The TravMedia Summit

Nick founded TravMedia in 1999 after ten years as travel editor of Courier Newspapers, Australia. His knowledge and contributions to the travel industry are extensive. Nick is a proud supporter of the SATW and sponsors the ONE Travel Conference Travel Writer Award for outstanding work in promoting US travel. He is an active member of the ASTW, a judge for the Gourmet Travel Annual Awards, and supports the British Guild of Travel Writers Awards and the ASTW Awards.

Nick created IMM 13 years ago, and The Summit 8 years ago. The platform also powers the online event marketplaces for IPW, Destination Canada’s Corroboree and ATE.

Michael currently oversees Technology and Place Management in Sentosa as the Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC). As a member of SDC's senior management team, he is closely involved in the key growth and developmental areas of sustainability and the continual reinvention of Sentosa as a precinct loved by visitors and locals alike.

Prior to joining SDC, Michael served for 28 years in various key Command and Staff appointments in the Ministry of Defence and the Singapore Armed Forces. Apart from being deployed to Afghanistan for seven months, his other highlight was serving as the Chief Artillery Officer.

In his free time, Michael reads, runs, dabbles in coding and tries his best to be a decent golfer.

Kevin is a responsible tourism consultant, trainer, and speaker who has been active in the field since 2008 in response to the growing need for formal expertise in developing responsible and sustainable tourism in Southeast Asia. He was recently elected to the board of the Asian Ecotourism Network (AEN) and sits on the advisory panel as an expert for Control Union Singapore. He is best known for his views on regenerative tourism, ecotourism, climate change and protecting local community’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

Recent international projects include being involved in drafting the ASEAN ecotourism standard and executing the 17th high-level executive training for the UNWTO (World Tourism Organisation). His training experience includes Mekong Institute, the Tourism Management Institute of Singapore (TMIS) and the GSTC tour operator standard for tourism companies in SG. His ecotourism projects include clients in Bandung and the Tallaud islands in Indonesia and Atauro island off Timor Leste. As a thought leader in responsible tourism, Kevin has numerous articles in Travel Weekly Asia, TTG Asia, Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) SEADS.

Dr. Nisha is a distinguished tourism consultant, academic, and corporate trainer with over 25 years of diverse management experience in the Tourism, Hospitality, and MICE industry. Renowned as an international management consultant, she excels in crafting global strategies and roadmaps for establishing robust market positions.

Dr. Nisha is a dedicated advocate for sustainability and responsible development. Her expertise includes business sustainability, sustainability in events management, and sustainable tourism development. Through her consultancy and training expertise, she enhances sustainability knowledge, provides strategies for implementing sustainability initiatives, and offers a unique perspective on achieving sustainability goals in the tourism industry. As the founder of World Women Tourism, and an advocate for women's empowerment and gender equality, Dr. Nisha has spearheaded numerous impactful events to uplift women's socio-economic status.

Leveraging her wealth of experience, she is a respected global keynote speaker, subject matter expert, and panelist at prestigious events. In 2024, she was awarded the accolade, “Most Inspiring Woman in Travel (Asia)” by IWTA.

Paul's relationship with Walk Japan began in 1997 as a freelance tour leader. He was made a partner in 2002 and is presently the CEO. He has resided in Japan for much of his adult life since arriving in 1987. Previously, Paul worked as an analyst for Japan’s principal business newspaper, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, as managing director of the Japanese subsidiary of St. Ives PLC, and as a freelance producer and director covering news and current affairs for Japanese television in Europe, Africa, India, and the Middle East. Paul graduated in economics from University College, University of London.

In recent years, Paul has been recognised for his contribution to the development of tourism in Japan and given a number of appointments, including being made a Cool Japan Ambassador by the Japanese Government and Ambassador for All Nippon Airways. Today, Paul’s main personal interests are raising his family of three young sons with his wife and leading the development of Walk Japan’s Community Project, the core of the company’s corporate social responsibility program.

John has spent 25 years living in Asia working on Captive Elephant Management, Conservation from the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort in far North Thailand and Hotel Sustainability for Minor Hotels.

John oversees the Minor Hotel Group’s Green Growth 2050 sustainability certifications, development of long-term environmental conservation initiatives, and works on implementing Minor’s waste management and operational sustainability policies with a particular interest in reducing food waste and waste to landfill. He has been the driver behind Minor Hotels Long Term Conservation Initiative project, ensuring each Nature-Based Hotel plays an integral role in the local conservation of species and habitats, protecting species as diverse as Black Rhino, Dugong and Arabian Oryx and that the hotel takes a holistic approach to the ecosystems that support them.

He is a member of the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission’s Asian Elephant Specialist Group (http://asesg.org), the World Travel and Tourism Council’s Illegal Wildlife Trade Working Group (https://www.wttc.org/priorities/sustainable-growth/illegal-wildlife-trade), the Mekong Tourism Advisory Group, Sabah’s Captive Elephant Technical Working Group, and is a founder member and co-chair of the Asian Captive Elephant Working Group (www.acewg.org).

Lasse has been at Havila Voyages for nearly three years. He has over 20 years of experience in travel, trade, and the transport industry, including, but not limited to, being Communications Advisor for the wholly-owned state-limited company Avinor, which owns and operates the majority of Norwegian airports, and Head of Communications for Vålerenga Football Club in Oslo.

Melissa has been recognised as a Woman to Watch in Asia and was shortlisted for the Women Leading Tech Awards by Atlassian. She is the Founder and Managing Director of Oysterly, a leading social video agency in Singapore that specialises in creating user-generated content for leading brands who want to reach their audience on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Her company has partnered with fortune 500 companies like the Hilton Hotels, 3M, UPS and many more. The agency’s innovative work also earned it the Beautiful Business Fund Award from Xero, and Melissa has been invited to be a global judge for this year’s competition.

Melissa is a frequent speaker at notable marketing events, including the Social Media Marketing World in San Diego, USA. She shares marketing tips and insights for companies on TikTok, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Edwina is social media editor at Australia's number one travel brand ESCAPE. She was previously an award-winning freelance Australian travel writer, photographer and content creator at The Portmanteau Press. Edwina's work has appeared in titles such as Vogue Australia, Travel & Luxury, delicious., Lonely Planet, Traveller, The New Zealand Herald, Robb Report USA, The Guardian and The Telegraph UK.

BrandStory Asia is an award-winning Travel and Tourism Marketing consultancy founded in 2003. As charismatic storytellers, Brandstory assembles multi-channel solutions, including PR, advertising, social, digital content marketing, and airline partnerships, for brands tapping the China and Southeast Asian markets.

BrandStory’s portfolio of clients includes Brand USA, Gardens by the Bay, New York City, Visit Egypt, Promote Iceland, Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority, Hawai’i Tourism Authority, TripAdvisor, San Diego Zoo Alliance, Washington DC, Travel Alaska, Australia’s Northern Territory, Visit Luxembourg, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, Qatar Tourism Authority, Skyscanner and Universal Studios Hollywood. Under Reene’s leadership, BrandStory’s team for the Hawaiian Islands won over 28 awards, including the ‘Most Impressive Island Destination’ by Sina Travel and four of ‘Ctrip China Travelers Top Spots’ as voted by 6.5 million users.

A creative problem solver with a knack for simplifying the complex, Danny is relentlessly resourceful. He gets incredibly excited about (meaningful) mission-impossible projects, building gutsy products from the ground up, and working on initiatives that drive tangible business impact. He loves adventure holidays, from trekking across Nepal and the Italian countryside to diving the islands of the Philippines and Indonesia. Like most users, he goes to TikTok to plan where to go and what to do.

Hangry By Nature is one of the largest video-focused travel and food TikTok, Instagram and YouTube channels, with an audience of over 2 million engaged followers. The channel comprises cheeky-faced Tina, hangry Andy and their two rambunctious food-loving kiddos, Raffy and Flo. Tina and Andy are professional video creators who have paved the path for fun, compelling and highly entertaining short-form travel videos.

With over 20 million video views per month, Tina loves showing their audience quirky and eye-opening travel experiences, unique destinations, culture education and, of course, the best (and sometimes most bizarre) eats wherever they go. They've worked with leading travel brands, including Amazing Thailand, Tokyo Tourism, Skyscanner, Destination NSW, Visit Berlin, Universal Studios, Accor and IHG.

Generative AI has been hailed as the most disruptive innovation since the birth of the web, having the potential to fundamentally transform industries and forever change the way we interact with the information that guides our lives. Silicon Valley likes to frame generative AI as a superior technology capable of one day supplanting human creativity and ingenuity. In his highly visual and engaging keynote presentation, Graham will argue that while generative AI is undoubtedly a remarkable technological breakthrough, it has several fundamental weaknesses – not least, it has no lived experiences and can’t feel, nor does it have emotions or sensations. By recognizing and harnessing our human ‘superpowers, ’ those working in travel media and marketing can work with generative AI, exploiting all it has to offer and not be disintermediated or substituted by it.

Graham is a strategist and writer on the impacts of generative AI on human-made media. In a career spanning 40 years, Graham has been a journalist, editor, consultant, producer and entrepreneur with a keen interest in the future of media. Graham will cover Generative AI, its impacts on the travel industry and journalism, and how travel media and PRs can adapt and thrive.

Graham started his career as a journalist and editor in newspapers and TV news. He was the founding Editorial Director at Teletext Limited and a founding director of Associated New Media, the business that went on to create MailOnline, the world’s leading online news brand. Before Teletext and its parent, the Daily Mail Group, Graham worked as a senior editor and journalist at the BBC, Visnews (now Reuters TV), BSB News (now Sky News), ITN, Channel Four, The Press Association and Pearson regional newspapers. Graham is a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program and a member of the Royal Television Society.

Aditi is a senior management professional with more than 16 years of experience across corporate and go-to-market strategy, product management and business development in fast-paced consulting, financial services and blue-chip environments. She has worked in the US and Asia Pacific and collaborates regularly with the travel industry, sharing the latest trends in traveller behaviour. Mastercard’s Research & Reports provide meaningful insights and intelligence to help travel operators confidently navigate the evolving consumer landscape.

CARMA is the global leader in insights and intelligence that helps brands measure and evaluate their corporate reputation and the media landscape. In her role, Divika drives CARMA’s brand and integrated communications strategy. Her career blends PR and marketing for technology brands across Asia-Pacific, positioning her to leverage knowledge and cultural insights to develop effective commercial strategies tailored to the region.

In his current role at Trip.com, Edmund drives the company’s strategic goals and growth across Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. He plays a pivotal role in formulating and executing strategies that enhance brand equity and foster customer loyalty through exceptional experiences and innovative products for the region's rapidly expanding user base. Edmund actively builds and nurtures high-level relationships with key stakeholders, including government agencies and industry leaders, to support the company's objectives and initiatives.

With over two decades of experience in the hospitality sector, Edmund has a proven track record in leading digital and technological transformations and executing targeted campaigns that significantly boost market share. His extensive expertise makes him a sought-after speaker at international conferences and workshops on various industry topics.

Outside of his professional life, Edmund is dedicated to personal fitness, engages in volunteer work for social causes, enjoys watching football, and values quality time travelling with his family.

Ching Yee Wong is the Vice President, Communications, of Marriott International, Asia Pacific excluding China. She oversees the communications strategy and reputation for Marriot International’s portfolio of brands and Marriott Bonvoy across the region. Ching Yee and her team also drivse internal communications to further strengthen Marriott’s People First culture through strategic associate engagement.

Ching Yee is a senior Brand and PR leader with more than two decades of communications experience, having worked with global technology and media companies such as Netflix and Instagram across the Asia-Pacific region. Based in Singapore with her family, she’s always on the lookout for a good read and a long walk with her dogs.

Nick founded TravMedia in 1999 after ten years as travel editor of Courier Newspapers, Australia. His knowledge and contributions to the travel industry are extensive. Nick is a proud supporter of the SATW and sponsors the ONE Travel Conference Travel Writer Award for outstanding work in promoting US travel. He is an active member of the ASTW, a judge for the Gourmet Travel Annual Awards, and supports the British Guild of Travel Writers Awards and the ASTW Awards.

Nick created IMM 13 years ago, and The Summit 8 years ago. The platform also powers the online event marketplaces for IPW, Destination Canada’s Corroboree and ATE.

This Darjeeling girl's job has taken her places — 5 continents so far — and she wouldn't have it any other way. Asia editor of industry bible, Skift, Peden enjoys keeping abreast of things, and took to travel journalism like a cartophile to an atlas. Her last role saw her setting up ET TravelWorld for Economic Times. She has tons of stories to share, but first, get her a flat white.

Born in London, Mark arrived in Hong Kong in 1994, and has spent 25 years working for the South China Morning Post, where he became the Editor of Post Magazine, the Sunday supplement (lifestyle & current affairs), before stepping back to focus solely on the travel pages. Post Magazine remains primarily a print product, albeit with a well-defined online presence.

The South China Morning Post is a leading news media company that has reported on China and Asia for more than a century with global impact. Founded in 1903, the SCMP is headquartered in Hong Kong, where it is the city's English-language newspaper of record. The SCMP aims to connect news consumers around the world through informed and inspired journalism of the highest standard. The SCMP vision is to “Elevate Thought”, with a mission to “Lead the global conversation about China”.

Based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, James is Lonely Planet's Destination Editor for Southeast Asia. As a writer, photographer, and editor, James enjoys getting beneath the surface of destinations, from exploring a city through its culinary history to finding fresh perspectives on places through the eyes of creatives.

Since joining the founding team of Condé Nast Traveler China in 2012, Shawn Ong quickly distinguished himself as an exceptional Editor-in-Chief. His outstanding leadership has been instrumental in unifying the brand's content across all platforms. With deep expertise in the travel industry and a talent for content creation, Shawn has become a key figure and earned widespread respect in the travel and media industries.

Over his 20-year career at leading global media outlets, Shawn has amassed extensive experience in enhancing brand visibility. As new media platforms have emerged, he has adeptly guided the brand through its transition from traditional to new media, building a robust multimedia presence. Under his leadership, the brand has successfully commercialised through diverse formats such as video, events and proprietary IP, extending its influence across the lifestyle, luxury and travel sectors.

As Editor-in-Chief, Shawn remains highly attuned to market trends and is always on the lookout for new opportunities. He has spearheaded efforts to drive direct consumer engagement through innovative approaches, including AI virtual influencers, WeChat mini-programs and live streaming. In addition to his industry acumen, Shawn is deeply committed to social and environmental causes, curating meaningful content and partnering with celebrities, brands and NGOs to create impactful philanthropic initiatives.

Rob is a regular contributor to the travel sections of Australia and New Zealand's leading newspapers and magazines. He's won six writing awards, including ASTW Travel Writer of the Year, and is an active Adventure Travel Trade Association member. Rob regularly speaks at travel events and has helped hundreds of aspiring travel writers, PR professionals and tourism operators through his writing courses.