Siew Hoon has been covering the travel industry beat in Asia Pacific for decades, starting off as a rookie reporter and going on to lead and launch the region’s key industry media titles. In 2005, she founded WiT (Web in Travel) to tackle how technology was changing travel in Asia Pacific and created a new space in the fast-growing, dynamic region with a dedicated media and events platform.

Over the years, she took WiT to new places, launching editions in Tokyo, Seoul, Middle East and Europe to keep the world’s attention focused on the three pillars of travel, technology and Asia.

Following the acquisition by Northstar Travel Group in 2014, she led the launch of Travel Weekly Asia and M&C Asia and formed the editorial team to execute the entry of Northstar to Asia.

Her work has been recognised by numerous institutions including the Singapore Tourism Board which recognised her as Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year in 2014. The WiT Singapore conference, which remains its tentpole event, has won several awards including Most Innovative Marketing Initiative and Trade Conference Of The Year.

In 2020, WiT Singapore became the first travel conference to go fully hybrid, paving the way for a new model in events.

Other than writing about travel, Siew Hoon is also a published author of titles such as “Around Asia In One Hour: Tales of Condoms, Chillies & Curries”, children’s books such as “Adventures of Habibie The Turtle” and “The Story of Baitong and Boon” and host of “A Life In Travel” podcast.

Min Yoon is the CEO and founder of Tidesquare, South Korea’s leading technology-focused travel agency and operator of the #1 premium OTA brand “Privia Travel” as well as Tourvis and Kyte. TIDESQUARE is at the forefront of travel technology development in the region with a strong network of global and local partnerships with industry-leading platform operators across mobile, telecommunications, financial services and more. In addition, Tidesquare has been the co-organizer and partner for WiT Seoul since 2016, fueled with the vision of contributing to the development of the travel landscape and provide an opportunity to share the latest trends and future strategies with global experts.

Prior to Tidesquare, Min Yoon worked for international brands such as Samsung, Korean Air and Hyundai Card. He specialises in hospitality services of operations and marketing, premium marketing, new business development and new media marketing.

Eric holds a Master’s degree in Economics and a Ph.D. in Political Anthropology. As a founding member of Dida, he initially oversaw overseas operations and strategic partnerships. Since 2019, his focus has shifted to corporate development strategy and innovation. With extensive experience in various segments of travel technology, Eric possesses deep insights into the evolution of the tourism industry chain. He leads his team in exploring innovative digital transformation practices, empowering partners through technology and fully embracing the company’s philosophy of “Driven by Tech, Powered by People.” Since 2025, he has concurrently served as President of the Tours & Activities Division, accelerating Dida’s diversified business expansion.

Jiha Jung is a Korea market expert who has built his career in different industries over the last nine years, ranging from IT to travel. He started his career as an ERP IT consultant at Hyundai where he was specialized in a financial integration. At Expedia, Jihacultivated relationships with local travel associations and tourism boards to increase the affinity for the brand, and managed a portfolio of top partners in an effort to build sustainable online market shares. He now owns and operates the online travel agency Tripbtoz Inc. based in Seoul, South Korea. Jiha holds a master of management in hospitality degree from Cornell University.

Sunny is the Director of Global Business Development at Tidesquare, South Korea’s leading technology-focused travel agency. She is responsible for spearheading business development and strategic partnerships across the travel vertical with the focus of enhancing Tidesquare’s presence on the global stage.

Sunny has over a decade experience in travel and hospitality with a Masters in International Trade and Economic Development from Yonsei University and a Bachelor of Science in International Hospitality Management from the Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne. She has lived in six countries and considers herself a third culture kid. Currently located in Toronto and Tidesquare’s first North America employee, she is looking to connect with other like minded individuals passionate about travel, technology and hospitality.

Jessica Park leads partnership efforts in Google, specifically for Knowledge and Information products such as Google Search, Google Travel and Gemini. Her expertise is in finding opportunity areas where new technology and long-existing consumer problems overlap. As someone in the fields of A.I. since 2018, Jessica hopes to apply innovative approaches to key verticals such as Tourism and Entertainment.

Justin Hong is the General Manager of Trip.com, a global one-stop travel platform, and is in charge of managing and operating the Korean market. He is also a global management strategy and digital marketing expert who has worked for various global management consulting firms and global travel platforms, building his position and insight in the industry.
After graduating from Korea University, he successfully completed several projects related to corporate strategy and digital marketing at Johnson and Johnson, Booz & Company, and Accenture, and also worked on various tasks to strengthen the positions of each company at Expedia and Agoda in Korea.

Jason Kim is the Country Manager for Korea at Etraveli Group, overseeing the brands Mytrip and Gotogate. With more than 20 years of experience across travel and consumer electronics, he focuses on driving growth, competitiveness, and customer trust in one of Asia’s most dynamic markets.

Prior to Etraveli Group, Jason was Senior Director at Klook, leading brand and commercial development in Korea. He also served as Regional Director for Hotels.com, an Expedia Group brand, managing Korea and Japan, where he expanded market share and strengthened strategic partnerships. Earlier in his career, Jason worked at Samsung Electronics in the Mobile Division, where he led retail management to support the company’s global market expansion.

Jason holds an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Interviewer:

Min Yoon
CEO & Founder
TIDESQUARE

Speaker:

Timothy Hughes is the Vice President Corporate Development of Agoda (Booking Holdings Company). Timothy is a “retired” blogger and pundit. Previously he was the editor and publisher of one of the top online travel industry blogs (the BOOT: the Business Of Online Travel) and a writer at Phocuswire.

Tim is a former lawyer and venture capitalist. As a venture capitalist and consultant he helped a number of start-ups (inside and outside travel) secure funding, set up online media companies, managed investments in public companies and held regular client briefing sessions for a brokerage house. As lawyer he represented technology, new media, Internet, telecommunications and broadcasting clients in Australia, Europe and Hong Kong.

He first joined the online travel industry in 1999 and has worked for top tier online travel companies in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Tim has a Bachelor of Commerce and Hons Law Degree from the Australian National University.

Eric holds a Master’s degree in Economics and a Ph.D. in Political Anthropology. As a founding member of Dida, he initially oversaw overseas operations and strategic partnerships. Since 2019, his focus has shifted to corporate development strategy and innovation. With extensive experience in various segments of travel technology, Eric possesses deep insights into the evolution of the tourism industry chain. He leads his team in exploring innovative digital transformation practices, empowering partners through technology and fully embracing the company’s philosophy of “Driven by Tech, Powered by People.” Since 2025, he has concurrently served as President of the Tours & Activities Division, accelerating Dida’s diversified business expansion.

Min Yoon is the CEO and founder of Tidesquare, South Korea’s leading technology-focused travel agency and operator of the #1 premium OTA brand “Privia Travel” as well as Tourvis and Kyte. TIDESQUARE is at the forefront of travel technology development in the region with a strong network of global and local partnerships with industry-leading platform operators across mobile, telecommunications, financial services and more. In addition, Tidesquare has been the co-organizer and partner for WiT Seoul since 2016, fueled with the vision of contributing to the development of the travel landscape and provide an opportunity to share the latest trends and future strategies with global experts.

Prior to Tidesquare, Min Yoon worked for international brands such as Samsung, Korean Air and Hyundai Card. He specialises in hospitality services of operations and marketing, premium marketing, new business development and new media marketing.

Raphael Lanfant is a seasoned executive with over two decades of experience in the travel and technology sectors, specializing in the Asia-Pacific, China, and European/US markets. He currently serves as the Vice President of Hopper Technology Solutions (HTS) for the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions at Hopper, a prominent travel technology company. Based in Singapore, Raphael has been instrumental in forging strategic partnerships in APAC and helping airlines and travel sellers expand their footprint in the travel and fintech space. Before joining Hopper, Raphael held positions at Alibaba Group and Expedia, where he contributed to the company’s global expansion efforts.

Svetlana Kim is the VP of People at Wego, a leading travel technology platform operating across the Middle East and APAC. Since joining in 2022, she has been part of Wego’s journey of growth, expanding the team from 200 to over 500 employees across eight countries, while evolving its culture and people practices to support scale.

With experience spanning both established corporates and fast-moving startups, Svetlana has helped organizations grow from small teams of 50 to global workforces of over 10,000. This blend of scale-up and structured experience shapes her pragmatic approach to building resilient, people-first organizations.

Her current focus of interest is on how talent requirements are shifting in the age of AI and rapidly changing skills. She explores questions such as whether formal degrees matter as much as agility, adaptability, and AI literacy, and how organizations can prepare their people for a future where skills have a shorter shelf life but the ability to learn and evolve has never been more critical.

ERIC CHONG together with his wife KIM WONG juggle their time running their training consultancy company Extra Sensory Pursuits and their farm Green Acres.

Eric holds a Degree in Arts and Education from the University of Calgary, Canada and is a candidature in Master of Sports Management.
Kim holds a Computer Science & Management (Hons) from King’s College, University of London.

It was on their last corporate management project of cruise boats in Putrajaya in 2002 that they decided that it was not the most wholesome way to bring up their then just born child in a city.

In 2006, in between running their training and consultancy company, the couple with their young son on their backs hiked the hills of Penang looking for a suitable piece of land to embark on a more wholesome and sustainable lifestyle.

After 3 years of land hunting, the Chongs finally found their dream orchard tucked in the hills of Balik Pulau. The 16 acre farm had been left idle for some time but had a treasure trove of matured tropical fruit trees ranging from seasonal to the year-rounds. From the time the previous owner’s grandfather terraced the slopes ‘changkul’ by ‘changkul’ more than 60 years ago to date, no chemicals have been used on the land.

After two years of nurturing the farm and building their sustainable house, in 2011, Green Acres opened its doors during durian season for durian and seasonal fruit tasting sessions as it endeavors to share its sustainable practices and also to learn from its visitors.

For this family of three who had no prior farming experience, let alone farming without the instant-fix of chemicals, it was indeed a continuous journey of discovery and learning.

Jeong-mi leads a cultural organization that reinterprets Jeju’s heritage through immersive sensory experiences, inspired by the philosophy of the Haenyeo – Jeju’s traditional women divers. Her work emphasizes human connection, cultural continuity, and respect for local values.

With a background in arts education, content production, and international collaboration, she has managed cultural programs that celebrate regional identity, produced animated works, and expanded their reach through co-productions and global pitching.

Together, these experiences shape a journey that connects local storytelling with global cultural exchange, contributing to conversations on authenticity in the travel and cultural sector.

Leah Lee is a global hotelier who graduated from EHL Hospitality Business School, the world’s No. 1 hotel management university. Her various roles include deputy General Manager at the Michelberger Hotel, a leading boutique hotel in Berlin, Germany as well as with Design Hotels TM, a global network of design hotels representing a curated selection of 300+ independent hotels in over 60 countries across the globe.

In 2019, she led the renovation of Yeongjong Sky Resort and opened Korea’s first urban lifestyle boutique resort, The Week& Resort, and is leading a new culture in the Korean hospitality sector with various concepts such as The Connoisseur Residence for professionals and The Woof & Pet Hotel for dogs.

Dr. Michael Jiwon Ahn, D.HTM is the CEO of Rakkojae Hanok Collection, the first and premier owner and operator of traditional hanok hotels in South Korea.  Rakkojae was awarded the distinction of being on La Liste’s Top 1,000 World’s Best Hotels list in 2023.  Rakkojae currently operates two hanok hotel complexes: in Seoul’s Bukchon Hanok Village and the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Andong Hahoe Folk Village.

Dr. Ahn also is the Founder and CEO of House of Heritage, a company focusing on encapsulating Korean culture in innovative food and beverage products fit for the global audience.  The first product by House of Heritage is KORI Gin, a contemporary gin crafted with 10 botanicals native to the Korean peninsula.

Dr. Ahn obtained his Doctor of Hotel and Tourism Management degree from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, his Master of Science degree from New York University and his Bachelor of Science degree from École Hôtelière de Lausanne.

TravelTech entrepreneur based in Singapore and Tokyo with 20 years of experience who led his company to an IPO, a buyout and two exits.

One of the original investors & advocates of Travel Massive.

Kei co-founded Venture Republic Group (VRG) in 2001 and has been serving as a CEO since foundation. Company runs a group of online travel services worldwide including TRAVEL jp, Japan’s largest online travel metasearch/media, Trip101, Singapore based global online travel media and Allstay, mobile accommodation search app in Korea.

In 2008, he led the company to an IPO and to LBO by the management in 2012. Kei also led to acquire Flocations, a Singapore based travel startup, have it grown to one of the fastest growing online travel media in the world under Trip101 brand that attracts the users from 200 countries.

Harvard MBA. Keio University BA.

Cross country & alpine skier/snowboarder. Love jazz, coffee and working from vacation homes.

Max is a Japanese-British lawyer & entrepreneur based in Tokyo. Inspired by backcountry snowboarding and Japan’s relationship with nature, he launched Kammui in 2023. Kammui’s mission is to connect travellers with unique nature-based experiences and empower local
guides and communities.