Alila Hotels & Resorts has appointed Krishna Unni general manager of Alila Bangalore and Siddaharth Savkur general manager of Alila Diwa Goa. Unni brings more than 15 years of experience to the role, while Savkur joins from Hyatt Hotels.
Krishna Unni
Edward Scott has been appointed senior vice president and managing director of Jack Morton Hong Kong, succeeding Guy Parsonage who recently departed the agency that specialises in branding, communications and events. Scott joins from Jack Morton in Australia, where he had served as director of operations.
Raymond Ang is now general manager of Grand Park Kunming. Prior to this, he spent more than a decade in hotel management roles, helming both internationally branded and individually managed properties.
Arthur WC Ho will assume the role of general manager of the soon-to-open Four Seasons Hotel Shenzhen, bringing with him 28 years of hospitality experience. He will be joined by Francois-Regis Simon who will serve as hotel manager.
Arthur Ho
Andre Erasmus has been appointed general manager of Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain, which is due to open in 2014. He joins from Anantara Xishuangbanna Resort and Spa where he was general manager and pre-opening manager.
Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa has appointed Evi Knoeckel and Kerry Fowler business development managers. Knoeckel and Fowler have vast business development experience with five-star properties.
Jörg T Böckeler is now general manager of InterContinental Sydney, following on from his last posting as general manager of InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto.
EXHIBITION space sold at Asian trade fairs in 2012 has increased 2.7 per cent over 2011’s figure, with South-east Asia once again demonstrating the most growth.
According to UFI’s annual report Trade Fair Industry in Asia, undertaken by BSG, some 16.3 million square metres in space was sold by exhibition organisers in the region last year, compared to 15.9 million square metres in 2011.
Malaysia and Singapore were the fastest growing markets, posting 8.2 and 7.6 per cent year-on-year increases respectively, followed by Indonesia (6.6 per cent), Vietnam (4.9 per cent) and the Philippines (3.9 per cent).
Despite remarkable growth statistics from South-east Asia, China remains the behemoth in Asia’s exhibitions industry. Of the total 16.3 million square metres sold, China accounted for 55 per cent of the space, with Japan trailing at 12 per cent.
Furthermore, while available venue capacity in Asia is expected to reach 6.6 million square metres in total over 191 venues across 15 countries by end-2013, over 100 of the said venues are located in China, making up 69 per cent of Asia’s total capacity.
The middle kingdom, set to add 66,000m2 in available space in 2013, will also unveil Asia’s largest purpose-built exhibition centre in 2015. The Hongqiao venue in Shanghai will offer 400,000m2 of indoor space and 100,000m2 of outdoor space.
Paul Woodward, managing director, UFI, said: “Our research shows two clear trends: the continued trade fair boom in South-east Asia and the maturing of the trade fair market in mainland China. Both of these trends confirm that the trade fair market in Asia is one of the most exciting for organisers looking for high-growth opportunities.”
UFI Asia/Pacific regional manager and BSG managing director, Mark Cochrane, also commented: “South-east Asia should continue to post strong growth throughout 2013 and 2014, and we anticipate that China will see growth in its key markets (especially in Shanghai and Guangdong province) as long as the global economy at least holds constant.”
THE Philippines will ease its visa rules for group travel from India, part of the country’s proactive approach towards poaching India’s MICE.
Acknowledging that obtaining visas is one of the main hurdles in attracting Indian tourists, Glen Agustin, team India head, market development group, Department of Tourism, said the Department of Foreign Affairs would soon come up with a new policy that would grant group visas to incentive, conference and family groups.
Currently, Indian nationals can only secure individual visas after fulfilling all requirements, including show money. The country last year began allowing Indian nationals who have visa-free entry to AJACS SUK countries (Australia, Japan, Canada, Singapore, the US and UK) to enter the Philippines without a visa for 14 days, extendable to 21 days.
Agustin explained that the Philippines was employing a two-prong strategy for wooing Indian inbound, by first targeting market segments earmarked as having the best potential, of which MICE tops the list, and then taking a geographical approach by gunning for areas in India with the biggest outbound potential.
The country was focusing on MICE, especially incentives, because of the huge returns to be yielded, and is thus positioning itself as a fun, mid-market destination for corporate travel.
The Philippines will conduct its second-ever roadshow in India, adding Hyderabad and Ahmedabad to this year’s circuit. The high levels of industrialisation and wealthy populations in the two cities made them ripe for the picking, said Agustin.
Last year’s roadshow facilitated business meetings between the Philippine travel trade and their Indian counterparts, and visited Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The Philippines also continues to attend India’s largest outbound travel fair, Outbound Travel Mart.
INTERNATIONAL corporate services company HRG has been awarded the global travel contract for Statoil, one of the world’s leading energy companies specialising in oil and gas production.
The award covers an initial 17 countries, predominantly in Norway and the US, but also including Singapore and those across Africa, Europe and Latin America.
Matthew Pancaldi, HRG’s director sales Europe and Asia, said: “This is an exceptional win for HRG and follows an extensive bidding process. Statoil (has) set ambitious targets for costs savings, service delivery and security. Our expertise and knowledge, together with the comprehensive country coverage pattern we are able to provide, will enable us to meet these targets and provide a global service that is nothing short of excellent.”
