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Agoda Reveals Sustained Intra-Regional Travel Interest Across Southeast Asia

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Vietnam recorded growth in search interest from Southeast Asian markets, rising as much as 98% from the Philippines.Malaysia climbed from third to second place among Cambodia’s outbound flight destinations, with search interest up 24%.Indonesia’s appeal also grew, with search interest up 18% across travelers from Malaysia and 17% from Singapore.

SINGAPORE, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Digital travel platform Agoda has revealed that travelers across Southeast Asia are increasingly looking to their neighbors for more accessible trips in the first half of 2026, with Vietnam standing out as the region’s biggest draw.

A Region Exploring Its Own Neighbors

Vietnam recorded growth in accommodation search interest from every other Southeast Asian market across Indonesia (20%), Cambodia (22%), Laos (22%), Thailand (24%), Malaysia (40%), Singapore (52%), and the Philippines (98%). Agoda’s flight booking data reflects the same shift, with Vietnam making its debut on the Philippines’ top five outbound destinations in third place. The data highlights Vietnam’s growing appeal as an accessible regional destination, driven by the market’s expanding visa-free access, longer stay durations and increased flight connectivity.

Andrew Smith, Senior Vice President of Supply at Agoda, said, “The first half of 2026 had its complexities, but what we saw is that travelers don’t stop wanting to travel. They tend to shift toward destinations that are closer and easier to get to instead. Vietnam’s growth within the region tells us that travelers respond decisively when you remove friction and lower the travel barriers.”

Interest in Malaysia is also growing, particularly from Cambodia, where accommodation searches rose 24% and flight data shows Malaysia climbing from third to second place among Cambodia’s outbound destinations. The growing momentum comes as Tourism Malaysia continues its promotional efforts in Cambodia this year as part of its broader Visit Malaysia 2026 campaign.

Search interest in Indonesia also grew among neighboring markets, climbing to #2 in Malaysia and #3 in Singapore, increasing 18% and 17% respectively. Combined with strong demand for affordable stays, particularly among travelers seeking accommodation priced below $50 a night, the findings point to both discovery and value as important drivers of regional travel interest.

Southeast Asia’s Proximity Advantage

Agoda’s traveler survey insights[1] revealed that nearly a third of travelers surveyed plan to take short trips of just one to three days in 2026, with Southeast Asia’s proximity making it an ideal destination for quick getaways. Agoda’s H1 2026 data reinforces this trend, as does its partnership with the ASEAN Secretariat on the ‘SEABlings: Closer Than You Think’ campaign, launched in August 2026 with AirAsia MOVE to inspire Southeast Asians to explore their own region.

Smith added, “When planning a three-day getaway instead of a two-week vacation, travelers can travel more frequently, explore more destinations, and stay flexible with their budgets. Southeast Asia is well-positioned to capture this shift, with destinations close together and well-connected for more frequent, seamless travel.”

Travelers looking to explore Southeast Asia can browse the full range of options on the Agoda travel platform, where flights, accommodation and experiences can be combined in a single booking, drawing on a network of over 130,000 flight routes, more than 6 million holiday properties, and over 300,000 activities. Travelers planning their next trip can find great value deals on Agoda’s mobile app. Discover more on Agoda’s mobile app or at Agoda.com.

[1] 2026 Travel Outlook Report

 

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DapuStor to Showcase AI Storage Innovations with Global Infrastructure Partners at Tech Week Singapore 2026

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SINGAPORE, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — DapuStor, an enterprise storage solutions provider, will showcase its latest enterprise SSD technologies alongside four global AI infrastructure partners at Tech Week Singapore 2026, taking place September 29–30 at Marina Bay Sands.

Under the theme “Powering AI Infrastructure Together,” DapuStor will demonstrate how enterprise storage works with data platforms, compute infrastructure, and AI applications to support increasingly data-intensive AI workloads.

The showcase will feature DapuStor’s latest enterprise SSD portfolio, including the 512TB R6060 E2 QLC SSD, J5060 SLC/QLC mixed-mode SSD, R6 liquid-cooled E1.S SSD, and J5 M.2 boot drive SSD. Designed for evolving AI training and inference requirements, the portfolio addresses growing dataset sizes, thermal constraints, storage density, and infrastructure efficiency.

DapuStor will also present a series of joint AI infrastructure showcases with its partners. Together with DDN (DataDirect Networks), DapuStor will demonstrate high-performance enterprise TLC SSDs supporting AI data platforms including DDN Infinia, EXAScaler, and X3M, with a focus on efficient data access and movement at scale.

With Ubitus, DapuStor will showcase an integrated AI infrastructure solution combining scalable GPU computing with enterprise storage for AI training and inference. Together with ExponTech, DapuStor will highlight AI-oriented storage for KV Cache, RAG, training, and inference workloads.

DapuStor will also showcase enterprise NVMe storage alongside platforms from a leading global server technology provider, highlighting scalable compute and storage infrastructure for AI and cloud deployments.

Beyond the exhibition, DapuStor will participate in two conference sessions. On September 29 at 3:35 p.m. SGT, John Li, VP of Marketing and Operations at DapuStor, will join the panel “AI Sovereignty in Asia Pacific – Navigating Strategy, Policy, and Control.”

On September 30 at 12:45 p.m. SGT, DapuStor and DDN will jointly present “Powering AI Infrastructure with High-Performance Storage” at the Cloud & AI Infrastructure Keynote Theatre, sharing perspectives on scalable, production-ready AI infrastructure.

Visitors can meet DapuStor and explore the joint showcases at Booth 5-I45, Level 5, Marina Bay Sands, Singapore, September 29–30.

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Xinhua Finance: Robotics Contest Highlights Chongqing District’s Push Into Embodied AI

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National competition in Shapingba District draws more than 100 teams developing robotics technologies for real-world deployment

CHONGQING, China, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A national robotics competition held this month in Chongqing offered a look at China’s efforts to move embodied artificial intelligence out of research laboratories and into commercial use.

The finals of the 11th “Maker in China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Contest for Intelligent Biomimetic Robots concluded Sept. 11 in Chongqing’s Shapingba District. The three-day national competition drew more than 100 teams from across China, with projects spanning biomimetic robotics, industrial automation and AI systems designed to perceive and interact with the physical world. 

Alongside the competition, organizers arranged meetings involving companies, universities and research institutions, as well as discussions aimed at technology transfer, financing and local deployment. The event formed part of a national program intended to support innovative SMEs with specialized technologies. Its theme was “Pushing Tech Frontiers, Unleashing Creativity.”

The competition comprised 13 tracks, covering work ranging from foundational research to systems approaching commercial deployment. Teams in the startup category competed in three broad areas: cutting-edge technologies, core enabling technologies and specialized applications. Their projects focused in part on the hardware, software and control systems underpinning the next generation of robots.

Teams in the enterprise category, by contrast, tested systems designed for real-world use in the electric power, healthcare and service sectors. The emphasis was on whether the technologies could perform reliably in operating environments and be scaled for broader deployment.

Many of the entries targeted technical bottlenecks that have limited the wider deployment of robotic systems. Projects included multi-robot coordination and task-scheduling systems for warehouses; assistive exoskeletons for older adults and rehabilitation patients; biomimetic robots for inspecting electric power infrastructure; miniature hummingbird-inspired flapping-wing drones; and robots capable of folding clothing autonomously. Together, the projects illustrated the range of engineering approaches Chinese developers are pursuing as they seek practical applications for embodied AI.

The competition also served as a venue for financing and business-development discussions, and several participating projects announced plans to establish operations in Shapingba. At the closing ceremony, the Shapingba District government signed letters of intent with SIASUN Robot & Automation Co., Ltd. and Chentu Technology, among other companies. ZTE also signed letters of intent with teams from Zhejiang University and Xi’an Jiaotong University.

Shapingba is seeking to establish itself as a center for embodied AI within Chongqing’s broader robotics supply chain. The value of the district’s robotics output rose 233% from a year earlier during the first seven months of 2026, according to local government data.

 

 

 

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SOURCE Xinhua Finance

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Peoplevine Secures Multi-Million-Dollar Growth Investment to Accelerate AI-Powered Hospitality

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Investment from Recurring Capital Partners will accelerate Peoplevine’s AI roadmap, payments infrastructure and global expansion across private clubs and luxury hospitality.

CHICAGO, Sept. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Peoplevine, the Guest & Member Experience CRM for hospitality, today announced a multi-million-dollar growth capital investment from Recurring Capital Partners (RCP). The investment will accelerate Peoplevine’s AI-driven product roadmap, payments infrastructure and continued global expansion across private clubs and luxury hospitality.

“Hospitality has always been about remembering people, who they are, what they value and what makes them feel known. AI gives us an entirely new way to unlock it.” Boren Novakovic, CEO, Peoplevine

For hospitality operators in more than 20 countries, Peoplevine helps deepen guest and member relationships through a living profile, connecting identity, membership, preferences, payments, reservations, visits and experiences to make hospitality more personal.

Peoplevine is investing in AI capabilities designed to make the depth of guest and member context within its platform dramatically easier for operators to surface, understand and act on, turning the living profile into intelligence, personalization and action.

“Hospitality has always been about remembering people, who they are, what they value and what makes them feel known,” said Boren Novakovic, CEO of Peoplevine. “For more than 12 years, our technology has helped clients build those relationships, and the living profile gives operators that memory at scale. AI gives us an entirely new way to unlock it. This investment allows us to accelerate that vision and help our customers create more personal, more intelligent hospitality around the world.”

Peoplevine’s Guest & Member Experience CRM helps private clubs, hotels, resorts, stadiums, restaurants and other membership-driven hospitality operators manage the guest and member relationship across its lifecycle.

“The opportunity isn’t simply to add AI features to the interface,” said Jordan Gilman, CTO and Co-Founder of Peoplevine. “It’s to make the depth already inside Peoplevine more accessible and actionable. When intelligence can securely reason across the living profile, operators can move from searching for information to understanding what matters, identifying opportunities and taking action. We’re building toward a system of identity and intelligence that puts the full context of the guest and member relationship to work.”

The investment will also support Peoplevine’s continued international expansion, extending the company’s platform and support capabilities to private clubs and luxury hospitality operators in new global markets.

“Peoplevine has a proven track record of driving growth through innovation in the private club and hospitality market,” said Brian Henley, Managing Partner at Recurring Capital Partners. “Peoplevine is exactly the kind of high-growth, capital-efficient company we’re excited to support, led by a proven management team. We look forward to fueling their continued success and innovation.”

About Peoplevine

Peoplevine is the Guest & Member Experience CRM for hospitality, purpose-built for private clubs, hotels, resorts, stadiums, restaurants and other membership-driven hospitality businesses.

Peoplevine helps operators acquire, check in, engage, retain and grow guest and member relationships through a connected living profile that brings together identity, membership, engagement, transactions and experiences.

For more than 12 years, Peoplevine has helped hospitality businesses create more connected and personalized experiences and today serves customers across 20 countries.

Peoplevine integrates with leading hospitality platforms across property management, point of sale, reservations, payments and other critical systems.

For more information, visit Peoplevine.com.

About Recurring Capital Partners

Recurring Capital Partners provides growth capital to SaaS technology companies. Combining deep operating experience with startup finance expertise, the firm partners with founders and management teams to accelerate growth, manage business and personal risk, and help capital-efficient software businesses scale.

Media Contact

Chris Lindsey, Peoplevine, 1 7734160841, chris@peoplevine.com, www.peoplevine.com

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SOURCE Peoplevine

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