Travelling solo, ladies? Try this city
Travel metasearch website WayAway has named Iceland’s Reykjavik as the safest city in the world for solo female travellers, followed by San Juan, Budapest, Singapore and Madrid.
The least safe city for solo female travellers among a list of 30 research by WayAway is… Las Vegas.
Compiling insights from the likes of The Economist, CondeNast, Time Out and travel protection companies, along with interviews with locals, WayAway ranked San Juan in Puerto Rico at the world’s second safest city for solo female travellers, just ahead of Budapest.
Asian cities ranked well in the survey with Singapore in 4th spot, ahead of Tokyo (14th) and Hong Kong (15th).
Janis Dzenis, head of PR & Communications at WayAway said, “Not only is there a moral case for making female travellers feel safe, but there’s also an economic one too – destinations and travel providers who can give female travellers safety assurances will be able to increase their sales and loyalty from an audience that makes up…well, half the world”.
That’s cool, but what’s the real story for start-up Thai carrier?
Start-up Thai carrier Really Cool Airlines has yet to announce the planes it will fly, or where those planes will fly to, but there is no shortage of PR spin to mark the carrier’s launch announcement.
The new airline’s chief executive, Patee Sarasin, one of Thailand’s leading entrepreneurs and previously chief executive of Nok Air, says his vision combines innovations in service approaches and technology “to stimulate the Thai aviation, tourism and logistics markets”.
Here at WiT, we are keen to discover what technology Sarasin has pin mind that the major carriers haven’t woken up to, yet.
We won’t have long to wait.
Really Cool Airlines plans to announce aircraft types, destinations, and its route network “in the coming months”, with operations expected to commence by the end of 2023.
Two to tango for simpler processing
Cross border money movement meets simplified B2B invoicing and settlement in an agreement forged between Nium and Travel Ledger.
Travel Ledger simplifies the processes of B2B invoicing and settlement by facilitating travel companies to use a single data format and platform to exchange financial information rather than everyone using different formats.
Nium’s single platform for global payments and card issuing provides banks, fintechs, payment providers, and businesses the ability to disburse and collect funds instantly across borders.
Following data exchange and reconciliation between the parties, Travel Ledger automatically creates payment instructions for funds movements among the parties on the Nium platform, “eliminating errors, speeding up processing and ultimately reducing costs”, the partners said in a media statement.
The tie-up will expand Travel Ledger’s market reach to the whole of the UK, Europe, US, and beyond.
Wanted: Women in Tech start-ups in Middle East
UNWTO has announced, the Women in Tech Startup Competition for the Middle East, a move that the World Tourism Organisation says will give innovators “the chance to compete for enhanced capacity building and visibility”.
Finalists in each category will join the UNWTO Innovation Network, giving them access to the UNWTO Member States network, mentorship programmes and to UNWTO scholarship opportunities.
Unveiling the initiative in Saudi Arabia, UNWTO secretary-general Zurab Pololikashvili said, “Tourism startups are leading the way in advancing women empowerment in the Middle East and globally, and UNWTO is delighted to support the region’s best innovators and digital entrepreneurs.”
Who can apply?
- Startups must be led, owned or managed by women residing in any of the following countries: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen.
- Idea Stage, Early Stage or Series A startups with a minimum viable product or idea that is ready to be developed and funded.
- Have a full-time team, a tested pilot and business plan.
- Be scalable with potential for international growth.
OYO ready to help the little guy
OYO has launched an accelerator for hoteliers with more than five properties in India.
The aim of the programme, which plans to accept 30 hoteliers initially, is to help hoteliers expand more rapidly.
The OYO accelerator will provide mentoring, access to the company’s technology and corporate and leisure distribution network and financial support.
OYO says the accelerator is also in line with its strategy to increase its presence in India’s premium hotels segment with a particular focus on Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Anuj Tejpal, chief merchant officer of OYO, says, “We come across many hoteliers whose aspiration for growth and their business acumen far exceeds the capital and resources available to them. OYO had tried to support their growth in the past in whatever manner we could.
“However, we realised that we will be able to encourage many more such hoteliers if we provide special focus to this initiative and move in a planned and targeted manner to help many more such small entrepreneurs.”
Credit: Linda Fox/Phocuswire