Australasian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE) has appointed Brett Jeffery general manager, New Zealand. He has served on the AuSAE board for the past five years, and has more than 20 years of industry experience. He was recently sales and marketing manager at Rotorua Events and Venues.
Taro Tan
Taro Tan has joined Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa as hotel manager. Tan, who had started his hospitality career in 1989, was most recently with the Landmark Lancaster Hotel Group in Thailand, where he held dual roles of area director of rooms and hotel manager of Lancaster Bangkok. Meanwhile, the hotel has also welcomed Colin Yeoh as resident manager. He joins from Raffles Hainan where he held the same title.
Yngvar Stray
Yngvar Stray now heads Harbour Grand Kowloon as general manager. He joins from Banyan Tree Shanghai on the Bund where he played the same role.
Alexander Wassermann
Alexander Wassermann is now general manager of InterContinental Grand Stanford Hong Kong. Wassermann returns to the hotel after his departure in 2010 as hotel manager. He was last general manager of the InterContinental Beijing Beichen and area general manager of InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, North China.
Adeline Sang
Dorsett Hospitality International has named Adeline Sang the new general manager of Lushan Resort in Jiangxi Province, China. Sang has over 32 years of extensive operational and management capabilities in the hotel industry and was involved in the successful opening of properties such as Sheraton Towers Singapore and Hotel Mulia Senayan, Jakarta.
Nick Porter
Nick Porter has taken on the role of general manager at Regent Beijing. He has a wealth of experience in sales and marketing leadership and hotel management, including stints at resorts in Langkawi and Bali and city hotels in Shanghai and Beijing.
John Gerrard
Outrigger Hotels & Resorts has appointed John Gerrard its area general manager Australia and general manager of the 409-room Outrigger Surfers Paradise in Queensland. Gerrard comes with extensive work experience in various South-east Asian destinations. He was recently operational consultant for Temple Tree and Bon Ton Resorts in Malaysia.
Indian MICE agents form association for stronger industry ties
AN ASSOCIATION aimed at bringing together various Indian MICE industry players and plugging the market’s information gap was formed this month.
The Network of Indian MICE Agents (NIMA) counts about 50 MICE and business travel suppliers across India as members, and will embark on training sessions, roadshows, advertising, tradeshows and joint promotions.
Jagdeep Bhagat, founder member and coordinator branding, NIMA, said: “NIMA will create a dynamic news stream of worldwide information about MICE-related events to allow access to its members, who can plan their bids and participation well in advance.”
He added: “So far, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Catalunya Convention Bureau, Catalan Tourist Board and Cyprus Convention Bureau have agreed to be destination partners of NIMA.”
NIMA advisor Rajesh Sethi said: “We will bring into play the importance of MICE organisations in Tier Two and Three cities, where rapid growth is evident.”
The new association is expected to help MICE companies bid for events.
Meanwhile, the India Convention Promotion Bureau will organise a roadshow in Chennai on August 1 to promote the city’s MICE infrastructure to potential clients.
KTO challenges Singapore to plan the best incentive itinerary
KOREA Tourism Organization (KTO) Singapore office’s MICE team has kicked off the second-ever Master Planner Challenge to find the most innovative incentive trip planner.
Open to all Singapore residents aged 18 and above from any field, the contest calls on participants to submit two documents – the proposed programme presented in Microsoft Powerpoint with up to 15 slides, and a mock costing sheet in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
Participants must plan programmes and costing based on an incentive trip for at least 20 adults, include at least one group activity to suit the target audience, and indicate daily activities for the group and footnotes on why the venues and activities were chosen.
The programmes must be realistic and relevant as a company incentive trip.
Submissions must reach the KTO Singapore office by August 31, 2014 through koreamice.singapore@gmail.com.
Winning entries will be announced on September 15 and winners can win prizes including air tickets to South Korea, hotel stays and restaurant vouchers.
For more information, visit the Master Planner Challenge 2014 webpage.
MyCEB heads to Singapore with roadshow to promote more destinations, longer stays
MALAYSIA Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) wants to encourage meeting and incentive groups from Singapore to travel beyond popular destinations Johor, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur, and to stay longer in the country.
Towards this end, it organised a half-day roadshow at Marina Bay Sands Singapore on Tuesday which comprised product briefings by Sarawak Convention Bureau, Langkawi Development Authority as well as MyCEB. The event also featured a mini travel mart where 10 Malaysian sellers had business appointments with 60 meeting and incentive planners in Singapore.
Tan Lay Teng, MyCEB’s senior manager – corporate & incentive, noted that Singapore is a major market for Malaysia, contributing an average stay of three days/two nights.
“We want them to stay longer and experience Malaysia’s diverse offerings,” declared Tan.
“Penang is rich in food and heritage while its state capital, George Town, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Langkawi has beautiful islands and beaches, Sabah is great for diving, adventure and teambuilding, while Sarawak has lots to offer in terms of heritage, culture and soft adventure.”
Meanwhile, MyCEB has extended its Malaysia Twin Deal++ (TTGmice e-Weekly, August 1, 2013) incentive programme for planners and delegates. To qualify, groups must confirmed their bookings and arrive in Malaysia by December 31, 2014.
According to Tan, the programme was extended due to overwhelming response. It was supposed to conclude on June 30 this year.
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