SINGAPORE, 26 July 2023: The Asia Travel Technology Industry Association (ATTIA) and Web in Travel (WiT) have appointed the Judges Panel for the inaugural Travel Changemakers Awards 2023.
The Awards seek to recognise innovators that have used technology to build back better, post-pandemic, with the winners to be announced at WiT Singapore from 2 to 4 October 2023.
Those awarded will demonstrate their respect for the environment, create meaningful engagement with local communities or unearth hidden gems for travellers to discover. They laud the repurposing of assets rather than building new ones and demonstrate that diversity and inclusion are critical to building back better.
The panel consists of industry leaders as follows:
- Aya Aso, CEO, SAVVY Collective
- Rod Cuthbert, Chairperson, Jayride; Board Member, Veltra (Tokyo); Board Member, Tourism Tasmania; Founder, Viator
- Loic Dujardin, Head of ESG, Traveloka
- Fred Barou – Senior VP, Online Travel and Market Strategy, Amadeus
- Kelly Kolb – VP for Government Affairs, Travelport
- Steven Liew – Director of Public Policy, APAC, Airbnb
- Choe Peng Sum, CEO, Pan Pacific Hotels Group
- Aloke Bajpai, Co-Founder, Group CEO and Managing Director, ixigo
- Elaine Tan, Director, AirAsia Foundation
- Daniel Gelfer, Director of Global Government Affairs, Agoda
- Kenneth Lim, Assistant Chief Executive of Marketing Group, Singapore Tourism Board
ATTIA managing director Chris Kerin says: “We are delighted by the support demonstrated by the travel tech industry for these awards and are equally thrilled to have assembled such an esteemed judging panel. With their collective expertise, we are confident that the submissions will be held to the highest possible standards.”
“We are delighted with the calibre of judges that have embraced these awards in its first year,” adds WIT founder Yeoh Siew Hoon. “It is an honour to recognise those who turned ideas into action and initiated programmes to build back better during the pandemic. They will deservedly get their heyday with these awards, demonstrating exactly how the travel, tourism and hospitality industries have learned lessons over the pandemic to plan and create a better future for all travellers”.
There are five Awards categories – Environmental Awareness & Action, Local Community Engagement, Hidden Gems, Regenerative Tourism and Diversity & Inclusion. Award winners will be recognised at WiT Singapore from 2 to 4 October 2023.
