SINGAPORE, 24 October 2025: Korean Air announced this week it has acquired an 11.02% stake in WestJet’s parent companies, Kestrel Topco Inc. and Kestrel Holdings Inc., through an investment of USD217 million.
The investment gives Korean Air a 10% equity stake in WestJet, Canada’s second-largest airline.
Photo credit: Korean Air.
The transaction, first agreed upon on 9 May 2025, has now been completed, with Delta Air Lines and Air France-KLM also investing in WestJet’s parent companies.
Hanjin Group and Korean Air Chair and CEO Walter Cho has also been appointed to WestJet’s Board of Directors. Board members also include other global aviation leaders such as Benjamin Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM, and Alex Cruz, former Chairman and CEO of British Airways.
In addition to his ongoing role as a key leader on the International Air Transport Association (IATA) ’s Board of Governors since 2019, Walter Cho’s appointment is expected to support future benefits for travellers and contribute to the sustainable growth of the global aviation industry.
The investment underscores the growing importance of the Canadian aviation market, which was valued at USD33 billion in 2024 and ranked among the world’s top ten, with double-digit growth since 2019.
Building on its ongoing integration with Asiana Airlines, Korean Air will continue to pursue diverse strategic partnerships across the global aviation market to broaden customer choice, enhance convenience, and reinforce its position as a leading international airline.
KUCHING, Sarawak, 24 October 2025: Across industries and communities, one truth remains constant: The people driving real change often go unseen.
Grassroots leaders and local changemakers quietly build impact through trust, relationships, and accountability, yet their efforts rarely reach the visibility or recognition needed to inspire others or attract wider support.
Lord Dr Foo Ming Wei speaks to Business Events Sarawak about how a personal passion for protecting the environment grew into a national movement.
That’s exactly the gap the Borneo Inspires Legacy Awards (BILA) set out to bridge. Held for the first time on 3 October 2025 in Kuching, the awards were created to spotlight the unsung heroes of community transformation and to give corporations a credible way to connect, collaborate, and invest in changemakers making a tangible difference.
Among this year’s winners, one stood out for reimagining what corporate responsibility could mean. The Corporate Meetings and Corporate Incentives (CSR) Champion Award was presented to Brewspark Technologies Group, a Malaysian tech company whose sustainability vision extends far beyond mere financial contributions.
“True change happens when organisations get involved, not just donate,” said Lord Dr Kazuki Foo Ming Wei, Founder, Chairman & CEO of Brewspark Technologies Group. “Spogomi proves that protecting the planet can be fun, active, and something the next generation can be proud of.”
Those words capture the spirit behind Spogomi Malaysia, Brewspark’s award-winning sustainability initiative that is redefining how Malaysians engage with environmental responsibility. What began as a simple idea – turning litter collection into a competitive team sport – has grown into a national movement that combines teamwork, fitness, and advocacy for a cleaner planet.
Spogomi, a concept born in Japan in 2008 through The Nippon Foundation, merges two words: sport and gomi, the Japanese word for trash. The idea was designed to encourage communities to clean their surroundings while fostering a sense of fun, cooperation, and purpose.
Teams compete to collect and properly sort waste within a time limit, earning points based on the type and quantity of trash gathered.
“When we first introduced Spogomi to Malaysia in 2023, we didn’t know how people would respond,” Foo shared. “But Malaysians embraced it wholeheartedly. What started as a small pilot event in one city soon evolved into a nationwide sensation. By 2025, Spogomi Malaysia had expanded to eight regional events, attracting 135 teams from across the country.”
Across all events, Spogomi Malaysia collected and sorted an impressive 1,027kg of waste, all processed according to each city’s recycling guidelines. The national finals showcased the movement’s energy and efficiency, as participants sorted a remarkable 540kg of waste in just one hour.
But behind those numbers lies a deeper story of strategy, innovation, and collaboration. Brewspark approached Spogomi Malaysia not merely as a corporate social responsibility project, but as a national sustainability model, one that could drive behavioural change, inspire environmental pride, and produce real data for long-term solutions.
The group collaborated with local councils to develop waste segregation heatmaps, an innovative approach to visualising the distribution and types of waste collected across different communities. This data helped local authorities identify problem areas and tailor their recycling and waste management strategies more effectively.
Brewspark also partnered with the Centre for Marine Research Studies, leveraging scientific expertise to interpret the data and propose actionable insights — turning a regular clean-up into an ongoing, evidence-based sustainability effort. Still, Foo admits that the journey wasn’t without its challenges.
“When people come together for a good cause, the results speak for themselves. But coordinating a project of this scale was no easy task,” he reflected. “Each city had its own systems and priorities. Getting everyone aligned to a single sustainability vision required patience, flexibility, and a lot of communication.”
Despite the hurdles, teamwork and perseverance saw them through, and the outcome proved what can happen when purpose drives collaboration.
A Legacy of Action Beyond the waste collection, Spogomi Malaysia has become a catalyst for awareness and community spirit where environmental conservation is an act of pride rather than an obligation. Schools have begun incorporating Spogomi principles into student activities, while local councils are exploring ways to adopt similar models for ongoing community engagement.
Through initiatives like this, Brewspark Technologies Group is proving that corporate social responsibility can be a living legacy that empowers citizens, creates partnerships, and contributes to national sustainability goals. Their recognition at the Borneo Inspires Legacy Awards isn’t just about an achievement, but a stand that sustainability is most powerful when it’s shared.
“Change begins the moment you choose to act,” Foo concluded. “No effort is ever too small when it’s driven by purpose and heart.”
Borneo Inspires Legacy Awards (BILA) Held on 3 October 2025 in Kuching, Sarawak, BILA marked the first award ceremony of its kind in Malaysia and Borneo to recognise changemakers who are shaping the future of the business events industry.
HONG KONG, 24 October 2025: Fliggy, an online travel platform subsidiary of Alibaba Group, reported strong growth during China’s National Day holiday eight-day period from 1 to 8 October.*
The platform achieved 48% growth in Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) for fulfilled travel transactions, with a 30% increase in the number of people served, surpassing industry benchmarks.
Photo credit: Fliggy.
Daily records were set for domestic flight bookings, fulfilled global hotel bookings, and occupied room nights.
New merchant success in the hotel sector
Fliggy’s hotel partners performed strongly during the National Day holiday despite industry headwinds affecting the broader hospitality sector.
Hotels on the platform not only significantly outpaced the market in booking volume but also maintained upward momentum in Average Daily Rates (ADR).
Global hotel bookings hit an all-time high, with occupied room nights surging 78% YoY compared to 2024, while over 100 cities in China experienced a doubling of hotel room nights.
More than 100 hotel brands on the platform also saw their occupied room nights at least double during this holiday period.
Prominent hotel chains, including Jinjiang, Huazhu, BTG Homeinns, Marriott, Hilton, Atour, Wanda Hotels & Resorts, Hyatt, and Narada, performed well via their official flagship stores on Fliggy.
Newly onboarded hotel partners recorded an 83% increase in average occupied room nights per day during the holiday period compared to the May Day holiday.
During this holiday period, nearly 20 leading hotel brands partnered with Fliggy to offer exclusive benefits for Alibaba’s 88VIP members, resulting in an impressive YoY doubling of occupied room nights from this member group compared to last year by 8 October, with some hotels enjoying up to a nine-fold increase.
Enhanced ecosystem integration
Fliggy’s strong performance reflects a strategic realignment since its integration into the Alibaba China E-Commerce Group alongside Ele.me in June 2025. This move has fostered operational synergies while maintaining independent management and agile decision-making.
Under Alibaba’s comprehensive consumption platform strategy, Fliggy established a stronger user portal on the Taobao app and integrated with Alibaba’s new cross-platform loyalty programme, enhancing lifestyle experiences and commercial opportunities.
The expanded service scenarios and enhanced member benefits have significantly improved consumer travel service experiences across the Fliggy and Taobao apps. For merchant partners, this translates into robust growth in both traffic volume and high-value customer segments.
Travel orders placed through the Taobao app increased 74% during the holiday period compared to 2024, with 88VIP members contributing to a 120% increase in occupied room nights for hotels and sustained growth in per-capita spending.
*China’s National Day holiday in 2025 was an extended eight-day period from 1 to 8 October, coinciding with the Mid-Autumn Festival on 6 October.
PARIS, 24 October 2025: Air France continues to expand its network with a new service from Paris to Phuket in southern Thailand and the introduction of double daily flights to the Thai capital, Bangkok.
The airline has introduced an expanded flight schedule for the winter season starting this November that increases services worldwide to a total of nearly 170 destinations across 73 countries.
Photo credit: Air France. New flight from Paris to Phuket.
In addition to the new Phuket service, the airline will also introduce flights from Paris to Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) and continue the rollout of its new La Première suite, now available on flights to and from New York (JFK), Singapore, and Los Angeles, and coming soon to Miami and Tokyo Haneda. Over 30% of the fleet will be equipped with Air France’s new high-speed Wi-Fi by the end of 2025, and 100% by the end of 2026.
During the Winter 2025–2026 season (November 2025 to March 2026), the airline will operate nearly 800 daily flights to close to 170 destinations worldwide.
Long-haul network: 87 destinations, capacity up 3%
The Winter 2025 season will see continued growth in Air France’s long-haul network, with a capacity increase (measured in Available Seat Kilometres) of 3%.
New routes
Paris-Charles de Gaulle – Phuket (Thailand): up to three weekly direct flights starting 27 November 2025, operated by Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
Paris-Charles de Gaulle – Punta Cana (Dominican Republic): Three weekly flights from 13 January to 28 March 2026, operated by Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
Strengthening existing routes
North America
The Paris-Charles de Gaulle – Orlando route, inaugurated in Summer 2025, will continue through the winter with five weekly flights operated by Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
Routes between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Raleigh-Durham (US), Cancún (Mexico), and Papeete (French Polynesia, via Los Angeles, will be served up to seven times weekly, up from five per week previously.
South America and the Caribbean
Service to Brazil will be reinforced, with up to 12 weekly flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Rio de Janeiro, and five weekly flights to Salvador de Bahia.
The Paris-Charles de Gaulle – San José (Costa Rica) route will also increase to up to 10 direct flights per week, compared with seven during the Winter 2024–2025 season.
Africa and the Indian Ocean
Cape Town (South Africa) will now be served up to seven times weekly from Paris-Charles de Gaulle, operated by Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
Up to five weekly flights will operate between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Zanzibar–Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), up from three previously.
Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft will now operate flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Mauritius.
Asia and the Middle East
Bangkok (Thailand) will now be served twice daily from Paris-Charles de Gaulle.
The Paris-Charles de Gaulle – Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) route, inaugurated in Summer 2025, will continue through the winter with three weekly direct flights.
Dubai will be served 16 times weekly from Paris-Charles de Gaulle, compared with 14 times last winter.
KUALA LUMPUR, 24 October 2025: Travellers are rewriting the rulebook on why they travel, opting for meaning over mileage, and experiences over rote itineraries.
Trip.com Group and Google explore this shift in Why travel?, a new global consumer report that examines the intersection of purpose, people and place in travel.
The report suggests Kuala Lumpur is reinventing itself as a global fashion hotspot. At the same time, 66% of Malaysians now combine concerts or festivals with family vacations — redefining how we travel in 2026 and beyond.
By combining Trip.com Group’s global booking intelligence and proprietary booking data with Google’s research and search insights, the report uncovers how travellers are seeking deeper purpose and richer connections through culture, community, and technology to create more experience-focused journeys in 2026 and beyond.
The Why Travel report highlights five key themes that are shaping tomorrow’s journeys: Travel as Expression (where identity and aesthetics drive choices), Travel with Purpose (where curiosity and meaning replace cookie-cutter itineraries), Travel to Heal (where wellness and restoration become the agenda), Travel to Connect (where music, sport, and multigenerational moments bring people together), and Travel of Tomorrow (where AI and immersive technologies redefine inspiration and discovery).
Key Insights from the Why Travel? Report
Travel as Expression: Social media drives travel bookings. Events like Fashion Week amplify the importance of “being there”, with Google searches for “how to get invited” leaping 190% year-on-year (YoY). New destinations are rising in popularity, with Kuala Lumpur, Stockholm, and Dubai joining the ranks of traditional fashion week cities like Paris, Milan, and New York.
Travel to Connect: Travel is no longer a solo pursuit; it’s a shared experience. Friends, families, and fan communities are influencing where people go, with concerts and sports as key travel drivers. Among Malaysian travellers, 66% are combining concerts or festivals with vacations in family groups, while football (62%), Formula 1 (42%), and basketball (31%) are the most popular sports to combine with travel.
Travel with Purpose: Travellers increasingly crave cultural experiences with a more thoughtful sense of exploration. Google searches for “Japanese tea ceremonies” show a 53% YoY increase, demonstrating the desire for unique experiences that inspire.
Travel to Heal: Wellness trips are evolving – from vacation side activities to the main event. According to Google Trends, searches for “spa destination experiences” grew by 140% YoY. This health-centric agenda is also extending into the realm of medical tourism, as searches for “what is medical tourism” and “meaning of medical tourism” climbed 90% and 60% YoY, respectively.
Travel of Tomorrow: Technologies like AI become the co-pilot as consumers’ confidence in using technology to plan a trip grows. “Help planning my trip” searches grow by +190% YoY.
“Travel in 2026 will be more than movement; it’s about meaning. At Trip.com Group, we are seeing travellers fly across the globe for fitness events, discover cities through local food scenes, and make booking decisions driven by social influence. By working with Google, we uncover the cultural shifts that explain not just where people go, but why they travel,” said Trip.com Group Vice President Han Feng.
As community becomes a core booking motivator and AI-first travel continues to increase, Trip.com Group is doubling down on comprehensive concert travel packages and expanding its AI-driven planning tools, such as Trip.Planner to deliver seamless, personalised journeys. Looking ahead, the next wave of consumer growth will be driven by emotional alignment, cultural fluency, and tech-enabled flexibility – the foundations of the future of travel.
“We’re seeing a clear shift in how and why people explore the world, seeking deeper purpose, richer connections and experiences enhanced by technology. Google’s AI tools, such as Gemini, AI Mode on Search, and Google Translate, are emerging as travel collaborators to help people plan and make decisions. AI is an essential tool also for the industry, enabling partners like Trip.com Group to capture the immense opportunities that lie ahead in 2026 and beyond,” said Google Managing Director, Greater China LCS Specialists team, Joyce Zhang.
HONG KONG, 24 October 2025: Cathay Group released on Wednesday its traffic figures for September 2025, showing a year-on-year growth in passenger traffic.
Cathay Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau commented: “September typically marks a quieter period for our travel business following the end of the summer travel peak, though we continued to see year-on-year growth in the number of passengers carried as a Group. Cathay Pacific and HK Express carried a combined total of over 2.7 million passengers, 20% more than in September 2024. Meanwhile, heading into the traditional air cargo peak season in September, Cathay Cargo carried over 130,000 tonnes of cargo, slightly higher than the same period last year.
Photo credit: Cathay Group.
“In September, Cathay Pacific also announced non-stop passenger flights between Hong Kong and Changsha starting 4 November 2025, bringing the Group’s overall Chinese Mainland network to 24 destinations. Cathay Pacific is also increasing frequencies on other Chinese Mainland routes, including Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shanghai this coming winter season. As a group, we will be operating more than 330 return flights per week between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland.”
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific carried 21% more passengers in September 2025 compared with September 2024, while Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) increased by 20%. In the first nine months of 2025, the number of passengers carried increased by 27% compared with the same period in 2024.
Lau noted: “As the busy summer travel months drew to a close, we saw a shift to the outbound student travel peak in September ahead of the new school year, with our outbound flights from Hong Kong to the United Kingdom in particular achieving high load factors. Meanwhile, travel demand for Japan also rebounded strongly in September, with passenger volumes surpassing those of the same period last year, supported by connecting traffic from our network. In addition, the load factor for our premium cabins reached its highest level of the year, driven by various exhibitions in Hong Kong and fashion weeks in Milan and Paris. We also observed robust traffic from the Chinese Mainland to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia in the period leading up to the National Day holiday.
Looking ahead
Demand is building up for Christmas and the year-end holidays. Cathay Pacific will continue to add more flights and destinations in the coming months.
Cathay Cargo
Cathay Cargo carried 1% more cargo in September 2025 than in September 2024, while Available Freight Tonne Kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 4%. In the first nine months of 2025, the total tonnage increased by 10% compared with the same period in 2024.
Tonnage in September declined against the previous month due to the impact of typhoons, but it continued to rise year-on-year as a result of the additional capacity. Cathay Expert and Dangerous Goods solutions also recorded double-digit growth, driven by machinery movements within Northeast Asia and exports of newly launched high-tech products from the Chinese Mainland and Southeast Asia.
“Looking at October and beyond, we observed solid demand during the National Day holiday. We have also added a new seasonal freighter service to Madrid, providing customers with more capacity to and from this important European market during the traditional peak months,” Lau explained.
HK Express
HK Express carried close to 530,000 passengers in September 2025, an increase of 16% year on year, while Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) grew by 11%. In the first nine months of 2025, the number of passengers carried increased by 31% compared with the same period in 2024.
“For HK Express, September was a quieter month after the summer peak, although we observed a stronger pick-up in demand towards the end of the month, coinciding with the National Day holiday,” Lau explained. “On the airline’s Japan routes, although passenger traffic carried surpassed that of the same period last year, demand has not yet caught up with capacity growth.”
SINGAPORE, 24 October 2025: Singapore Changi Airport handled 17.3 million passenger movements from July to September 2025 (Q3), registering an increase of 3.1% year-on-year.
Aircraft movements, including landings and take-offs, totalled 91,600 for the quarter, comparable to the same period last year.
Changi Airport’s top five markets for the quarter were China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia and India. Among Changi’s top 10 markets, China and Vietnam recorded the strongest growth, at 9.7% and 11.3% respectively. The top five city links for the quarter were Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, Denpasar (Bali) and Shanghai, with the Singapore–Jakarta route posting double-digit growth.
In the third quarter, Changi Airport registered 531,000 tonnes of airfreight throughput, marking a 3.7% increase year-on-year.
Changi Airport Group’s Executive Vice President for Air Hub and Cargo Development, Lim Ching Kiat, said: “Changi Airport continues to build on the positive momentum in travel demand this quarter, particularly on Asia routes. We are expanding our network with new airlines and destinations that further reinforce Changi’s connectivity to the region. As we gear up for the year-end travel season, travellers can look forward to greater convenience and more ways to explore both new and familiar destinations.”
New and reinstated services
New Indonesian carrier Pelita Air commenced operations at Changi Airport on 11 August, operating daily flights between Singapore and Jakarta, and joins Changi’s network of some 100 airlines.
Travellers can look forward to discovering new destinations across the region, as Changi Airport’s network continues to expand with new flights added.
Hainan Airlines launched four-times-weekly Singapore–Haikou–Changchun services on 22 September, while Loong Air began three-times-weekly flights to Zhangjiajie on 9 October — both new city links for Changi. This addition further expands Changi’s current network of 35 cities in China. Batik Air Malaysia, part of the Lion Group, will be adding new daily flights to Ipoh, Penang and Subang from 8 December 2025. To support Lion Group’s continued growth and meet rising regional travel demand, its airlines will operate at Terminal 4 from 11 November 2025.
Scoot has also announced new routes to four Indonesian cities – Labuan Bajo, Medan, Palembang and Semarang – offering travellers more travel options across the archipelago. Semarang and Palembang are new-to-Changi city links.
On the cargo front, Changi welcomed JD Airlines’ thrice weekly scheduled Shenzhen freighter services, facilitating more options for shippers and freight forwarders between Southeast Asia and China.
As of 1 October, some 100 airlines operate about 7,000 weekly scheduled flights at Changi Airport, connecting Singapore to over 160 cities in 50 countries and territories worldwide.
SINGAPORE, 23 October 2025: IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG) has reached a milestone in its sustainability journey, with Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay becoming the first IHG hotel in Asia to join IHG’s Low Carbon Pioneer hotel programme.
IHG’s Low Carbon Pioneers is a growing global community of IHG properties that are energy efficient, have no fossil fuels combusted on-site* and are backed by renewable energy.
From left to right: Kishin RK, Founder and CEO of RB Capital Group, and Vivek Bhalla, Managing Director, South East Asia & Korea, IHG Hotels & Resorts.
Since its opening in 2014, Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay has been recognised for its sustainability-focused design, which includes a fully electric kitchen, hot water heat pumps, high-efficiency water fixtures, and an intelligent building management system that optimises energy usage without compromising guest comfort. It also features solar glazing and advanced lighting controls, ensuring efficient use of daylight and electricity throughout the day.
The hotel has been accredited with GSTC certification, a global standard for sustainability in travel and tourism, further demonstrating its commitment to sustainable tourism practices. Recently, the hotel celebrated winning the 2025 Singapore Hotel Sustainability Award, presented by the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) and achieved a Water Efficient Building Certification from PUB in recognition of its continued sustainability efforts.
In Singapore, the Singapore Hotel Association and the Singapore Tourism Board have launched the Hotel Sustainability Roadmap in support of Singapore’s Green Plan 2030. This initiative targets 60% of hotels to achieve internationally recognised sustainability certification by 2025 and aims for the industry to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
In addition to Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay joining IHG’s Low Carbon Pioneers programme, the company has also announced that Hotel Indigo Changi Airport, which will open in 2028, aims to attain a “zero-energy” certification level under the Green Mark Scheme of the Singapore Building and Construction Authority (BCA).
SINGAPORE, 23 October 2025: Qlik, a specialist in data integration, analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), released findings on Wednesday from a new YouGov survey of travellers across Singapore, Japan, Australia and India.
The results reveal a fault line: While people in these markets embrace tools that cut costs and sharpen planning, they push back hard against automation that seizes control and data demands that cross the line into the personal.
The research found that only 11% of residents surveyed in these markets actually trust AI more than people, and only one in four travellers want personalisation but refuse to share data.
For companies serving travellers and for businesses adopting AI more broadly, the mandate is clear: deliver visible value, safeguard user control, and build trust by handling data transparently and in line with tightening regulations.
What travellers across Asia want
When it comes to diverse needs, Singapore and India stand at opposite ends. Singapore travellers want robust planning tools, but almost two-thirds (63%) reject auto-rebooking (the automated process where a travel platform or airline changes a customer’s reservation without requiring confirmation from the traveller), signalling a desire for control. India, meanwhile, shows the highest openness to sharing planning data and optimism on AI, with one in five saying AI is more trustworthy than people. Yet Indian travellers still prefer a human recommendation in the final step, revealing a hybrid trust model.
The research found that Japan represents the most privacy-protective market. The gap between desired features and willingness to share data is wider in Japan than anywhere else, with only 31% willing to share data, underscoring deep cultural caution about digital tracking.
Australia, while not as extreme, shows a pragmatic stance. The country’s prolific travellers are price-driven and will share search data, but they remain sceptical about suggested destinations and cautious about automation such as rebooking.
“APAC travellers just gave every C-suite the AI playbook: Reward people with prediction and savings, and never remove their agency,” said Qlik CEO Mike Capone.
“Travellers will share searches and budgets when the benefit is clear, but they shy away from anything that edits plans without consent. Trust only comes when systems are explainable, auditable and tied directly to measurable value. Companies that respect trust and choice will earn loyalty at scale.”
The journey ahead
Businesses across the region will gain trust by demonstrating utility before requesting data.
Lead with prediction and budgeting features that surface clear savings, then layer in permissions.
Design consent as a first-class experience: Notify, show the exact change, ask before execution and offer a one-tap undo.
Explain every recommendation in plain language, including the key inputs and confidence behind it, so customers understand the “why,” not just the “what.”
Research methodology The findings in this report are based on a research study conducted by YouGov on behalf of Qlik. The survey gathered responses from nationally representative samples of adults aged 18+ across four Asia Pacific markets: Singapore, Australia, India, and Japan. The study was conducted via a quantitative online survey with YouGov panel members, administered from 25 to 28 August 2025.
In total, responses were weighted by age, gender, and geography to ensure representation within each market. The results for Singapore reflect a cross-section of the adult population, providing insights into consumer attitudes toward data sharing, AI adoption, and travel personalisation features.
KUALA LUMPUR, 23 October 2025: The MATTA Malaysia Pickleball Grand Slam, held from 13 to 19 October at Pikabol, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia’s pickleball powerhouse, presented a total cash prize pool of up to MYR100,000 to the winners.
On 18 October 2025, MPG 2025 held a special “Meet & Dink” appreciation session attended by YB Dato Sri Haji Abdul Karim bin Rahman Hamzah, Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry & Performing Arts, Sarawak.
His presence and strong support reflect a shared commitment to positioning Malaysia — and Sarawak in particular — as a vibrant sports tourism hub where the passion for travel meets the spirit of play.
The MPG2025 attracted more than 800 players and 26 teams from both Peninsular and East Malaysia, as well as international participants representing 10 countries, including Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, India, Vietnam, and the United States.
MATTA recognises that sports tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors globally, offering substantial potential for boosting local economies, promoting destinations, and enabling cultural exchange.
MATTA President Nigel Wong.
“The MPG 2025 was envisioned to harness the power of sports tourism and position Malaysia as a vibrant hub for wellness and active living. We identified Pickleball as more than just a sport. It is a bridge between generations, a celebration of movement, and a drive of community through travel,” said MATTA President Nigel Wong.
Through this event, MATTA showcases Sarawak’s strength as a host for both competitive and leisure sports, unites communities, promotes active living, and enhances Malaysia’s image as an exciting and welcoming destination for sports lovers worldwide.
MPG2025 acknowledged the support of Ministry of Tourism, Arts, And Culture Malaysia (MOTAC), Ministry of Youth Sports & Entrepreneur Development Sarawak (MYSED), Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry & Performing Arts Sarawak (MTCP), Sarawak Tourism Board (STB), Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MYCEB), BE Sarawak, WAK Festival, The Podium Project, Malaysia Pickleball Association (MPA), Sarawak Pickleball Association (SPA) and Kuching Pickleball Association (KPA).
MPG2025 also thanked Umobile as the Official Platinum Sponsor, RHB Bank Berhad, WTK Holdings Berhad and HotelPlanner as the Gold Sponsors; Grab, Zeitgeist Inspira Technologies and Selkirk Sports Malaysia as the Silver Sponsors; Facolos as the Official Pickleball Ball Sponsor and Somersby, F&N, Sportsdeal, Pikabol, Meritin Hotel and BW Cleaning Services as the Supporting Sponsors.
“As the event took shape, it became evident that MPG 2025 marks the birth of a new tradition, one that champions healthy competition and embodies the unity and spirit that define our nation. This is just the beginning of something truly special. We look forward to another MATTA Malaysia Pickleball Grand Slam next year,” Wong added.
