Jeffrey Goh has been named managing director at Alton Aviation Consultancy in Singapore.
He previously served as CEO of Gulf Air Group, and prior to that, as CEO of Star Alliance. He has also held senior leadership roles at International Air Transport Association.
The PuLi Shanghai has named Vittorio Dincao as general manager.
He joins from Galaxy Entertainment Group, where he most recently served as executive manager of hotel operations and helped lead the launches of Capella and Raffles at Galaxy Macau.
Previously, he held senior roles at Hotel Cipriani Venice, Rosewood Hong Kong and Atlantis Dubai.
Marlene Poynder has been named general manager of Waldorf Astoria Sydney, which is scheduled to open in 2027.
She brings more than 30 years of luxury hospitality experience and most recently served as managing director of The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel.
Her previous roles include leadership positions at Waldorf Astoria Beijing, Waldorf Astoria Chicago, Conrad New York Downtown and Park Hyatt Sydney.
Laurens Kritzinger has been appointed general manager of W Bali – Seminyak, effective May 11, 2026.
He joins from The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa, where he most recently served as general manager. He was previously general manager of Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort.
Armand Steinmeyer has been appointed vice president, development, Southeast Asia at Radisson Hotel Group.
Based in the region, he will lead the group’s development strategy across South-east Asia.
He brings more than 15 years of experience in hospitality development, investment analysis, portfolio growth, mergers and acquisitions, and owner relations across South-east Asia, Asia-Pacific and EMEA.
Michael Yang has been named general manager, Hong Kong at Plaza Premium Group (PPG).
Based in Hong Kong, he will lead the group’s business and operations in the market.
He most recently served as general manager – special task force at PPG, where he led strategic expansion initiatives and partner engagement programmes across the region.
EventsAir has launched Air Intelligence, a new suite of AI-powered assistants designed to streamline event planning and enhance the attendee experience.
The tool integrates real-time and historical event data into a single platform, shifting the planner’s role from navigating complex software to interacting directly with data through conversational prompts.
Instead of manually building reports or managing repetitive tasks, organisers can now track performance metrics, such as registration trends and session engagement, using instant queries.
The rollout introduces targeted assistants designed for different stages of the event lifecycle. The Attendee Assistant and Content Assistant are available now, providing immediate, context-aware updates to participants and automating event communications. The Planner Assistant, coming soon, will focus on surfacing live insights to enable faster decision-making on the ground.
EventsAir CEO Paul Trappett stated in a release: “For too long, event professionals have had to work around systems, rather than with them. With Air Intelligence, we’re introducing intelligent assistants that are evolving towards agent-like capabilities, working alongside planners to interpret data, surface insights, and take appropriate actions in real time, powered by over 35 years of event delivery expertise and deeply connected event data.”
EventsAir CTO Mehdi Khalili emphasised that the technology is built to extend human capabilities rather than replace them, giving organisers more time to focus on strategic execution while identifying operational issues early.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has entered a three-year strategic partnership with global trade exhibition organiser Informa Markets to bring a portfolio of premium international event IPs to the city.
Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) spanning 2026 to 2028, the collaboration will establish a luxury business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) platform named The Festival of Connoisseurs.
Departing from traditional convention centre formats, the flagship event will debut Asia’s first “city-as-your-showroom” concept. Instead of confining exhibits to a single venue, the festival will activate multiple landmarks and signature locations across Hong Kong to display high-end sectors, including supercars, yachts, haute jewellery, horology, private aviation, fine art, and rare spirits.
The event will see a high-impact soft launch in November 2026 before expanding into a full-scale annual festival in 2027.
To build out the festival’s footprint, Informa Markets plans to anchor several events from its global luxury portfolio in Hong Kong. This includes expanding major international IPs to the city, such as Top Marques Monaco, which will debut in Asia through this initiative.
As part of the reciprocal agreement, the HKTB will also participate in five of Informa’s major global high-end exhibitions including the Monaco Yacht Show, Palm Beach International Boat Show, Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, and Jewellery Arabia, to actively promote Hong Kong’s high-end tourism capabilities to international audiences.
The Korea MICE Expo 2026 (KME2026) is executing an internationalisation strategy to draw in planners navigating a volatile global market, capitalising on growing demand for stability.
Scheduled for November 17 to 19, 2026, at Seoul’s brand-new Coex Magok, KME 2026 aims to expand its showfloor by 20 to 30 international booths this year.
Danny Hyundae Shin, chairman of Korea MICE Association (KMA), told TTGmice that while the ongoing conflict has prompted international associations and corporate planners to re-evaluate Middle East destinations, it has not yet triggered a full-scale relocation trend. Instead, global buyers are actively reviewing South Korea as part of a broader risk-diversification strategy.
“The global MICE industry is becoming far more sensitive to geopolitical risks. South Korea is increasingly being recognised as one of the most reliable alternative destinations in Asia due to its infrastructure, public safety, and proven operational capabilities,” Shin said.
In response, the country is intensifying its marketing, roadshows and partnerships across Singapore and South-east Asia.
However, steep economic headwinds, rising energy costs, high airfares, and supply chain pressures continue to put a strain on local suppliers and PCOs.
When asked about the recent multi-trillion won supplementary government funding for “war response”, Shin clarified that no specific “inflation-shielding” subsidies or cost-absorption mechanisms have been earmarked for the business events sector.
“The industry is watching the situation carefully,” Shin stated, adding that KMA will advocate for expanded bidding and delegate-attraction support if prolonged cost pressures affect South Korea’s hosting competitiveness.
The newly-opened Vietnam Exposition Center (VEC) in Hanoi is anchoring the country’s aggressive push to challenge established regional hubs for the global business events economy.
Developed by conglomerate Vingroup, the 90-hectare mega-complex stands as South-east Asia’s largest all-in-one exposition and event venue, designed to capture top-tier international events as rising venue costs squeeze organiser budgets in traditional destination markets.
At the heart of the Hanoi venue is the Kim Quy Exhibition Hall, a 13-hectare centrepiece featuring flexible operational zoning. Vingroup is already planning to scale this infrastructure footprint into southern Vietnam with the VEC Can Gio project in Ho Chi Minh City. This upcoming sister complex will house Blue Wave Theater, a 60,000-capacity venue engineered to become the largest theatre in Southeast Asia.
Geoff Dickinson, CEO of global energy event organiser dmg events, stated that Vietnam’s deliberate hardware planning is the decisive factor in drawing major international business. “You cannot attract ministers, government representatives, or the world’s 5,000 largest corporations by chance. They come because of deliberate planning and infrastructure development.”
To eliminate weather risks for major outdoor exhibitions and conventions, the venue pipeline includes the 60,000-seat PVF Stadium, which features a specialised PTFE retractable roof designed to open or close within 20 minutes. Additionally, the 135,000-seat Hùng Vương Stadium is projected to open by 2028 to accommodate massive international entertainment and corporate gatherings.
Beyond standalone venues, Vingroup is backing the VEC with an integrated supporting ecosystem. This includes Vinpearl’s hospitality inventory of over 16,100 hotel rooms, a dedicated international event organising arm (V-Spirit), and Green SM’s fleet of 186,000 electric vehicles to manage large-scale delegation logistics.
Supported by new national legislative reforms that slash administrative and tax barriers for the exhibition sector, Vietnam’s business events market has reached an estimated valuation of US$6 billion.
“We believe this is Vietnam’s moment. The combination of national ambition and world-class infrastructure has the potential to transform the country into a major destination for global events,” Dickinson said.
