It's been a tradition of past WiTs that a group of us would escape to a remote location or island somewhere to mark the end of yet another event.

Over the years, we’ve been to Siem Reap, Bali, Phuket, Samui, Penang, Kuching with Nikoi and Cempedak the most frequent and recent excursions.

But well, we know what Covid has done to traditions and so this year, I found myself on Palawan beach, Sentosa, watching my two dogs have the time of their lives. At 8am on a Saturday, we had the designated beach zone to ourselves, apart from a stray peacock or two.

Petcation at Capella Singapore: Yet another new tradition borne out of Covid.

We’ve all had to adapt to new traditions this pandemic and some are easier to bear than others. This year’s “petcation” at Capella was definitely easy to bear – I have now seen the future, and it has to be a villa with a pool by the sea, with several dogs for company.

This year’s WiT Experience Singapore was also a new tradition – a full-on hybrid conference with 250 physical delegates and a virtual audience, and more than 70 physical and virtual speakers – with more than 900 autocues.

That’s the behind-the-scenes speak to ensure everything happens and plays as they should to ensure a smooth experience both virtually and physically, particularly for when the LED panels should come down to “house” the virtual speakers and I had to make sure they didn’t hit me on my head on their way down.

Pete Comeau (centre) and Frederic Lalonde, Hopper: The LED panels were a talking point of the event, with several speakers jesting about it.

The first time the purpose-built LED panel came down to “beam” our first speaker Pete Comeau, my Phocuswright comrade-in-arm, I heard a guffaw in the audience. This was the first time a travel industry conference had been held in the Grand Sands Ballroom at Marina Bay Sands, repurposed for hybrid, and for the audience, it was a glimpse into the future of events.

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