Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo has appointed Ashan Peiris as hotel manager, strengthening its leadership team.
He joins from within Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts, where he most recently served as director of brand development. With experience across operations, brand strategy and resort management, he has held roles at Cinnamon Red Colombo, Cinnamon Grand Colombo and Cinnamon Bentota Beach.
1926 Heritage Hotel has named Angelina Lazuardi as general manager, overseeing the property’s overall strategy, operations and performance.
She brings over 17 years of experience, most recently holding leadership roles with Kempinski, Marriott and The Parisian Macao, with a focus on operational and commercial performance.
A new study by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and Grab For Business reveals that companies in South-east Asia can significantly improve the business travel experience by aligning their business travel programmes with employees’ actual behaviours and reducing expense claims friction for them.
Based on a survey of 1,200 business travellers across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, the study found ground transportation has emerged as a clear example of a travel policy gap.
More than eight in 10 (83%) respondents use ground-transport options outside company policy or approved vendors. And while 95% of business travellers use ride-hailing, only 58% say their companies formally manage it.
As a result, companies often lose visibility and control over business travel costs, while employees experience stress and uncertainty about whether their ground transportation expenses will be approved.
“South-east Asia represents some of the world’s fastest-growing business travel markets, and this research shines a light on the critical programme gaps and real-world traveller needs shaping the region today – especially around safety, expense challenges, and technology expectations,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO at GBTA.
“This research highlights a transformative opportunity for companies to improve their travel programmes,” said Valerie Khoo, regional head, Grab For Business. “Off-policy bookings are a signal of a larger issue: misalignment between approvals and real-world traveller needs. There are many enterprise-friendly technologies that can help to address these gaps, for example by streamlining ground transportation booking and expense processes with digital tools, companies can enhance efficiency, policy compliance, and traveller safety and wellbeing.”
Ground transportation: A critical moment fraught with stress
Ground transportation is critical to the success of the business trip, as the respondents use them in high-stakes moments – nearly 78% rely on it for airport-to-hotel transfers, 71% use it to reach offices or client sites, and 70% use it for early morning trips to the airport.
Yet it is also a top stressor during work trips with nearly one-third (32%) citing navigating transportation in unfamiliar places as the most stressful aspect of business trips; followed by keeping up with receipts and expenses (25%); and staying within company rules and policies (14%).
Nearly half (44%) associate ground transportation during business trips with at least one negative emotion, including feeling rushed, stressed, or uncertain.
Common pain points around ground transportation include: lack of availability during early or late hours (54%); long wait times for a car (53%); and unclear pricing (44%).
The survey results point to the fact that there is room for companies to relieve employees’ concerns about logistical friction – including by putting in place clearer ground transportation policies that align with ground realities and seamless claims procedures – so that employees can focus on tasks that improve productivity and drive business outcomes.
Safety is a top decision-driver for business travellers
The study also shows that safety is the most important factor for travellers when selecting methods of ground transportation, with 75% rating it as “extremely important”.
The most valued safety features include: professional or verified drivers and clear driver/vehicle information (both 57%); emergency support tools and live trip sharing (both 54%); and in-app tracking (53%).
Companies, therefore, ought to keep these concerns in mind, when surfacing ground transportation options in their travel programme.
Ride-hailing emerged as top option, but is under-integrated
Nearly all respondents (95%) say they make use of ride-hailing “at least sometimes”, while 88% say ride-hailing apps are their usual method of choice for booking business trip ground transportation.
Business travellers cite convenience (55%); availability and safety and reliability (both 45%); and ease of use in unfamiliar places and price transparency (both 42%), as reasons they prefer to use ride-hailing on work trips.
Yet despite its prevalence, ride hailing is often not formally integrated into corporate travel programmes. Based on the findings, companies should consider formally integrating trusted ride-hailing platforms, which allow them to regain control over spending, ensure safety standards, and provide a tool their teams already use and prefer.
Business travellers’ desire for a unified platform
The administrative burden of travel is also significant. Nearly half of travellers (46%) spend more than 20 minutes submitting expenses per trip, while 57% delay the expense submission process or describe it as a chore, which signals room for enhancing travel claims efficiency.
In terms of meal preferences during business travel, a significant number of travellers say they prioritise saving time (75%) over staying within budget (25%).
Overall, 93% of respondents find the idea of a single platform for managing ground transportation and meal-related expenses across Southeast Asia appealing, pointing to a broader desire to reduce fragmentation.
What companies can do in support of business travel
Business travellers value the benefits provided by ride-hailing partnerships, which include: automatic expense integrations (89% find “very” or “extremely valuable”); one place where they can see all of their ground and meal spending (89%); pre-set policy controls (87%); and centralised payment (86%) in their company’s travel programme.
Such improvements have the potential to make a difference to employees’ business travel experience – and may, in turn, improve company productivity and employees’ safety, efficiency and well-being.
For more information and to download the full study, click here.
PATA has elected Henry Oh of Global Tours as chair of the association, following ratification at the annual general meeting on May 12.
Ben Montgomery of Centara Hotels & Resorts has been appointed vice chair.
Four new members have also been ratified to the executive board: Jackson Pek of Amadeus; Maria Paz Alberto of Ark Travel Express; Siripakorn Cheawsamoot of the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration; and Shuichi Kameyama of JTB Tourism Research & Consulting Co.. They join Sharzede Salleh Askor of Sarawak Tourism Board, who remains on the board.
Indonesia will launch the inaugural Indonesia Business Event Mart (IBEM) and the Southeast Asia Business Events Forum (SEABEF) in two months to bolster Jakarta’s standing as a regional hub for business events.
Organised by E&C Productions and TTG Events with the support of the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism, the dual event is scheduled for July 28 to 31 at the Jakarta International Convention Center.
The marketplace expects to host 250 international buyers and 200 sellers, providing a targeted platform for venue hotels and event solution providers to connect with key decision-makers.
While IBEM focuses on commercial business matching, the concurrent SEABEF will serve as a leadership forum for policymakers and industry associations to discuss the shifting trends and challenges within the South-east Asian business events sector.
To showcase Jakarta’s diverse tourism appeal, Dinas Pariwisata dan Ekonomi Kreatif DKI (Jakarta Tourism and Creative Economy Office) will arrange for a curated post-show island-hopping tour for media and buyers, featuring destinations such as Onrust and Macan Islands.
Association leaders in Malaysia stressed the urgent need for stronger succession planning and leadership development during a panel session titled Succession Matters: Building the Next Generation of Association Leaders at the recent Association Day 2026 organised by the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau.
Tiffany Chung, council member of the Malaysian Society of Association Executives highlighted a gap after only a handful of participants indicated that their associations had formal succession plans in place.
She stressed that succession planning should go beyond leadership replacement, and focus on ensuring long-term organisational resilience and sustainability.
There are ways to go about doing this. For example, Soon Ting Kueh, president of the Malaysian Institute of Chemistry, shared how the institute has been nurturing future leaders through its Young Chemists Network, an initiative introduced in 2018 for members below the age of 45.
“Through the programme, younger members are encouraged to organise activities, participate in committees and gain leadership exposure within the association. We are training them to take over as future leaders of the association,” he said.
Another panellist, Raja Elina Raja Aziddin, president of the Malaysian Association of Clinical Biochemists, emphasised the importance of creating an environment where younger members feel empowered to contribute ideas and take ownership of projects.
These younger members, she shared, are already leading digital transformation initiatives, including the development of software systems to manage memberships and events.
“We empower younger members to believe that their voices matter and that they have the power to shape the future of the profession. True leaders are not defined by titles, but by their willingness to step forward, contribute ideas and take responsibility,” Aziddin said.
Also in the panel was Adrianta Aziz, immediate past president of the Malaysian Institute of Architects, who highlighted the importance of mentorship and values-driven leadership within the architectural profession.
He said younger architects are continuously guided and mentored by senior practitioners throughout their professional journey, adding that leadership is built through teamwork, humility and service to society.
Surviving today’s shifting economic landscape requires venues to step far beyond the role of silent landlords, according to industry leaders at two panel discussions at Thailand MICE Week 2026.
According to industry experts on the The Future of MICE: Global Trends & Leadership Insights panel, venues are now actively stepping up to unlock government collaborations and vital funding.
Prakash Ramajillu, general manager at Koelnmesse, noted that new host countries often fail when organisers operate in isolation. He emphasised that for an event to be a success, there must be active collaboration between the venue, the government, and the tourism board.
In Hong Kong, this collaborative ecosystem has yielded tangible commercial results.
AsiaWorld-Expo’s (AWE) CEO Enid Low highlighted the impact of a recent three-year, 100 per cent rental subsidy scheme for exhibitions – launched by the government during Covid – that helped the venue secure 13 new exhibitions last year.
However, Low added that the venue wanted the events to be sustainable and around for the long-run, not just during the subsidy period.
To ensure long-term viability, AWE connects organisers with local associations, contractors, and alternative government funding streams – such as grants from the Commercial, Cultural or Sports Bureaus – tailored to the event’s specific scope and objectives.
Over on the Beyond Tenancy panel, Ryan Adrian, managing director of Nusantara International Convention Exhibition in Indonesia, noted that his commercial staff are now officially positioned as sales and relationship managers.
Transitioning from an operational to a collaborative mindset is essential because we need to work hand-in-hand to support everyone. In these challenging times, NICE prioritises the relationship aspect of our roles because, ultimately, it is a relationship-driven business, Adrian explained.
Janz Ng, senior director of partnership & sales at Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa, echoed this sentiment, stating that commercial teams must view organisers not as customers, but as “client partners” working toward shared business outcomes.
“It’s a mindset shift where I’m not just earning revenue from you; I’m presenting you with partnership opportunities. Additionally, the MICE spaces we have is not just the convention space. All the MICE spaces under my purview includes any possible space within the attractions, within the hotels, and even the restaurants,” Ng said.
Pitipatr Buri, CEO of Bhiraj Buri Group in Thailand, concluded: “In the past, the role of the venues and organisers had a very clear line. For us, it was being a silent operator.
“But now it is more about how we can help the organisers by using past databases and providing much better predictability on current shows. Stronger partnership is the key that will lead to better navigation of uncertainties.”
Traditional metrics like online adoption rates are becoming redundant as artificial intelligence (AI) erases the line between online and offline booking, according to industry experts on The Big Idea panel at the GBTA APAC Conference in Singapore yesterday.
For decades, the online adoption rate served as the gold standard for travel programme efficiency. However, there is now a near-unanimous consensus that this era is over, driven by a fragmented landscape of apps and chat.
“Looking at it from just an online adoption level as a KPI is redundant,” said Nicola Winchester, global travel, meetings and events leader at EY. “I would prefer we look at the value drivers – efficiency and traveller experience – rather than just the channel.”
Evgeniya Kataeva, global head of workplace and travel at Thunes, echoed this sentiment, noting that a high adoption rate does not reflect a programme’s health.
“A 98 per cent online adoption does not say anything about our booking window or actual performance. It will become a natural direction for every programme, and therefore, become outdated,” she explained.
Ben Wedlock, BCD Travel’s senior vice president of global sales for APAC, used a historical analogy to urge travel managers to embrace AI, comparing the current moment to 1991, when Estonia chose a technology-first path while neighbouring Latvia stayed with analogue networks.
“Estonia is now a global Fintech hub because they future-proofed their infrastructure. AI is here and now. Do we want to keep adopting analogue technology and facsimiles, or do we want to evolve like Estonia?” Wedlock challenged.
Winchester further shared that EY is already building agentic AI capabilities, allowing travellers to book trips entirely within workplace environments like Microsoft Teams.
She said: “You can be talking to an agent in Teams that gives you offers, links to an approval process, and flows through to expenses in seconds. The distinction between online and offline becomes redundant.”
Consequently, the focus is shifting from controlling traveller behaviour to guiding it. This involves a “carrot” approach – creating a seamless experience that encourages users to stay in-programme – balanced against the “stick” of duty of care.
All panellists agreed that “rogue” bookings remain a major risk. In one instance, a traveller saved US$200 on a booking but cost the company US$3,000 due to hidden cancellation terms, Wedlock shared.
“If you can make a programme so efficient that people do not even realise they are being policy-managed, that is the utopia,” Winchester concluded.
Koelnmesse and Amara Expo have launched a joint venture, Nine Koeln Indonesia, to capitalise on a projected 15 per cent growth in the nation’s business events sector.
Led by managing director Etty Anggraeni, the new entity integrates Koelnmesse’s global exhibition network with Amara’s local market expertise to strengthen Indonesia’s position as a regional trade hub.
The venture builds on a decade of collaboration, including the Indonesia Dental Exhibition & Conference in 2017, Interzum Jakarta in 2024, and International Hardware Fair Indonesia in 2025.
Mathias Kuepper, regional president APAC, Koelnmesse, said: “Establishing Nine Koeln Indonesia reinforces our long-term commitment to Indonesia and allows us to further connect our global portfolio with this dynamic market.”
Operations will scale rapidly in September 2026 with a concentrated lineup of major trade fairs. IFMAC WOODMAC is scheduled for September 23 to 26, followed by the second edition of Interzum Jakarta, International Hardware Fair Indonesia, and IFFINA+ powered by imm cologne, all running from September 24 to 27.
Global tourism and business events industry consulting firm, GainingEdge, has announced that Thomas Reiser will join the company as partner, effective May 15, 2026.
Reiser brings more than 25 years of international leadership experience in association management and business events, with a track record of leading and transforming global organisations.
His career spans senior executive roles across both associations and leading association management companies and professional congress organisers.
Most recently, Reiser served as executive director of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, where he led a period of significant expansion, growing the organisation’s global reach, membership, and financial performance while overseeing major international congresses and launching impactful global initiatives.
Prior to this, he held leadership roles with organisations such as Smith Bucklin, MCI Group, Interel Association Management, and several international medical societies.
