In the beginning there was an idea: bring to Asia through Singapore, the gateway to the region, the state of the art in online travel - Eight years later, it is a very different story.
Now Asia stands on its own. China is poised to take over from the USA as the leading travel market in the world. Already it is a massive market. Beijing is the largest airport in the world.
Sometime in 2013, China's corporate marketplace is likely to surpass that of the USA. We even surmise that it will be the world's largest GDS market at some point in the next 24 months.
WIT then (2005) with its founder, Yeoh Siew HoonWhen the first WIT appeared, Yeoh Siew Hoon gathered some of her friends around her and asked pointed questions of how to encourage Asia to wake up to the Web. Not just as a way to bring the latest craze from the US and Northern Europe, but rather how the interchange between the two could spark and create a fire of its own.
Now the world comes to pay attention to Asia. This year's WIT had some of the leading players. Arguably the big three in online travel – Google, Priceline and Expedia – came to bring their perspectives but also too up-and-comers. New players from Japan and China as well as now some of the heavy hitters in the region such as Rakuten, Qunar, Ctrip, MakeMyTrip, Yatra to name but a few.
But perhaps this was all inevitable and predictable. The rise of Asia has been expected for a long time. What was not expected was the spirit and the love of travel and the social element.
Perhaps it is here that Asia is leading the way in a manner that was rather unexpected. Travel has been the catalyst in many parts of the world for moving from the high street to the hi-speed world of the web. What defines the web today – Social, Mobile and Local is truly different in Asia.
WIT now (2012)Full story:
www.webintravel.com//blog/wit-turns-8-a-reflection-on-the-evolution-of-asia-from-the-floor_3442 Timothy O'Neil-Dunne is Managing Partner at T2Impact and Founder of VaultPAD Ventures. He is one of only a small band of people who have participated at every single WIT Conference. 
