SARAWAK is banking on a new international standard hotel and ties with Brunei to promote northern Sarawak, particularly Miri City, as a MICE destination for the Asia-Pacific.

Leveraging Miri’s proximity to Brunei, Sarawak’s tourism minister Abang Johari Openg said the state will collaborate with Royal Brunei Airlines to promote packages to Northern Sarawak, using Bandar Seri Begawan as the main gateway.

He added: “We hope to capitalise on Royal Brunei Airlines’ network in the Asia-Pacific region to attract more leisure and MICE tourists to Miri.”

Miri is a 2.5-hour drive from Brunei and there are currently no direct air connections between Miri and Brunei’s capital, Bandar Seri Begawan.

To attract more foreign airlines to fly to Miri Airport, Malaysia Airports Holdings is throwing in free landing and parking for the first six months. Abang Johari said: “We hope this will entice charter services and when volume picks up, it will evolve into scheduled services.”

He said Miri city can accommodate small- to medium-size MICE groups as there are currently 2,400 rooms, a number that will be boosted by 328 when Pullman Miri Waterfront opens in 4Q2015.

MICE facilities at Pullman Miri Waterfront will include a ballroom with seating capacity for 1,000 delegates and six state-of-the-art function rooms. The executive lounge on the 24th floor will offer panoramic views of Miri City and the South China Sea.

Gerard Guillouet, COO of Accor Malaysia-Indonesia-Singapore said he foresees the business mix will be a “good mix of business, leisure and pure MICE”.

He predicts that MICE business will predominently be from the domestic market, and from Brunei and Singapore. Miri will also be a good post-event tour option for meetings and incentives held in state capital Kuching.

Currently, the only other international hotel in Miri is Miri Marriott Resort & Spa.

DRIVEN by a recovering economic climate and stronger desire to venture into new destinations, US meeting and conference planners are showing a rising interest in Asia, according to feedback from buyers and exhibitors at The Americas Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition in Orlando.

Dirk Ebener, CEO of Marietta-based Global CIF, is keen to explore Asia as a conference and tradeshow destination for his clients that span across 50 industries, ranging from consumer goods to automotive to woodwork.

“Europe and Asia are our top two considerations. Americans are more familiar with Europe whereas Asia is often not the first choice, but it’s my responsibility to change that,” said Ebener, adding that he is interested in South Korea, China, Thailand and Indonesia in particular.

Similarly, Asian destinations are also reporting emerging interest from the US, although a majority are enquiries for events that will take place in the next two to three years.

“Our enquiries for 2016/2017 have picked up by around 10 per cent from the MICE as well as leisure market from the US,” said Mohit Chopra, director – MICE & special events, Travel Pals (India). “These companies are mainly from the medical, transportation and economic development (governmental) industries, primarily interested in Delhi and Rajasthan.”

“Over the past two years, we have seen a 20 per cent increase in enquiries from the US, mainly for the incentive travel segment,” said Wang Haichen, deputy director of DMC department at China Star, which is expecting a 120-pax group from US Siemens to Shanghai later this year.

“Political figures from the US have also drummed up meeting interest in China,” he added, citing former US president Richard Nixon’s grandson’s visit to China in 2013 as examples of high-profile events that raise the destination’s presence among American meeting planners in recent years.

Wang is also positive United Airlines’ thrice-weekly San Francisco-Chengdu service launched earlier this month will bring more inbound travel to western China and surrounding areas like Tibet.

Likewise, Alberto V Santos Jr, OIC – international operations, Rajah Travel Corporation, commented that the maturity of the US market positions it to explore “newer” destinations like the Philippines.

Karem E Miranda, senior project officer, MICE and business development unit at the Philippines’ Tourism Promotion Board (TPB), agreed: “Americans have been to other places in Asia and they are just starting to know the Philippines. TPB started participating in MICE shows in the US three years ago. A lot of serious enquiries are for two to three years down the road.”

THE city of Bacolod in Western Visayas will welcome a fourth SMX convention centre by 4Q2014, bringing SMX Convention Specialist Corp’s total inventory of meeting space to 41,480m2, the largest offered by a Philippine supplier.

Dexter Deyto, vice president and general manager for SMX Convention Specialist Corp, told TTGmice e-Weekly that SMX Bacolod was looking at soft opening in the first week of October.

“It was a choice of either opening in Bacolod or Iloilo, but since Iloilo already has a convention centre in the works, it might be too crowded,” Deyto remarked.

“Bacolod needs one (too) and we have a lot of local support from the mayor’s office, the city council…they’re in fact helping us with the promotions already,” he added.

SMX Bacolod will have a gross floor area of 8,218m2, contained within the new 133,894m2 expansion wing of SM Bacolod.

According to design plans, the pre-function lobby will have 1,726m2 of available space, while function room areas cover 3,544m2. Five meeting rooms are available, ranging from 74-207m2. Pricing will be on a par with SMX Davao.

The facility has initial bookings for local regional events and will be marketed for social functions, business events and school activities.

Provisions for a yet-unnamed brand hotel in the new wing have also been made. “There’s always a hotel co-location…for now, the plan is to stick with the Park Inn by Radisson brand,” Deyto said.

A new website for SMX’s four convention facilities will also be launched in 3Q2014.

THE 853-room Grand Hyatt Taipei has completed the first phase of its US$100 million makeover, with rooms in the West and East wings now sporting fresher, modern interiors.

Remaining renovations to the grand lobby, in-house dining establishments and exterior lighting are expected to finish by the start of 2015.

The makeover follows the hotel’s refurbishment of its Grand Ballroom in 2000 and Grand Residence meetings area in 2006, as well as other updates to various facilities throughout the years since its opening in September 1990.

Liling Chu, Grand Hyatt Taipei’s director of events, told TTGmice e-Weekly that the renovation works have helped to generate increased business, especially from new clients who are attracted to new facilities in the hotel.

“Business has been thriving,” Chu said, adding that the Grand Ballroom enjoys an average occupancy rate of 70 to 80 per cent.

According to Chu, domestic bookings make up 55 to 60 per cent of the hotel’s event business, and these functions are usually weddings and social gatherings. Conference and meeting packages offered by the hotel are mostly consumed by international companies with offices in Taiwan.

Although the hotel is now armed with updated hardware, Chu gave no indication that room rates and venue rental fees would be adjusted upwards.

QUEEN Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC) is the first events space in Asia to be accredited for ISO 20121: Event Sustainability Management Systems, its chief executive says.

Sakchai Pattarapreechakul, president of NCC Management and Development, which manages the centre, said the accreditation will help QSNCC consolidate its position as a leading “green” MICE facility in the region.

“We have been (ISO 20121) accredited for meetings, conferences and conventions, which are easier to control when it comes down to making sure all stakeholders meet the requirements,” he said.

“Exhibitions (accreditation) will take more time as it requires ensuring every stage of the supply chain, including suppliers, exhibitors and booth designers meet the required sustainability standards. This means the whole local industry needs to be able to deliver these standards. In Thailand, we’re not quite there yet.”

Sakchai said it took almost two years to train management and staff to the required standards, but now that has been achieved QSNCC can aggressively target events and associations which have environmental and sustainability requirements.

“We believe this trend (of sustainable events) will only increase in coming years,” he said.

QSNCC can now offer clients paperless events with a greater emphasis on technology and connected devices. “Paperless events are more expensive,” he said, “but we offer free Wi-Fi for the whole event as an incentive. We’re the first facility in Thailand to do so.”

Other green developments include ceasing the provision of drinking water in plastic bottles, providing free shuttle services to connect with local public transport and increasing parking space for bicycles.

QSNCC obtained TIS 22300: MICE Security Management Systems in 2008 and ISO 50001 Energy Management Systems in 2011.

The centre has invested 200 million baht (US$6.2 million) over the past few years and received support in the form of tax breaks, as well as subsidies from Thailand Exhibition and Convention Bureau which cover up to 40 per cent of the one million baht ISO accreditation fee.

EVENT organisers who leverage mobile will reap rewards in an industry that has traditionally been a slow adopter of such technology, pointed out participants at The Americans Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition (AIBTM).

Hailing mobile as an “extremely important” trend in the meetings and events industry, Steve MacKenzie, vice president of global channels at etouches, urged event organisers to increase attendee engagement through smartphone apps.

“Events have a lifespan of several months, not just a few days,” he said. “Let attendees start talking before the event starts.”

MacKenzie also singled out hybrid event solutions – simultaneous offering of face-to-face and virtual experiences – as especially beneficial amid current challenging times of budget cuts and travel restrictions.

“Hybrid options are becoming popular to offer onsite and a virtual piece of the event,” he said, citing streaming videos and Twitter live-feed walls as examples.

Adam Laufman, sales executive at CrowdCompass by Cvent, also encouraged event planners to adopt native apps over web apps to enhance the user experience.

“Major players prefer native apps – think Apple, Google and Facebook. Native platforms are more secure, deliver a better performance on all devices and allow full access to back-end systems.”

Sallie Coventry, portfolio director – IBTM global events portfolio, Reed Travel Exhibitions, shared that the company has “invested in technology as a portfolio over the last 12 months”, including a multi-event app for all its shows and a new hosted buyer technology platform that enables greater flexibility and enhanced meet-and-match experience for show attendees.

Likewise, Seo-Ha Lee, CEO of Busan-based I-Convention, revealed that the convention company uses apps to provide attendees with information on the exhibition and destination, offering different languages of English, Korean, Chinese and Japanese.

Looking ahead, wearable technology like Google Glass or devices such as iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy Gear are expected to become more commonplace and shape tradeshow technology, Laufman posited. “We have no idea what we will see in 2015 or 2016.”

AIBTM is running from June 10-12 in Orlando, Florida.