Sedona Hotel Yangon seeks MICE business with new wing

IN A city where the corporate and MICE market had been languid until just a mere five years ago, it’s a vastly different scene now in Yangon as Myanmar’s growing economy has led to an influx of international investment and business activities since the country opened its doors in 2011.

It is no wonder then that Sedona Hotel Yangon, established in 1996, has since turned its attention to the city’s nascent MICE market. The deluxe five-star hotel soft-opened the new Inya Wing in October, adding 431 guest rooms and suites to the existing 366-room Garden Wing to bring its total room number to 797 – the biggest in Yangon.

The huge boost in room inventory has made it viable for Sedona Hotel Yangon to pursue the MICE market, explained Mok Kok Meng, general manager of Sedona Hotel Yangon. He said: “The owners see it as very exciting times to be in and therefore the extension was part of the plan to venture into MICE. That was planned way back in 2011 until its fruition today.”

As well, the 19-year-old property has also spruced up its ballrooms and existing function spaces this year while implementing high Internet speed of 100mbps to cater to the fast-growing MICE and corporate market, Mok added.

When asked which sectors are doing well for MICE market, he commented: “All the big boys are coming in – cars, fashion, retail, oil and gas, tobacco, etc – basically any sector that comes with a growing economy is now very interested in entering Myanmar.”

Sedona Hotel Yangon recently hosted the 14th Annual Conference of Hospital Management Asia from September 3 to 4, which saw the attendance of over 700 delegates from 30 countries.

“We are going into a lot of international MICE shows like ITB, EIBTM and IT&CM China,” said Eugene Yeo, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing.

“Singapore is a strong MICE market for us, and we are working with Preferred Hotels & Resorts to organise a fam trip for all PCOs (from Singapore) to come into Yangon. Other MICE markets we are going after will be China as well as Thailand.”

Sponsored Post