Expedia made a lot of noise with its AirAsia joint venture, Wotif made the news with its joint venture in Vietnam with Buffalo Tours and meanwhile, ZUJI/Travelocity's been rather quiet, leading many to wonder what the OTA’s been up to.

Is it losing steam? Is it being tethered by its parent strings of Travelocity and Sabre?

Well, Roshan Mendis (right), president and CEO of ZUJI/Travelocity Asia Pacific will have you know that it’s enjoyed a strong first half of the year with business up 50% in sales and profitability and it’s been working quietly away at a refreshed branding that will be unveiled year end.

As for all the hype about deal sites, he believes the Groupon model does not work with intermediaries and oh yes, he doesn’t “get” the AirAsia-Expedia joint venture.

Yeoh Siew Hoon catches up with Mendis to find out what he’s been up to and the views he holds on various issues.

Q: What’s the year been like so far?

We have grown volume and share in every single market we operate in. We have leadership in outbound and in hotels in India. Australia’s been a bright spot for us, we were lagging but we are growing well and 60% of our business there is now outbound.

It appears we are riding the online travel wave in APAC, helped by markets seeing robust growth.

Full story:

www.webintravel.com/news/groupontype-deals-dont-make-sense-for-otas-zuji-works-on-refreshed-branding_1986