The signing between Koelnmesse and Amara Expo; photo by Koelnmesse Ekky Ramliadi
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 signing between Koelnmesse and Amara Expo; photo by Koelnmesse Ekky Ramliadi
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.
Globus family of brands will transition Chris Hall from managing director, Asia Pacific to chairman and strategic advisor, a newly-created role effective July 15, 2026.
He has led the Asia-Pacific region since March 2025, most recently driving a refreshed strategy across product, pricing and marketing, including new flight-inclusive offerings and value-led initiatives.
As Conrad Manila celebrates its 10th anniversary, the luxury hotel reflects on a decade of elevating the Philippines’ MICE landscape.
With a strategic Manila Bay location, purpose-built venues and intuitive service, Conrad Manila has become a trusted address for MICE, serving local and international markets.
A milestone year for business events
Since opening in June 2016, Conrad Manila has steadily established itself as one of Metro Manila’s leading destinations for business events. Managed by Hilton and located within the Mall of Asia complex, the hotel marks its 10th year with a strong track record of hosting conferences, exhibitions and corporate gatherings that support the growth of the Philippine MICE industry.
Overlooking Manila Bay, the property combines accessibility with a refined setting, offering event organisers a seamless experience from arrival to execution.
Strategic location and architectural vision
1 of 4
The Diplomatic Suite offers a splendid view of Manila Bay
The Forbes Ballroom, one of two grand ballrooms equipped with advanced audiovisual technology for seamless meetings
Conrad Manila is designed with the comfort of business travellers in mind
Guests can relax in the inviting swimming pool
Conrad Manila enjoys a highly connected location with direct access to SMX Convention Center and SM Mall of Asia via covered walkways. This integration allows event participants to move effortlessly between hotels, convention venues, retail and dining spaces.
The hotel is also a short drive from Ninoy Aquino International Airport and major business districts, making it attractive to both domestic and international delegates.
Its structure draws inspiration from the shipping vessels that traverse Manila Bay. This design concept reflects movement, scale and connectivity, which are qualities aligned with the dynamic nature of large-scale meetings and exhibitions.
Purpose-built MICE facilities
The hotel offers over 4,000m2 of flexible event spaces, including two grand ballrooms and multiple function rooms equipped with advanced audiovisual technology. These venues can be configured to support a wide range of event formats, from executive meetings and incentive briefings to multi-day conventions and product launches.
Conrad Manila also integrates hybrid event solutions and advanced digital platforms, enabling seamless engagement for both onsite and remote participants across a wide range of business events.
Designed for business travellers
Conrad Manila features 347 guestrooms and suites that cater to the needs of business travellers. Each room incorporates intuitive technology, reliable internet connectivity, and functional workspaces. Executive rooms and suites include access to the Executive Lounge, offering private meeting areas and quiet spaces ideal for networking or focused work.
Floor-to-ceiling windows provide views of either the city skyline or Manila Bay, creating an environment that balances productivity with comfort.
Enhancing incentive and delegate experiences
Beyond meetings, Conrad Manila enhances incentive and conference programmes with leisure and wellness offerings.
Guests can enjoy the infinity swimming pool with refreshing drinks from the pool bar, a fully equipped fitness centre, and the Conrad Spa, which offers treatments designed to promote relaxation and recovery.
For culturally enriching experiences, the hotel also houses Gallery C, showcasing contemporary Philippine art.
Together, these facilities enable organisers to craft well-balanced itineraries that seamlessly blend business objectives with rest, wellness, and meaningful engagement.
Culinary versatility for corporate events
Dining remains a key component of Conrad Manila’s MICE proposition. With award-winning restaurants and lounges, the hotel supports corporate breakfasts, gala dinners, receptions and private functions.
Brasserie on 3 offers flexible dining options, while China Blue by Jereme Leung presents refined Chinese cuisine in an elegant setting. C Lounge also serves as a relaxed post-event venue, where guests can enjoy expertly crafted drinks against the backdrop of Manila Bay sunsets. The hotel’s events team can help customise menus to suit event themes and dietary requirements.
Commitment to sustainable events
Through Hilton’s Travel with Purpose programme, Conrad Manila integrates sustainability into its operations. The hotel implements energy-efficient systems, water conservation measures, responsible sourcing practices and initiatives to reduce single-use plastics. These efforts align with the growing demand for environmentally responsible venues within the MICE sector.
As it marks its 10th anniversary, Conrad Manila continues to strengthen its leadership position, delivering business events defined by reliability, adaptability, and thoughtful service.
Celebrate your next corporate milestone at a venue shaped by ten years of MICE expertise. From conferences and incentive programmes to executive meetings, Conrad Manila offers world-class facilities, seamless connectivity and trusted service excellence.
Discover how your next event can be elevated along Manila Bay with Conrad Manila.
Event planners are facing increased complexity, rising attendee expectations, and having to deliver on tasks with leaner teams. In such an environment, event management system specialist, EventsAir, sees AI as the solutions for improved efficiency and productivity.
In this episode of TTG Conversations: Five Questions, Renee Elliott, vice president of product with EventsAir, details the company’s new chapter in AI deployment through its new Air Intelligence system and how it will take events management and attendee experience forward without making human hands obsolete.
Singapore’s business events industry demonstrated exceptional momentum last year, with 2025 tourism receipts surging over 35 per cent from the previous year to reach S$2.3 billion (US$1.8 billion).
To capitalise on this growth, Grace Fu, minister for sustainability and the environment and minister-in-charge of trade relations, announced at the annual Tourism Industry Conference last Friday, that the Straits View area near Marina Bay has been earmarked as a potential location for the Downtown MICE Hub (DMH).
Artist’s impression of the Downtown MICE Hub
Fu elaborated: “The DMH will complement other MICE venues in the city such as Raffles City, Suntec City, and Marina Bay Sands, all located within a three-kilometre radius, creating a vibrant MICE cluster that blends work and play, encouraging more bleisure travellers to extend their stay.”
To move the project forward, Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) chief executive Melissa Ow confirmed that an industry engagement session is scheduled for May 15, followed by a Request for Information exercise and a formal Request for Proposal in 2027.
The city’s appeal for extended bleisure stays will be further bolstered by upcoming lifestyle landmarks, including the Therme Singapore wellness attraction at Marina South (opening by 2030), and a new five-hectare wetlands precinct at Gardens by the Bay, which will house a teamLab museum.
Singapore’s business events sector continues to navigate recent global geopolitical volatility. According to Ow, while the onset of conflict triggered initial flight adjustments, the industry has “remained largely resilient”.
This year, the city has successfully hosted several high-profile gatherings, including ITMA ASIA + CITME Singapore, which attracted over 26,000 international visitors. Other record-breaking events included Asia Pacific Maritime (20,000 attendees), and Milipol TechX.
Looking ahead, the pipeline is secured with numerous “first-in-Asia” fixtures, such as Passenger Terminal Expo Asia 2026, Breakbulk Asia 2026, and major sustainability forums like the World Hydrogen Energy Conference.
To ensure long-term competitiveness, STB is focusing on attendance building with a new S$5 million fund designed to help event organisers market to secondary cities and new markets.
Ow explained: “We hope to encourage tourism stakeholders to diversify and go into new secondary cities. It may not immediately yield results, but it’s critical as they build resilience and competitiveness in the mid-to-long term.”
Additionally, the INSPIRE Global 3.0 and SMAP 5.0 programmes have been refreshed to offer more diverse lifestyle options and deeper digital integration with partners like Expedia, Grab, and Klook.
The industry is also seeing unprecedented private-sector synergy. Twenty-two hotels, representing 25 per cent of Singapore’s total room stock, have launched the Singapore Hotels Incentives for Business Events (SHINE) initiative.
“These hotels are not concentrated in one area, but are all over Singapore such as Chinatown and Sentosa. We believe that the industry can benefit from this synergy,” noted Ong Huey Hong, assistant chief executive, industry development group, STB.
She emphasised that the strategy is built on the country’s long-term vision. “Our aim is to triple our MICE receipts by 2040, so we need to ensure that our infrastructure is future proof.”
From left: AsiaWorld-Expo’s Enid Low; Koelnmesse’s Prakash Ramajillu; Informa Markets’ Ian Roberts; and TCEB’s Jaruwan Suwannasat; photo by Anne Somanas
As global volatility rises and international crises reshape the landscape, event organisers are reprioritising their strategies, placing a premium on rigorous contingency planning and increasingly looking to Asia for long-term stability.
This topic took centrestage during the recent MICE Day panel, The Future of MICE: Global Trends & Leadership Insights. Hosted by the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) at Bangkok’s Queen Sirikit National Convention Center and moderated by Jaruwan Suwannasat, senior vice president of TCEB, the session brought into focus how leadership is navigating these immediate global impacts.
From left: AsiaWorld-Expo’s Enid Low; Koelnmesse’s Prakash Ramajillu; Informa Markets’ Ian Roberts; and TCEB’s Jaruwan Suwannasat; photo by Anne Somanas
Ian Roberts, senior vice president Asia, at Informa Markets – which operates over 70 tradeshows – noted that current disruptions in the Middle East have forced organisers into a familiar, pandemic-era pivot.
“It’s similar to Covid. What we’ve done for our April and May shows is moved them to the back end of the year. We’re also seeing a lot of cancelled shows,” Roberts explained, citing compounding challenges like higher costs, inflation, and logistical bottlenecks.
Consequently, crisis management is no longer an afterthought.
Enid Low, chief strategy officer at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong, revealed that venues are now actively stepping in to help organisers design robust contingency plans.
“It’s not easy for an organiser to plan an event ahead in a crisis zone. As a venue partner, we always try to think about how we can accommodate the organiser to relocate events. Asia has become the first priority for contingency plans,” Low said.
While global disruptions pose immense logistical hurdles, they have simultaneously accelerated Asia’s rise as a reliable business events destination.
“We’re seeing multiple crises all at once; you really have to think out of the box,” observed Prakash Ramajillu, general manager at Koelnmesse.
He added: “It was a very strategic decision to enter Asia when we did, and now South-east Asia is becoming an anchor. We don’t need to expand everywhere; we just need to be more relevant in the places we are right now.”
Roberts echoed this sentiment, highlighting South-east Asia geopolitical position as a “friend to all countries”, making it an attractive stage for global players from the US, China, India, and Europe.
“We bounced back straight after Covid in this part of the world. South-east Asia certainly, but also Hong Kong, China, the rest of Asia, is really in demand at the moment,” he said.
However, capitalising on this influx requires strong local ecosystems. When asked by Suwannasat about the role of government support in making business events a good long-term investment, Roberts was candid.
He noted that while organisers consistently ask for more funding and cheaper rent, the ultimate goal is delivering events that are sustainable in the long run. He lauded the proactive backing from regional authorities, specifically pointing out that destinations like Hong Kong and Thailand are leading by example with exceptional government support.
Ultimately, the panel agreed that the region should not just serve as a backup plan.
“Nowadays, Asia is quite different. Asia has become a major market for MICE events, and we already have a lot of good venues. But the most important thing is that we (continue to be) efficient and stable,” Low emphasised.
“In the long run, we are not just talking about short-term substitutions. We want organisers to develop their events in Asia, especially in Thailand and Hong Kong,” she concluded.
Maimunah: trust and credibility are the ultimate currencies for an association
Association leaders must move beyond activity-driven management and focus instead on purpose, governance and measurable impact if they want to remain relevant in an increasingly complex operating environment.
Delivering her keynote address at the recent Association Day 2026 – held at Sunway Resort Hotel and organised by the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) – Maimunah Mohd Sharif, property advisor at Petronas and who was also the former executive director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), challenged associations to rethink how they define success and value.
Maimunah: trust and credibility are the ultimate currencies for an association
Maimunah opined that many associations fail not because they are inactive, but because they become consumed with activities without clearly understanding their purpose or impact.
She shared: “They are busy but unclear. They run programmes but cannot explain their impact,” adding that many organisations focus heavily on statistics and event numbers without properly measuring outcomes.
She stressed that associations must constantly ask themselves why they exist and what unique role they play within their industries and communities.
She also emphasised the importance of governance, transparency and accountability in maintaining credibility and member confidence.
“Trust once weakened, takes sustained leadership and credible governance to rebuild,” she remarked.
Drawing from her experience leading UN-Habitat between 2018 and 2024, Maimunah recounted how she inherited an organisation facing an US$8 million deficit, governance challenges and declining trust among member states.
She revealed that 797 projects within the organisation lacked financial closure when she first assumed office.
“Do you think that the member states will continue funding the organisation if 797 projects have no financial closure?” she said.
Maimunah further explained that restoring confidence required difficult decisions, tighter financial controls, stronger reporting discipline and greater transparency with stakeholders. By the time she left the organisation, UN-Habitat had reportedly moved from an US$8 million deficit to a US$6 million surplus.
She also introduced what she described as the “4W1H test” for sustainable associations. This is questioning why the association exists, whom it serves, what value it delivers, when it leads, and how decisions and finances are governed.
The keynote reflected the wider objectives of MyCEB Association Day 2026, which brought together association leaders, policymakers and business events stakeholders to discuss governance, leadership and collaboration within Malaysia’s association ecosystem. This year’s conference theme was Governing with Purpose. Leading with Impact.
In his opening remarks, secretary-general of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Shaharuddin Abu Sohot, described associations as strategic partners that drive knowledge exchange, industry excellence and global connectivity.
He also noted that Malaysia’s business events industry continues to play an important role in supporting economic growth and international positioning, with MyCEB having secured 3,575 international business events that generated RM26.8 billion (US$6.8 billion) in economic impact since it was established in 2009.
Just 10 minutes from Phuket International Airport on the serene northern coast, this 178-key, Bill Bensley-designed resort offers delegates a quiet, tropical paradise steeped in Phuket’s tin-mining heritage
The newly-opened Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok anchors the One Bangkok development with cosmopolitan elegance. Featuring the city's largest ballroom and a spectacular new penthouse suite, it delivers exceptional hardware and deeply authentic, soulful service for business and leisure travellers alike
Behind the imposing, Brutalist concrete that defines Zurich’s Oerlikon district lies a surprising secret. While its exterior honours the neighbourhood’s industrial roots, stepping inside Mama Shelter reveals a vibrant, neon-soaked world that is a far cry from its rigid shell
He has led the Asia-Pacific region since March 2025, most recently driving a refreshed strategy across product, pricing and marketing, including new flight-inclusive offerings and value-led initiatives.
He joins from Accor, where he led network growth across the Pacific, specialising in asset-light management and franchise agreements.
