DRIVEN by Pattaya’s rising potential as a corporate and meeting destination, Holiday Inn Pattaya is pushing for the growth of its MICE business with the launch of a meeting-oriented wing in August.
Set adjacent to the existing 367-room Bay Tower, the new 200-key Executive Tower will boast a dedicated meeting space, Workshop, on the fourth floor. The retro-inspired, industrial-designed area is outfitted with meeting rooms, a boardroom, an auditorium, a terrace and a media hub along with a dedicated breakout zone.
Apart from the additional 200 rooms and suites each with their own private balconies, the new building will feature a top-floor Executive Club with panoramic views of Pattaya Bay, swimming pools, a kids’ club and a restaurant.
“There continues to be a healthy demand for MICE business into Pattaya, with many telling us they are looking for something different,” Kate Gerits, general manager at Holiday Inn Pattaya.
“The Workshop concept is about bringing the meeting area to life, providing a creative space in which participants feel inspired, and being able to provide flexibility of space all on one level,” she added.
Holiday Inn Pattaya will also form part of the newly launched North Pattaya Alliance (TTGmice e-Weekly, June 30, 2014), a group of seven hotels aiming to raise the district’s appeal as a premier destination for MICE business events and Indian weddings.
SINGAPORE is proudly hanging onto its crown as the world’s foremost city and country for international meetings, titles the city-state is holding for the third and seventh year running respectively.
This is according to the Union of International Associations’ (UIA) 2013 Global Rankings.
UIA reports that some 994 meetings held in Singapore qualified under UIA’s criteria for international meetings – a 4.4 per cent increase over 2012’s 952 – and thereby forming 9.4 per cent of UIA’s database of meetings.
In particular, the Lion City garnered praise for its excellent infrastructure, efficiency, vibrant business ecosystem, knowledge networks and strategic location in Asia.
Second runner-up country, the US, recorded 799 meetings, while the Brussels took second place for top international meetings city with 436 meetings.
Singapore played host to notable events last year such as the IFLA World Library and Information Congress, the 60th Chartered Financial Analyst Institute Annual Conference, the Amway Japan Leadership Achievement Seminar, the World Engineers’ Summit as well as the World Retail Congress Asia Pacific.
Singapore has six world congresses in its pipeline to date – the World Congress on Brain Mapping & Therapeutics 2016 and World Congress of the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus 2016; the inaugural Asian edition of SpineWeek; the Council for Advancement and Support of Education Asia-Pacific Advancement Conference 2015; the Regional Dermatology Conference 2016; and the Asia Pacific Congress of Hypertension 2017.
Neeta Lachmandas, assistant chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), said the MICE industry remained an integral component of Singapore’s tourism sector.
“The overall Economic Impact Analysis (examining the extent to which the MICE industry supports Singapore’s economy) of MICE activities is approximately S$3.7 billion (US$3 billion) or 1.1 per cent of Singapore GDP in 2012. This is an increase from 0.9 per cent of GDP in 2008.
“The Meetings segment contributes the highest proportion at 55.4 per cent of total economic impact. Beyond the direct economic benefits, MICE also contributed in terms of networking opportunities, branding of Singapore and cross-industry skill sharing.”
To further build on Singapore’s strengths as a MICE destination, STB is rolling out a training curriculum based on STB’s Sustainability Guidelines in September this year, in partnership with SACEOS.
RUSSIA’S profile as an exhibitions venue is getting a boost with the appointment of Sergey Alexeev of ExpoForum-International appointed as the incoming president of UFI for 2014/2015.
Welcoming Alexeev’s appointment, currently UFI president Renaud Hamaide of Comexposium/ViParis said: “Sergey brings 30 years of exhibition-related experience to our UFI presidents’ trio! As the first Russian UFI president, he will certainly provide valuable insights for the development of UFI programmes in this country.”
Russia is represented in UFI by 38 members, the third largest number after China and Germany. The country has more than 20 venues offering a minimum of 5,000m2 of indoor exhibition space and a combined total of almost 600,000m2.
This places the country 10th in the world in terms of exhibition infrastructure capacity and UFI ranks Russia 8th for exhibition activity for the three million square metres of net exhibition space rented yearly.
Commented Alexeev: “Joining the UFI presidential trio is a reflection of the prospects and professionalism of the Russian exhibitions industry. Over the past 20 years Russia has taken its place among the world’s exhibition leaders.”
Hamaide will thus take his place in the Triumvirate as outgoing president, while the new current president is Andrés Lopez-Valderrama of Corferias, Colombia.
These appointments will take effect after the 81st UFI Annual Congress in Bogota, Colombia which will be held between October 29 and November 1 this year, for the term 2014-2015.
Alexeev will become president for the 2015/2016 term.
In the meantime, Lopez-Valderrama will lead a UFI that has since welcomed 15 new organisations, bringing membership to 650 in 83 countries, and 28 more audited international exhibitions.
The UFI presidential trio is meant to provide for greater management continuity within the association and enable UFI to represent the exhibition sector in a greater number of international industry events and activities.
Convention centres in Asia have invested in technology improvements to enhance event delivery and delegate experience. TTGmice spotlights a selection of those that have recently powered up
A consortium of researchers led by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) has won the rights to host the 7th International Symposium on Submarine Mass Movements and Their Consequence in Wellington in November 2015.
The bid was made with the support of Tourism New Zealand (TNZ), Positively Wellington Tourism (PWT) and the Conference Assistance Programme (CAP), and will bring an estimated NZ$500,000 (US$435,700) to the country’s economy.
The symposium is expected to attract up to 150 international delegates and speakers from universities, research organisations and the industry.
In a press release, NIWA Marine Geologist and conference convenor Joshu Mountjoy described the event as the “benchmark conference for submarine landslide researchers around the world”.
“New Zealand has a long history of research into submarine slope instability and bringing this conference to New Zealand…offers a great opportunity to showcase our research and unique offshore environment,” added Mountjoy.
TNZ’s international business events manager, Bjoern Spreitzer, said international events such as the symposium provide a huge opportunity to grow the value of visitors to New Zealand.
PWT chief executive, David Perks, added that hosting an international conference of this scale is a real vote of confidence for the city.
“Targeting sectors where the capital excels helped the city succeed in winning this bid. A lot of work goes into ensuring Wellington is seen as an accessible, unique place to do business. Our capital is compact, cultural and cutting edge – perfect for business meetings and it is the smart choice when it comes to hosting domestic and international business events,” said Perks.
Bjoern said: “TNZ has significantly increased its activity in the business events sector in the last few years, and this result is a great example of our focus to work collaboratively with the industry to grow delegate numbers and value.”
TNZ’s management of the CAP has seen the country bid for 39 events over the last financial year, securing nine international events to date.
HILTON Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa has added a new events space to its MICE inventory in a bid to win more regional business.
The 180m2 Andaman Room, which can be divided in two, seats up to 130 people in theatre setting and includes an adjoining 66m2 sheltered outdoor area.
General manager David Prince said: “With the addition of the Andaman Room, the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa is one of the most comprehensive MICE venues in South-east Asia.”
Jens Frank-Mikkelsen, director of business development, told TTGmice eWeekly the property was targeting a range of source markets including the US, Australia, Europe, China, Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as the domestic trade. Key sectors include banking and finance, healthcare, transportation, logistics, industry associations and international government agencies.
“To add further value to MICE organisers, the hotel is now a part of Hilton Worldwide’s Connect+ website, a service which provides industry-leading tools for meeting planners and allows customers to connect with Hilton event experts and sales representatives,” Frank-Mikkelsen said. “We also have a special meeting package that is valid from June 1 to December 30, 2014.”
The Andaman Room’s launch follows last year’s renovation of the property’s MICE facilities, which saw its Grand Ballroom upgraded to an 850m2 space, making it one of the island’s largest meeting rooms.
ASIA, in particular China, India and Japan, has come onto the radar of Spain’s authorities in their bid to further boost the country’s global standing in the business events sector.
To achieve this the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), which includes the Spain Convention Bureau (SCB), has signed an agreement with Marca España – a government-backed organisation that promotes Spain as a brand – to actively participate in overseas destination promotions.
SCB’s director, Marta Moran, said the annual EIBTM in Barcelona is already helping to raise MICE interest in the country.
“I’m getting more appointments each year with interested companies from countries such as India and Japan at both EIBTM and IMEX (in Frankfurt),” Moran revealed.
Moran sees these two countries, along with China, as being the main target markets in Asia, a region she described as being “an incipient market for us”.
ICCA’s latest ranking of top destinations for association meetings had placed Spain in third position, right after the US and Germany, for hosting 562 ICCA qualified meetings in 2013.
Carlos Espinosa de los Monteros, high commissioner for Marca España, said Spain had seen a 14 per cent increase in attendance at MICE events last year. But the numbers were “clearly insufficient”, he said, given the potential offered by the country’s broad diversity of regions.
According to FEMP secretary general, Ángel Fernández, Madrid hosted 186 congresses in 2013, up from just 65 in 2008 during the western economic crisis.
The country attracted a record 60 million tourists in 2013, shared de los Monteros
GRAND Hyatt Singapore has unveiled its remodeled Level 2 events space and the star is its show kitchen that is located within the 515m2 Grand Salon.
At the push of a button, the show kitchen, complete with a customised cooking island flown in from Italy, is revealed from behind a skyfall to offer guests a rare opportunity to step into the kitchen and interact with a team of master chefs, while picking up their favourite items from the live cooking stations. Complete with optional sliding glass panels, planners get the flexibility of offering views of an open kitchen without the sounds and smells of food preparation.
With a capacity of 340 people for banquets or 700 people for receptions, the show kitchen can prepare almost any cuisine a MICE planner desires. From Chinese, to Italian and even Indian, the show kitchen is fully equipped with all cooking equipment required to prepare every signature dish from each of the hotel’s food & beverage establishment, such as grill-to-order meat and sustainable seafood, pizza and other delights from our pizza oven, roast duck and Singapore Laksa.
For more information, visit www.singapore.grand.hyatt.com/en/hotel/meetings-and-events.html or contact Grand Hyatt Singapore’s meeting specialists at (65) 6416 7373 or meetings.sg@hyatt.com.
Mount Cook, in New Zealand’s South Island, is home to breathtaking landscapes and the kiwi spirit of adventure Picture by fyletto/123RF.com
The island country long loved by adventure seekers and nature lovers is starting to stir and it has MICE high on its agenda. By Mimi Hudoyo
New Zealand has received a heftier tourism budget of NZ$158 million (US$133.9 million) for the next four years, following the government’s decision last year to focus on courting high value visitors, including business event delegates. Of this sum, NZ$34 million will go towards promoting and supporting international business events in the destination, with particular emphasis on attracting shows and delegates from the US, Asia and Australia.
The fund will also be used to promote existing and upcoming convention centres across New Zealand.
According to the country’s new Tourism 2025 framework, a private sector initiative led by Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand (TIA), more convention centres will be developed in Auckland, Queenstown, Wellington and Christchurch.
The focus of Tourism 2025 is on achieving greater value rather than visitor numbers, pointed out TIA chairman Grant Lilly.
“We will grow volume, but we will grow value even faster,” said Lilly, adding that business events not only generate greater tourism spend but also take place during low and shoulder seasons.
Money will also be allotted to a new global marketing campaign which will, among other activities, see more manpower being placed in key international markets to build relationships with important business event decision-makers.
Kevin Bowler, Tourism New Zealand’s chief executive, said: “Earlier we had two dedicated people (to look after the market), now we have 13 working in New Zealand and markets such as Australia, the US and China.”
In China, Tourism New Zealand has a team to develop both conference and incentive markets. Tourism New Zealand’s general manager Asia, David Craig, expects investments in the Chinese conference market to bear fruit once the new convention centres in Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington are open for business come 2017 and 2018.
Tourism New Zealand’s courtship of South-east Asian markets is led by a business events manager based in Singapore. While the tourism bureau pursues the incentive market in Malaysia, Thailand and India, its attention in Singapore is on the convention and conference segment.
Mischa Mannix-Opie, the bureau’s regional manager for South and South-east Asia, said: “We are building relationships with key corporate travel agencies, event management companies and PCOs (in Singapore) to educate them on how New Zealand can deliver great business events. We will then work closely with these partners to assist them in pitching New Zealand as their next conference or incentive destination.
“We also aim to undertake advertising to the corporate travel trade and direct to corporate companies, and are already working directly with some companies to showcase what New Zealand has to offer.”
Unlike most of its competitor destinations, New Zealand does not offer a subvention programme. Instead, it relies on its brand, 100% Beyond Convention, and value proposition.
Mannix-Opie explained: “For example, for Auckland, we emphasise how easy it is to get from the hotel to the venue and from the venue to the coast for outdoor experiences. Beyond the conference rooms there are a lot to offer nearby, which means more time is spent on activities and not on the road.”
She added that incentive groups heading out from Auckland to Rotorua, for example, can enjoy a wide variety of activities and attractions such as Waitomo Cave and the Hobbiton Movie Set. More ideas can be found on www.businessevents.newzealand.com.
Destination Rotorua Marketing spokesperson, Jenha White, said the destination has done well in tourism and many local operators are keen to cater to corporate groups by incorporating a teambuilding element to their product or by offering theme event options.
Rotorua’s Agrodome, which has for over 40 years attracted visitors to its popular Farm Show, a performance that introduces the audience to sheep breeds, shearing demonstrations and sheep auction, and is loved for its other activities such as NZ Farm Experience and Dog Trials, has expanded its reach to corporate groups.
The sprawling farmland offers a variety of event venues, from The Dome, where the Farm Show is hosted, to the rustic Hutchings Barn to The Shearing Shed for smaller groups. It also conducts teambuilding challenges and provides entertainment options, catering and theming services.
Event planners who pick the Agrodome can have their delegates “herded” from buses into The Dome by excited huntaway dogs for a fast-paced pre-dinner show, or choose an intimate dinner at The Shearing Museum with a short version of the Farm Show as entertainment.
At Te Puia, New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute, just five minutes from central Rotorua, corporate groups can learn about the Maori culture and native flora and fauna, enjoy Maori cuisine and explore a natural geothermal valley.
A complete Ra¯ukura package is available for groups that desire an in-depth cultural encounter. It includes a personalised guided tour, nature walk, cooking in a geothermal spring, traditional Maori lunch, cultural performances and other activities.
For some of New Zealand’s tourism players, Asia is a market of interest.
Last March Te Puia hosted a gala dinner for a 350-pax TPC China incentive group. The programme included a traditional welcome ceremony and cultural performances with guest participation.
Te Puia general manager – sales and marketing, Kiri Atkinson-Crean, told TTGmice that Asia is an important market for the attraction, and two sales directors are hired to manage the region, with one taking charge of Japan and South Korea, and the other for the rest of Asia.
Atkinson-Crean said: “We reach out to the region by working with a couple of inbound operators. We had a group of 300 people from Malaysia last year, and a couple of bookings for later this year from South-east Asia.”
The Hermitage Hotel at Aoraki Mount Cook National Park, which is popular among leisure travellers from Singapore, Japan, South Korea and China, has started seeing corporate business from Asia.
The hotel’s sales & marketing manager, Megan Calder, said: “We recently had a 100-pax conference group from Singapore, which combined meeting, star-gazing and other activities.”
Recent improvements in air access from Asia have been a boon for New Zealand’s tourism sellers.
Last January, Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand agreed to form an alliance that will enable the Singapore flag carrier to debut services to New Zealand, and Air New Zealand to reopen the Auckland-Singapore route.
Christopher Luxon, CEO of Air New Zealand, said: “The alliance will boost capacity between the two countries by up to 30 per cent. We are currently waiting for approval from the New Zealand government and are looking at starting operations in December.”
Malaysia Airlines is another carrier that plays a role in boosting air access from Asia, Mannix-Opie pointed out. In end-March, the carrier changed its seasonal service out of Kuala Lumpur to a daily flight.
Qantas, too, is facilitating greater travel to New Zealand through its one-stop flights out of Asia. It runs daily flights from Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore to Australia, and also four weekly flights from Jakarta and Manila to Australia. In these markets, Qantas offers one-stop flights through three Australian gateways – Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney – to four cities in New Zealand, namely Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington.
Stephen Thompson, executive manager international sales, told TTGmice in an interview: “With year-round daily connections to New Zealand and an ongoing close relationship with Tourism New Zealand, Qantas is always proud to promote New Zealand as a destination from Singapore and elsewhere in Asia.”
As part of its sustained efforts to promote New Zealand as a destination, Qantas offers regular support to the travel trade in the promotion of FIT and group travel, and hosts media familiarisation trips.
Movie magic
Transport your incentive winners or meeting delegates to the mythical world of the hobbits at Hobbiton Movie Set in New Zealand’s Matamata
The film industry has contributed more than NZ$3 billion (US$2.6 billion) each year to New Zealand’s economy over the last two years, according to Statistics New Zealand’s 2012/2013 Screen Industry Survey. The tourism sector is benefiting from this silver screen boom, as New Zealand’s famous ‘filmscapes’ of Middle-earth, the fictional universe of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies, have played a key role in luring travellers to its shores.
Tourism New Zealand’s chief executive, Kevin Bowler, said the October-December 2013 International Visitor Survey found that 14 per cent of holiday arrivals were drawn to New Zealand by The Hobbit trilogy.
The same survey also found that 13 per cent of international visitors between January and September 2013 had a Hobbit experience, such as a visit to film sites or the Hobbiton Movie Set near Matamata.
Illustrating the surge in interest from movie fans, Bowler said: “A decade ago in 2004, following the release of the final film in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, that figure was only six per cent. We have seen record numbers visiting Matamata and Hobbiton this past summer (2013), (with) tours for around 40 tourists (being run) every 10 minutes.”
Hobbiton Movie Set Tours owner/director Russell Alexander said visitors to the site of The Shire – home of the hobbits in both trilogies – had increased from 130,000 in the period of June 2012-2013 to 230,000 in the period of March 2013-2014.
The growing interest is a result of tourism stakeholders’ creative efforts in leveraging the popular movies to promote New Zealand.
Offering examples, Air New Zealand’s CEO Christopher Luxon said the airline dished out a hobbit-themed onboard safety video, An Unexpected Briefing, which attracted more than 10 million views on Youtube and 1.4 million views on Youku in China while Tourism New Zealand came up with the 100% Middle Earth, 100% New Zealand promotional campaign last year.
As the movies were filmed in various destinations across New Zealand, such as Matamata, Wellington, Okahune and Sutherland Falls (Fiordland National Park), tourism specialists have been able to package and sell an array of fun itineraries for both leisure tourists and corporate groups.
Alexander revealed that interest from incentive groups has been strong. “We get many incentive groups and theme events (with) 350 to 500 people here (at the Hobbiton Movie Set),” he said.
Besides being a tourist attraction, the Hobbiton Movie Set is equipped for corporate gatherings.
Green Dragon Inn, where hobbits gathered for drinks and merry-making in the films, has been replicated at the attraction and serves lunch during operating hours. Once the movie set is closed to the public, Green Dragon Inn is available for private hire and can host sit-down dinners for 80 pax or up to 150 for standing receptions.
The Party Marque, where Bilbo Baggins hosted his ‘eleventy-first’ birthday party in the first instalment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, can seat up to 220 guests.
Another venue option is The Shires Rest Café & Function Centre, which offers two meeting rooms for 60 and 100 people each, or up to 160 pax when combined.
When TTGmice visited Hobbiton Movie Set in May, a new venue for 300 pax was being built towards a June opening.
Wellington Rover Tours, the first company to create The Lord of the Rings movie set tour in 2002, has also seen greater interest from incentive clients. Managing director Scott Courtney said incentive groups typically desire tailor-made programmes that combine visits to film sites with film studios, or with other Wellington tour products.
For corporate event planners who desire a programme that goes beyond visiting film sites and studios, Weta Workshop in Wellington makes an attractive option. The company is best known for its design and effects work on films including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, King Kong, Avatar, Elysium and The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Weta Workshop general manager, David Wilks, told TTGmice: “We opened up part of the studio to visitors. Workshop technicians who have worked on different films guide groups (maximum 20 people per group) on a 45-minute tour and tell stories on how props are made, how the design process works, etc.
“We also tailor tours for conference and incentive groups. We can offer behind-the-scenes sculpture-making demonstrations and have designers talk about their work, or other activities that interest groups.”
For larger corporate groups of 150 or more, Weta Workshop can work with The Roxy Cinema and Coco at The Roxy restaurant, located a mere two-minute drive away, for off-site functions and catering. – Mimi Hudoyo
Ideas
Half-day Maori culture tour in Auckland
Piha beach attracts courageous surfers as well as those who prefer a picnic or stroll
After your morning meetings in Auckland city centre and lunch at your hotel, drive west-ward through Titirangi, which means ‘fringe of heaven’ in Maori language. Titirangi has many lovely cafes and bakeries, making it a popular rest-and-relax destination for locals over the weekends.
From Titirangi, journey on to Waitakere Ranges Regional Park, a beautiful native rainforest that has been made famous by many movies. A brief stop at the Arataki Visitor Centre will provide more information on this natural attraction as well as track maps. Splendid views of the Manukau Harbour and part of the Waitakere Ranges can also be enjoyed from the Arataki Visitor Centre.
Spend the next 45 minutes to explore the Kitekite track, which takes visitors to waterfalls, streams, pools and beautiful native bush.
Next, explore another natural wonder of Auckland – the rugged west coast beaches where the Tasman Sea’s mighty surf crashes onto vast black-sand beaches. Several beaches are available here – Piha, Bethells, Muriwai, Whatipu and Karekare – and each draws its own following of fans. Piha beach, for instance, is popular with experienced surfers and people looking to have a leisurely picnic and stroll.
There will be enough time to take in the majestic scenery and to learn about the indigenous flora and fauna that inhabit this area. Many native plants are used extensively by the Maori community for medicinal purposes and guides will be on hand to point out those that are most useful.
Itinerary provided by TIME Unlimited Tours. Visit www.newzealandtours.travel for more information.
Need to know
After-dark adventures
Rotorua Canopy Tours, which specialises in zipline tours of New Zealand’s native forest canopy, has launched an activity that takes place at dusk and runs through the night.
Creatures of the Night invites travellers to see and hear forest inhabitants that appear at night, such as the Weta group of insect species, Morepork native owls, glow worms and native bats.
The new after-dark tour is conducted on a platform that rises 22m above the forest floor, placing participants high up in the night sky, just under a blanket of stars. The experience is heightened by a flight down the 220m zipline in the dark.
Creatures of the Night is good for a group of up to eight people. Each group is accompanied by two professional guides.
Contact hello@canopytours.co.nz for more information.
More sea access to Hauraki islands now
From this month Explore Group will provide daily departures from Auckland’s harbour to the islands of the Hauraki Gulf on its new Discovery 5 powercat boat.
The new service will transport travellers to the islands of Rangitoto, Motutapu and Wiheke, and offers options for day return trips and longer stays.
Pub crawls with a twist
The Big Foody Food Tour, which specialises in showcasing New Zealand through activities that tantalises participants’ taste-buds, has introduced Big Beer Tour. The 2.5-hour walking tour highlights some of Auckland City’s historical pubs by combining craft beer tasting, a visit to a local brewery and a peek into the history of the city. Visit www.thebigfoody.com for other tour ideas.
Roll in the mud
Hells Gate Geothermal Park and Mud Spa, Rotorua is offering a new Mud Pit interactive teambuilding activity that promises to test the strength, agility and wit of participants.
Teams can engage in a mud tug-of-war competition or deal with Hells Gate’s silky fine geothermal mud, which is a lot like quicksand, during a mud volleyball game.
After all the action, participants can unwind with a relaxing soak in the attraction’s sulphur mineral pools before digging into a hearty meal.
For greater indulgence, planners can set aside time for participants to enjoy a soothing massage or mud therapy.
The programme is available for pre-booked groups of six to 60.
Visit www.hellsgate.co.nz for more information.
Cruise down Lake Rotoiti
A growing demand for tailor-made experiences for corporate groups has prompted Pure Cruise to debut flexible package options with the company’s 53-foot luxury yacht Tiua.
Catering for intimate groups of four to 30 guests, Pure Cruise’s private corporate yachting option offers a unique environment for meetings and celebratory functions on board the yacht, while sailing down Lake Rotoiti, in Rotorua. A soak at the secluded Manupirua Thermal Hot Springs can be included in the package. The private lake-edge geothermal pools are accessible only by boat.
The cruise can be paired with a meeting in Rotorua city, as a dawn-breaking breakfast cruise or a relaxing evening cruise with cocktail or full dinner.
Macau’s slew of new hotel developments promises more non-gaming facilities, with several plotting good meeting spaces, discovers Prudence Lui
City of Dreams will boast a new
hotel tower designed by celebrated
architect, Zaha Hadid
Two years have passed since the last time Macau celebrated a massive injection of new hotel rooms through the opening of the 6,000-key Sands Cotai Central integrated resort.
But from the end of this year, Macau’s tourism players can once again relive that joy with the bumper crop of new integrated resorts expected to come online. According to Macau’s Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau, 16 hotels are under construction and 27 hotel proposals are being evaluated. These projects are expected to add an estimated 25,600 rooms to the destination that is popular with both leisure and business event travellers.
Of the 16 hotels in construction, nine are on the Macau Peninsula and they will add 1,030 rooms to the destination. Taipa will welcome two new-builds with 1,060 rooms.
However, it is Cotai that will provide the bulk of new rooms through five new hotels bearing 7,500 keys. New properties coming up include MGM Cotai, The Parisian, Macao Studio City and SJM Casino Resort & Theme Park.
MGM Cotai, occupying a 71,883m2 site, will boast some 1,600 rooms once it is completed in early-2016. More than 85 per cent of the hotel’s gross floor area is dedicated to non-gaming offerings such as event and banquet spaces, restaurants, retail, spa and entertainment.
Also coming online in 2016 is Wynn Palace, an integrated resort with 1,700 rooms, meeting spaces, a performance lake, a casino, a spa, retail offerings, and F&B outlets.
Meanwhile, the existing Galaxy Macau integrated resort, which houses Banyan Tree Macau, Hotel Okura Macau and Galaxy Hotel, is embarking on its phase two expansion. Targeting completion in mid-2015, the extension will feature The Ritz-Carlton’s first all-suite hotel and the world’s largest JW Marriott, as well as meeting facilities for more than 2,000 guests, and more than 45 restaurants, cafes, bars and lounges.
Galaxy Macau will begin construction of phases three and four as early as late-2014.
City of Dreams is another existing integrated resort to go on an expansion blitz. Its developer, Melco Crown Entertainment, has revealed the design of the property’s fifth hotel tower, a masterpiece of renowned architect Zaha Hadid. The visually stunning, 40-floor hotel will offer some 780 rooms, suites and villas that promise to exceed five-star standards when it opens in 2017.
Melco Crown Entertainment is also developing Macao Studio City, a cinematically-themed integrated resort with retail, gaming and 2,000 luxurious rooms and suites.
Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM), which owns Grand Lisboa Hotel and Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16, is also taking its presence beyond the Macau Peninsula by building the Lisboa Palace in Cotai. More than 90 per cent of the total site will be used for non-gaming facilities such as 2,000 hotel rooms spread over The Lisboa Palace Hotel, Palazzo Versace Macau and another fashion-branded luxury hotel.
Transformation is also taking place at Macau Fisherman’s Wharf. A redevelopment and expansion exercise will give it a 445-key Harbourview Hotel (opening 2Q2014), 229-room Legend Palace Hotel (2Q2015) and 270-room Legendale Hotel (2Q2016).
Commenting on the wave of new hotels, MGM Macau executive director of sales & guest service/hotel operations, Irene Wong, said: “Competition will intensify but we expect demand to remain strong. The transportation infrastructure of Macau will be significantly improved by 2016 (through the new Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, expansion of the Macau International Airport, and additions of new facilities at the border gates), and that will attract even more regional travellers to Macau.
“From the hotel perspective, we will dedicate our resources to developing non-gaming offerings to diversify our client base.”
Welcoming the slew of hotel developments is SmallWorld Experience executive director, Bruno Simoes, who is often faced with the difficulty of securing more than 50 rooms from a single hotel for his meeting clients, as most hotels give accommodation priority to their gaming and leisure guests.
“However, these upcoming new developments will have meeting facilities, and that is a positive sign for (event planners),” Simoes said.
A magnet for mega business events
This September alone The Venetian Macao will play host to two massive events that will each draw more than 10,000 attendees. One will be the HERBALIFE Active World Team University 2014, an annual training event for the company’s distributors in Asia-Pacific, while the other is the Jeunesse Expo Annual World Conference.
The integrated resort’s spokesperson told TTGmice that the Cotai Expo halls will be used for arrivals and departures, while Cotai Arena will be used for the main event. Meeting rooms at the property will support the rest of the event requirements for smaller gatherings.
All rooms across The Venetian Macao and Sands Cotai Central will be utilised to accommodate the delegates.
The spokesperson said: “We are equipped to handle multiple events of (such scale) every month. This is what we were designed to do as an integrated resort.”
The spokesperson noted that more organisations, from companies to associations, are now hosting large-scale events.
“Organisers understand that with the number of hotel rooms (and event spaces) we have, they can hold their event, along with arrival and departure from Macau, all under one roof. It is hard to find such a venue, especially one that provides such level of service anywhere in the world, so the more of such events we do, the more the word gets out to other markets,” said the spokesperson.
Simon Leung, general manager, Macau MICE Travel of Shun Tak Travel Services, has observed a leap in the size of events coming into Macau.
He said: “More mega events are happening in Macau these days. In the past, we would see groups of 3,000 pax. Today, that has grown to 10,000 to 20,000, with most annual conferences going to The Venetian Macao.”
And the future is bright for Macau in Leung’s point of view. “I foresee more of such large-scale events when new hotels and integrated resorts are completed in the next few years,” he added.
However, Darren Chuckry, client services, executive director of Uniplan Hong Kong, thinks that Macau has yet to achieve its full potential as a destination for mega events.
According to Chuckry, Uniplan Hong Kong’s largest event in the destination was the three-day G2E Asia global gaming expo last year, which drew 6,500 professional visitors and 130 exhibitors from around the world.
“(But) I believe that the completion of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and new developments in Cotai will definitely heighten interest in Macau as a host city for mega events,” said Chuckry.
He added: “Still, the city needs improvement in two areas to sustain the growth of its mega events industry – it has to improve (access to Macau) and allow for more flexible hiring of crew members. Currently most organisers and visitors choose to fly into Hong Kong then take the ferry to Macau. Organisers are also required to hire only local crew members to support their events.
“Diversifying the variety of entertainment options and lifestyle destinations in the city would play a critical role in establishing Macau as a world-class entertainment hub in its own right.” – Prudence Lui
Need to know
A new environment to rest and recharge
The Spa at Wynn, located within Wynn Macau, has unveiled a new look to offer guests a sense of “lightness and openness” right from the moment they enter. The soothing effect is a result of caramel and cream carpets, refreshed limed oak woodwork and exquisite lanterns.
Complementing the new look is a new 90-minute signature Silk & Cashmere Awakening treatment, which includes a purifying exfoliation and a light massage using warm silk gloves, followed by a deeper full-body massage using warmed lotus oil, and a luxurious application of a cashmere-infused silky body wrap. The treatment concludes with a rare and refined body cream of lotus flower extract and shea butter for an illuminated glow.
Explore Macau on your own
Business event travellers to Macau who are planning to extend their stay and explore the destination at their own pace can now rely on the new Macao Cultural and Creative Map and complementing mobile app.
Designed to guide tourists to Macau’s cultural and creative spaces, the first edition of the map covers the destination’s seven parishes, introducing each with text and animations. Additional information on World Heritage sites, museums and bus routes are also available. Location services on the mobile app help guide users to even more products and activities.
The Macao Cultural and Creative Map is distributed at 158 locations across Hong Kong and Macau, including immigration checkpoints, museums, hotels, travel agencies, cultural and creative entities, etc.
For more information, visit www.macaucci.com.
Top eats at Sofitel
Sofitel Macau At Ponte 16 has launched Le Chinois Cantonese Restaurant on its top floor, allowing guests to not only feast on delicacies created by chef Ho Wah but also take in the sights of Macau’s inner harbour.
Chef Ho Wah brings almost four decades of culinary experience to Le Chinois, promising outstanding Cantonese cuisine that are presented creatively. Apart from seasonal specialties, the menu also features dim sum, organic specialty teas, rare artisanal teas and an extensive collection of wines.
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
A polished urban retreat designed for business travellers, Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown combines thoughtful design, seamless service, and exceptional facilities.
Rotorua Canopy Tours, which specialises in zipline tours of New Zealand’s native forest canopy, has launched an activity that takes place at dusk and runs through the night.
