THIS ISSUE’S PICKS
BOGOTA’S BRIGHT FUTURE
Colombia’s capital is giving
business and leisure travellers a
plethora of reasons to visit
(page 22)LIVING LOCAL
Escape the frenetic heart of
Ho Chi Minh City with a trip
to its charming suburbs
(page 28)AWARD WINNERS
We recognise the airlines,
airports, hotels and cities that
you voted the best in the world
(page 46)RESTORED BEAUTY
We review former government
building turned luxury hotel,
The Murray, Hong Kong
(page 70)Tom OtleyEditorial directorWELCOME
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NOVEMBER 2018 businesstraveller.comW
elcome to the November issue, and one where we have cause for celebration.
The first reason for having a party is, of course, theBusiness TravellerAsia-Pacific
reader awards, the results of which you can read in this issue.
Each year we ask you, our readers, to nominate the companies who have most
impressed you over the previous 12 months. Some winners change each year, while some
remain the same, testament to the consistency of their product and service. It must be a
dificult balancing act, ensuring you continue to offer what your customers want, day in and
day out, yet at the same time moving with shifting markets and demographics to ensure you
never look outdated and continue to attract new generations of customers. For those who
succeed in this, for another year, we salute you.
The second reason to celebrate is that airlines, hotels and travel companies continue to
innovate and that we, as regular travellers, benefit from these innovations. Whether it is new
aircraft, new seating on board or new routes, airlines are (in general) in competitive markets
and not making huge amounts of money, yet continue to spend money, giving customers new
and improved experiences. Hotels have also changed, and not just at the top end of the market.
Budget hotels now have a proper design ethic, as well as some great locations in the centre of
cities suitable for all budgets, and we will be focusing on some of these in continuing issues.
Finally, we should celebrate because we now have opportunities that were impossible for
earlier generations. We are more well travelled than ever before, and trends indicate this will
continue. Challenges remain, not least the effect of all this travel on the environment, but we
may well look back in 20 or 30 years at this time as a golden age of travel. I hope we’re all
around then to see if that was true.