you work with each of your partners apart from the investment?
How do you gain acceptance with the Chinese consumer, how it is different from Airbnb and what is the rationale behind the global expansion?
Track B: Digital Marketing
5:20 pm - 5:40 pm Philippines Case Study: Competing against OTAs and big chains – How a homegrown hotel brand's digital transformation enabled to win brand love and revenue in the Philippine market Blessy Townes - Head of Digital & CRM, The Discovery Leisure CompanyBlessy has 17 years of experience in digital marketing and successful portfolio in SEO, PPC, eCommerce, social Media, and online reputation. She is single-handedly managing the group’s digital campaigns in-house.YTD Book Direct initiative contributes 31% of revenue outperforming OTA’s 26%.
· How to manage the group’s digital campaign in-house with limited resources
· How to increase YOY ranking on Google and direct booking revenue from your SEO-friendly and mobile compliant websites
· What are the pros and cons of single-handedly managing your digital campaigns?
Track B: Digital Marketing
5:40 pm - 6:10 pm Fireside Chat: The Golden Rules of Marketing in China – What are the key pillars of marketing in China? And how can you tap into the untapped opportunities? Brett Henry - President Director, MG Holiday Group George Zhang - CEO, iGola Warren Wang - Chief Financial Officer, TujiaThe world’s most populous nation and second largest economy is a notoriously complicated market for non-Chinese companies. These increasingly discerning shoppers are younger, focused on health, and more brand savvy than ever, and they demand more from the products and services they buy. Both global and local companies must understand these nuances if they hope to craft brand and product messages that appeal to them. This interactive panel will explore:
· How do you use WeChat, and what other chat platforms that works, to reach the lucrative Chinese outbound travel market?
· What are the personalised content that appeals to the Chinese travellers, and what doesn’t?
· How do you adopt your products to China’s expanding army of middle-class travellers?
· What are the key considerations in localising your products and service to the Chinese market? Which is more important – offering budget, affordable products or more experience-related ones?
Track C: eCommerce
4:40 pm - 5:20 pm Power Panel: Flying high with ancillary revenue – How to become an expert retailer of travel-related services including the ability to book hotels/airlines, attractions and ground transport David Yong - Head of Homes Supply and Business Operations, APAC, Airbnb (OTAs) Marc Cavaliere - Chief Commercial Officer, Fiji Airways Andy Khen - Corporate Director of Revenue & Distribution, PMG Hotels & Resorts CK Cheng - CEO & Founder, AsiaYo Liu Weichun - Co-founder & Executive VP, KKdayIt has been reported that last 2017, the top 10 airline total ancillary revenue has jumped to US$29.7 billion. But not only airlines are leveraging the additional revenue from it, hotels, car rentals, and other verticals are also looking into tapping this business model. This panel will explore:
· How to work closely with your digital marketing team to promote your ancillary offerings through different channels to encourage more bookings
· How to build fresh ancillary revenue streams that fills a need that’s not yet anticipated by consumers to entice them to book directly to you
· How to localised offerings to enrich in-destination experiences for travellers
How to offer advise and personalised attention from the very beginning to bring a complete value proposition to improve the travel experience in-destination
Track C: eCommerce
5:20 pm - 6:10 pm Case Study Revolution: How to create personalised offers designed to increase the quality of the flight, boost revenues and differentiate yourself from competitors Eerika Enne - Manager of Travel Retail Sales, FinnairEerika is responsible for leading the Travel retail sales & development at Finnair. She has a background in CX development and management consulting. Over the past decade, the role of ancillary revenues in top-line growth for airlines has grown significantly. Personalised services for flyers, including entertainment options, in-flight shopping, food-sales, and other a la carte features are projected to continue to increase in importance. In this interactive session, you’ll chat in groups and solve a key challenge raised during a case study presentation by Eerika who will shed light on:
· How to provide ancillary business as your best loyalty program to deliver the best experience
· How to educate your customer during pre-trip stage to make sure your guests reap the benefits of those services beforehand
· How to use analytics to drive customer engagement to increase your share of ancillary revenue effectively
· How to continuously engage your customers with your promotions and services without being aggressive as part of delighting their experience
