Tag Archives: WiT

Following an intense week of consultation with key stakeholders in its Dubai event, scheduled for April 7, WiT has decided to move its Middle East edition to November 24, 2020. The uncertainty over the developing COVID-19 situation in the region has made it hard to plan for the one-day event. “Our partners were telling us that with the situation so fluid and changing everyday, it would be challenging to put on the event in a month’s time,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, Founder, WiT. “With the industry in damage control mode, and uncertainty over travel advisories and bans by countries and companies, everyone is currently too distracted and we felt we wouldn’t be able to focus on delivering a quality event. The good news is, we are staying in the same venue, Jumeirah Emirates Towers, and we thank our partners for accommodating this change in plans, and we promise we will return stronger. By then, things will be back in full swing and everyone will have great stories and lessons to share,” he added. Ross Veitch, CEO and co-founder of Wego, one of the event’s two Foundation Sponsors, said, “Things are in a state of flux right now but knowing the Middle East  market as we do, we know it will be resilient, and the fundamentals are there for a strong recovery.” Stuart Crighton, CEO and founder of Cleartrip, Foundation Sponsor of WiT Middle East, echoed his disappointment, saying, “It’s a tough call – it would have been hard to get 100 per cent attention and attendance because of the evolving nature of the problem. We look forward to the return of a stronger WiT on November 24.”

WiT Middle East 2019 returns to Dubai after a gap of four years. WiT 2019, which will adopt the theme of WiT 2018 Singapore conference–‘Through The Looking Glass’– is making its comeback with three Foundation Sponsors as a one-day event on April 9, 2019. “After four years away, we feel it’s time to make a comeback plus we’ve had numerous requests from key players in the region, who have attended both our events in Dubai and Singapore, to return. When we were there in 2014 and 2015, we definitely felt the excitement and dynamism of an emerging market and observed it had very similar characteristics to the South-east Asian markets – fragmented, diverse, young, social and even then, it was mobile first – so we look forward to seeing what else has changed and how the industry has grown. With the way the Middle East travel market has grown, we expect a bigger, more international audience. In particular, we are looking forward to seeing how the startup ecosystem has grown and evolved,” said Yeoh Siew Hoon, founder, WiT. “Wego, Cleartrip and Travelstart are three leading travel brands from outside the region that have invested in the Middle East market and are committed to seeing its development and growth,” said Siew Hoon. “We will also be working with Insight Out Consultancy and tap into their regional expertise to ensure our content is locally relevant,” she said.