Omri Morgenshtern’s Post

My family and I just came back from our first trip to Africa, visiting Victoria falls in Zambia and Zimbabwe, and going on safari in South Africa. It was such a remarkable experience. In many ways, it was a trip to our origins and to what makes us human. In northeast South Africa, the local tribes welcome people with "Sawa Bona", which means "I see you". The response is "Sikhona" - "I am seen". I found it charming and well aligned with our Agoda purpose of bridging the world through travel. The more we see people, understand them, and make them feel seen, the better this world will be. Travel is such a force of good with this regard, and I felt it tremendously on my trip. #travel #agoda #bridgingtheworldthroughtravel #lifeatagoda #africa #zambia #zimbabwe #southafrica #victoriafalls

I'm happy to share that Agoda and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) have renewed our partnership to promote Singapore as a top destination in Southeast Asia through the ‘Reason to Travel’ campaign. As a Singapore-headquartered company, we are thrilled to leverage our expertise in digital marketing and our global travel platform to bring new and returning visitors to Singapore, ensuring they see the world for less while experiencing more. The innovative way in which Melissa Ow, Juliana Kua, and Lee Jian Xuan are building their vision for showcasing Singapore to the world is inspiring to say the least. What I like about STB, and Melissa and Jules in particular, is that we can talk about the future of Singapore Travel, multi-armed bandit algorithms and the value of GPT-4o innovations, and I find them equal if not superior peers! I'm proud to continue our work with them, and of Agoda's contribution to further strengthen Singapore's position as a must-visit destination. https://lnkd.in/gBzN3nYT #Agoda #SingaporeTourism #STB #SeeTheWorldForLess #TravelTech #DigitalMarketing #TravelInnovation

June is Pride Month, and it is an exciting and important time to celebrate diversity and tolerance. This year especially so for the LGBTQIA+ community in Thailand because the legislation to allow same-sex unions is expected to be passed later this year. Marriage equality was the main theme of this year’s Bangkok Pride, of which Agoda was the Official Online Travel Partner. Together with 200 Agodans, we marched in the parade on the 1st of June. It was incredible. I want to take this opportunity to compliment and thank Agoda’s Pride ERG for an amazing event, and for having a positive influence on Agoda and the community. Happy Pride! #bridgingtheworldwithpride #bangkok #bangkokpride #lgbtqia #thailand #lifeatagoda #celebrate #diversity #agodapride #traveltech

Yesterday I had the privilege to welcome very special guests to Agoda’s Bangkok office: The Prime minister of Thailand, Srettha Thavisin and other respected dignitaries from the Thai government. In our productive meeting, we talked about our shared vision for Thailand’s tourism industry. The Prime Minister’s speech following the meeting was nothing short of inspiring. On both sides there’s an eagerness to work together and realize the Prime Minister’s goal of making next year Thailand’s biggest ever year for tourism. We also discussed my personal believe that Bangkok has the potential to be the Silicon Valley of Asia. Agoda will keep investing in the brightest Thai tech talent, through our recruitment program, by upskilling employees, and providing tech education and workshops to Thai students. Together with our community of skilled expats, we create the perfect ecosystem to drive innovation. I’m deeply grateful for the Prime Minister’ s time yesterday, for the support of him and his team, and for our partnerships with government organizations like the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Board of Investment, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand. And a special shoutout to Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) CFO Ewout Steenbergen. Straight after a red-eye flight, Ewout had to rush through Bangkok to join the meeting. He made it in time. A small example of Booking Holdings’ ongoing commitment to Agoda and Thailand. #lifeatagoda #primeminister #thailand #bangkok #tourism #traveltech #agoda #centralworld #innovation #talent

Incredible that it has already been ten years at Agoda. But then again, time flies when you're having fun. I feel extremely lucky. First of all that I got to spend more than 2 decades of my life working alongside Ittai Chorev and Idan Zalzberg, who are way more than best friends. Honestly, I'm not even sure family will run deep enough to describe the depth of our relationship. And secondly because I get to work together with thousands of talented Agodans all over the world. Every Agodan contributes to our amazing culture and shares the goal of building the best travel platform in the world. And that's what we'll continue doing in the next decade. Having fun, breaking boundaries, winning. #lifeatagoda #anniversary #traveltech

The world lost one of its brightest minds this week with the passing of Daniel Kahneman at the age of 90. The Nobel Prize laureate was a pioneer who pretty much created the field of behavioral economics. His famous book ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ is not a light read but is a groundbreaking work about the wonders of the human mind. Kahneman introduced terms like system 1 and system 2, and explored human biases like anchoring bias, availability bias, and many others. He was not only a brilliant scholar, but he also approached his concepts with the mind of a scientist by thinking carefully on how to experiment, how to clear unnecessary influencing factors, and how to test and measure emotions and behaviors. Professor Kahneman probably wasn’t aware how much he influenced Agoda's culture of experimentation, thinking, and terminology (I’m not sure if many Agodans are aware of it either). But he did and we are indebted to him. Kahneman changed the world through science and impacted millions of people directly or indirectly. He also showed us how to measure things that we thought were immeasurable. He leaves behind an incredible legacy. May he rest in peace.

About a decade ago I fell in love with San Francisco. There was something about the vibe of innovation, the ‘can do’ spirit, and the push of an economic tailwind that made it special. I felt it again when I visited New Delhi last week. There is the excitement of growth, there’s tech excellence, and a hunger for success. A hockey stick atmosphere. I felt it on the stage at the Skift India Forum, in meetings with amazing entrepreneurs like Vijay Shekhar Sharma (PayTM) and Rajesh Magow (MakeMyTrip). And maybe most of all I felt it in the electric energy of AgodaFest India. https://lnkd.in/gvtk6RVc Agoda #lifeatagoda #India #NewDelhiNCR #AgodaFest #MakeMyTrip #Skift #SkiftIndiaForum #SanFrancisco #traveltech

Every time I visit Japan I find it hard to leave. During my recent trip, I was humbled to be given the opportunity to interview JTB CEO Yamakita-San for our internal Agoda townhall. I was also humbled by the immense quality and determination of our team and learned that localization efforts never end. And that the Ramen in Japan can be as good as it is in Bangkok :) #lifeatagoda #japan #jtb #ramen #agoda #tokyo #tech #travel Eijiro Yamakita Hiroto Ooka Motoi Mori Hongfei Shao Yicen Zhang Atsushi Nozao Sogo Iikuni Misato Okayasu

Last Friday, at the 27th ASEAN Tourism Forum and in the esteemed company of tourism ministers, I had the privilege to announce the expansion of Agoda’s partnership with WWF / WWF-Singapore and our Eco Deals campaign. This year, we have set the ambitious goal of raising 1 million USD in donations for WWF's vital wildlife conservation projects across Southeast Asia. The target is four times more than last year’s donation amount of 250k USD, and over seven times more than the first edition of Eco Deals in 2022, when Agoda donated 140k USD to WWF. The program will ensure funding for WWF’s important projects, while travelers enjoy additional discounts and participating accommodation partners increase demand. While at the ASEAN Tourism Forum, I had the honor to sit down and discuss the latest travel trends with several ministers and tourism officials from ASEAN markets and ASEAN dialogue partners. We all share the conviction that while we facilitate tourism, we have to preserve destination resources. A special thank you to Minister Nguyen Van Hung of #Vietnam, Minister Sandiaga S. Uno of #Indonesia, Minister Dato Abdul Manaf Metussin of #Brunei, Melissa Ow of #Singapore Tourism Board, and Dr. Vichit Ith of Tourism Ministry of Cambodia. I look forward to working with each of you in the coming year, which promises to be an exciting one for travel. #lifeatagoda #agoda #atf #asean #aseantourism #aseantourismforum #adestinationforeverydream #vietnamtimelesscharm #cambodiaeverydayisawonder #bruneiabodeofpeace #wonderfulindonesia #madeinsingapore #ecodeals #wwf #donation #campaign #laos