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Minor International has delayed its planned hotel REIT listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange due to macroeconomic uncertainty, particularly inflation, interest rates, and geopolitical risk. The REIT, valued at roughly $1 billion, was originally expected to launch around mid-2025. Despite the delay, Minor reaffirmed its growth targets of 15-20% annual profit growth through 2028 and expanding its portfolio from 636 to 850 hotels by 2029.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and SAFRA will trial Unmanned Aircraft Flying Areas (UAFAs) at four SAFRA clubhouses from 3 August 2026 for six months. The trial sites are indoor futsal and squash courts at Choa Chu Kang, Mount Faber, Tampines, and Toa Payoh, equipped with drone gates. The public can book free slots via the SAFRA app or web portal. The trial aims to explore safe repurposing of enclosed spaces for recreational drone flying, with potential expansion if successful.
Eight travel tech startups were named winners of the 2026 Global Startup Pitch at Phocuswright Europe in Barcelona. Winners from Asia Pacific, emerging markets, Europe, and North America will showcase at WiT Singapore in September.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) announced temporary restricted areas (TRAs) over parts of Singapore on selected dates in June, July, and August 2026 for National Day Parade (NDP) aerial activities. The TRAs cover the Kallang area and extend from ground to 3,000 feet. During these times, all aerial activities including kite-flying and drones are prohibited, with penalties for violations.
Amadeus signed a global agreement with Myrealtrip, Korea's leading online travel platform, to expand cooperation in areas such as deploying AI-powered solutions, expanding non-air content (hotels and destination experiences), and exploring adoption of Amadeus Hey! traveler engagement solution. This supports Myrealtrip's growth and digital transformation.
Grab launched 13 AI experiences at its annual product showcase GrabX, with four focused on travel. These include 'Personalized Travel Experience,' hotel booking service GrabStays in partnership with Nuitée, culinary guide 'Discovered by Grab,' and GrabPay for Travel allowing payments with home-issued cards. Grab also partnered with WeRide to bring AV taxis to Singapore.
WeRide and Uber launched driverless robotaxi service in Dubai, and partnered with Grab for autonomous shuttle in Punggol, Singapore. Dubai service initially covers Umm Suqeim and Jumeirah, with plans to expand to at least 1,200 vehicles in the Middle East. Singapore service is free, with commercialization expected later this year.
The UK FCDO updated travel advice for Singapore, noting that escalation in the Middle East has caused widespread travel disruption, including airspace closures and flight delays. Travel plans may be affected even if the destination is not in the Middle East. Travelers are advised to check transit country advice, monitor airline updates, and ensure insurance coverage.
Caecilia Chu, CEO of Singapore-based travel payments company YouTrip, shared insights on changing traveler payment behavior in APAC, YouTrip's AI use, and the potential for financial platforms in distribution. She noted that APAC travelers increasingly value real-time rates and transparency, and YouTrip offers convenient currency exchange via its multicurrency e-wallet. The company operates in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia, with plans to enter two new markets in 2026. On AI, YouTrip is deploying an intelligent customer service co-pilot aiming to automate up to 70% of queries.
The U.S. Department of State maintains a Level 1 travel advisory for Singapore, with no changes to risk indicators. Singapore is generally safe, and travelers are advised to exercise normal precautions and enroll in STEP.
Singapore Airlines and Amadeus announced the renewal of their multiyear EDIFACT and NDC agreements, ensuring travel sellers have access to the airline's full range of fares, products, and services via the Amadeus platform. They will collaborate to increase NDC adoption, enhancing retailing capabilities and enabling more personalized offers.
UOB Travel, the travel management company subsidiary of Singapore-based United Overseas Bank (UOB), has selected Amadeus as its digital transformation partner to develop an updated end-to-end travel system. UOB Travel will implement digital retailing, automation, productivity and back-office solutions, and gain access to modern distribution channels including NDC for broader travel content. UOB Travel's services span managed business travel, bespoke itineraries and cruises for its cardmembers and banking customers.
Drukair, Royal Bhutan Airlines, the national flag carrier of Bhutan, signed its first global distribution agreement with Amadeus, making its fares, schedules and inventory available on the Amadeus Travel Platform to travel agencies worldwide. Headquartered at Paro International Airport, Drukair connects Bhutan with key Asian cities including Bangkok, Delhi, Kathmandu, Singapore, Dhaka, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bagdogra, Bodh Gaya and Dubai. Travel sellers in India, Thailand, Singapore, Nepal, Bangladesh, the UAE, Australia, the UK, Germany and France will be able to issue tickets, with further global rollout slated for 2026.
Perk (formerly TravelPerk) and Amadeus have extended their distribution agreement to include NDC content, bringing Perk's NDC connectivity to 25 airlines. New connections include Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Air Canada, Scandinavian Airlines and LOT Polish Airlines. Perk will continue sourcing a wide range of other content from Amadeus, including air, hotel, mobility and transfer services, plus automation and servicing solutions. Perk says it has more than 10,000 customers globally, including Wise and Red Bull.
Amadeus released global research, 'Connected Journeys: How Technology Will Transform Travel in the Next Decade'. It found 79% of Singapore respondents would consider using biometric gateways to replace repetitive document and identity checks at key airport touchpoints such as check-in, boarding and immigration, above the global average of 69%. 36% are interested in biometric security to speed up queues, 33% in real-time traffic and arrival updates, and 62% would check luggage from home. 32% would prefer a single 'super app' consolidating travel information; among business travellers, 34% prefer one consolidated app and 32% value smart luggage tracking. Generative AI usage nearly doubled fro…
Amadeus released a global study covering 2,000 UK travellers. Friends and family recommendations remain the top source of inspiration for UK travellers (36%), but generative AI use grew 60% year-on-year, travel influencers 33% and social media ads 27%. AI use grew 146% in China, 82% in Singapore, 64% in Spain, 53% in India and 30% in the US. Among UK travellers, 70% would consider biometrics and 64% would use door-to-door baggage services. 80% agree provider quality emerges in disruption handling, and 81% would rebook with providers who handle disruptions efficiently.
Amadeus released its Connected Journeys: How Technology Will Transform Travel in the Next Decade study, surveying 9,500 travelers across China, France, India, Singapore, Spain, the UK and the USA. Generative AI usage rose 64% year over year; 42% valued time savings, 37% personalized recommendations and 36% discovering new destinations. 64% would pay for an in-trip AI travel assistant, and 17% would pay up to five percent of total trip value. However, 25% encountered outdated or inaccurate AI information and another 25% found AI unable to capture personal preferences. 90% of air travelers reported some anxiety, 69% favored biometric gateways and 66% showed interest in remote baggage check-in.
A SAP Concur blog post examines corporate social responsibility (CSR) in business travel and expense management. It cites a Morgan Stanley survey in which more than 80% of companies see financial opportunities aligned with sustainability goals and 79% expect higher revenue. SAP Concur's 6th Annual Global Business Travelers Research Report found 27% of employees would decline a business trip due to environmental impact or inability to choose sustainable options. The article also notes 36% of travel managers struggle to meet sustainable travel expectations without adequate budgets, and about 27% of business travelers say their company cut back on allowing them to pay more for sustainable opti…
SAP Concur released its fifth annual Global Business Travel Survey of 700 travel managers across seven markets. The survey shows 47% of travel managers say their role is more stressful than 12 months ago, and 41% cite inflation driving up travel costs. 98% say lagging data and analytics hinder their job, and 98% expect their company to change travel policies in the next year.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that business travel decisions are typically optimized for cost and time efficiency, not environmental sustainability, and many organizations still use paper-based booking and expense processes. IOFM found the average business receives 63% of invoices as paper, and 62% manually handle over 75% of paper invoices. APQC research shows finance workers spend 49% of their time processing transactions. The article recommends digitalization and automation to reduce environmental impact, citing NEC's case: reduced T&E management time by 40% and saved about $1.8 million annually with SAP Concur.
At SAP Concur Fusion in Orlando, SAP Concur recognized six 2022 Innovation Award winners: Infineon, IDP Education, NTT DATA Philippines, Ocean Network Express, Dover Corporation and The Walt Disney Company. Their projects span travel-compliance risk engines, invoice capture, faster expense reimbursement, global policy consolidation and single-instance deployment.
A SAP Concur blog post explores how Asian businesses' reliance on high-touch customer service when adopting SaaS platforms can slow deployment and ROI. It notes that 3 in 4 consumers in Asia think customer service should be every company's top priority, leading businesses to prefer dedicated reps guiding implementation step by step. However, self-service models can accelerate deployment; one of SAP Concur's largest customers rolled out its platform to seven markets in just seven weeks. The post suggests shorter but more frequent contact points between sales teams and customers.
The SAP Concur blog analyzes the outlook for business travel resumption in Asia-Pacific, noting wide variation in restrictions. China's domestic seat bookings were up 7% year-on-year, while international seats were down 98%. It recommends companies understand employee concerns, track fast-changing information, and build traveler safety into processes. It also mentions travel insurance exclusions for COVID-related costs, the burst Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble, and the impact of supplier safety commitments on traveler confidence.
A SAP Concur blog post notes that economic, political, and social shifts make cross-border business travel more complex. Governments are tightening border protection, and data digitization increases risks for multinational corporations. The U.S. IRS uses DHS data to check company tax returns against employees', with similar approaches in Canada, Singapore, and Australia. Companies need to understand where business travelers are, for how long, and what work they do to comply with global tax and immigration regulations. The article recommends integrating compliance checks into the travel booking workflow.
SAP Concur executives forecast business travel and spend management trends for 2019 and beyond: risks facing female travelers will rise to the top of the corporate agenda, with a GBTA report finding only 18% of corporate travel safety policies specifically address female safety needs; GDPR becomes table stakes and data privacy will change product engineering; shifting immigration and tax policies create new pressures on multinationals; SMBs gain competitive advantage through AI and machine learning; nearly 50% of business travelers spend 30 minutes to an hour daily on expenses; online booking tools will embrace new content sources such as NDC and Airbnb; machine learning goes mainstream; ho…