THE BRISBANE Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) will host the G20 Leaders Summit in November 2014.

The summit is recognised as the world’s premier forum for global economic co-operation and decision-making, bringing together leaders and finance ministers from various countries. Some 7,000 delegates and 3,000 accredited media representatives are expected to attend the summit and the trade and labour conferences that precede the main event.

BCEC general manager, Bob O’Keeffe, said the hosting of the G20 Leaders Summit would place Brisbane at the centre of world events.

He said: “This is a unique opportunity to showcase Brisbane’s credentials as an international business destination, as well as the world-class facilities of the convention centre and the city’s infrastructure.”

THE MEETINGS and incentives market in Brunei is seeing stronger growth this year compared to the last, report some DMCs.

Sunshine Borneo Tours & Travel managing director, Anthony Chieng, attested this growth to rotational regional meetings that have landed in the destination. The company handled the tours for the 19th ASEAN-European Ministerial Meeting in April for more than 300 delegates, as well as the post-show tours for The Pacific Association of Quantity Surveyors 16th Annual Congress in July.

Freme Travel Services, which handles mostly meetings and incentives from Malaysia and Vietnam, has registered a year-on-year growth of about five per cent from these markets. The company’s manager, inbound and MICE division, Sugumaran Nair, said groups from Malaysia and Vietnam would usually combine Brunei with Kota Kinabalu in East Malaysia, with an average of three days/two nights spent in Brunei.

Meanwhile, the Sultanate has attracted two new international golf events, namely Asia Pacific Golf Summit 2012 from December 11 to 13, and the Royal Trophy-Europe vs Asia Golf Championship from December 14 to 16.

These tournaments enhance Brunei’s status as a popular golf destination that has hosted games such as the Brunei Open and the Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters.

Nitaya Pirinyuang, sales manager-travel industry/ MICE of The Empire Hotel & Country Club where the two year-end golf games will be held, expects full occupancy during these events.

THE CONRAD Tokyo is offering planners a full-day meeting package for 20,000 yen (US$255) per delegate during the summer season.

The package includes rental of one meeting room on the 29th floor of the hotel, free-flow tea/coffee, lunch, meeting amenities, and use of audio-visual equipment.

Meeting planners also have the option of spicing up their programmes with activities such as an instructor-lead stretching session or an origami lesson.

The offer is valid till end-September this year. For more information, write to cy.west@conradhotels.com.

LUXURY hotel group Okura Hotels & Resorts will open the doors to its first property in Taiwan tomorrow.

The 208-key Okura Prestige Taipei sits in central Taipei’s Zhongshan district, putting business and leisure guests within easy reach of high-end shopping malls and popular tourist attractions.

Facilities at the hotel include multi-purpose rooms with mobile partitions, three restaurants, a lounge/bar, a bakery and a health club with state-of-the-art fitness equipment.

With the launch of Okura Prestige Taipei, Okura Hotels & Resorts will have 25 hotels under its belt, of which 16 are in Japan, six in other parts of Asia, two in the US and one in Amsterdam.

HILTON Worldwide has rolled out its first MICE awareness and incentive campaign targeted at event planners based in Asia-Pacific.

Kicked off on August 1, Hilton’s From MICE to Millions campaign dangles incentives, as well as a chance to win up to two million Hilton HHonours points in an effort to get regional planners to hold meetings and events at Hilton hotels and resorts across Asia-Pacific.

To qualify for the challenge, event planners must make a booking between August 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012 for events to be held between August 1, 2012 and February 28 next year. At the end of the campaign, the overall top booker in Asia-Pacific, based on the highest cumulative revenue generated throughout the campaign, will be awarded two million Hilton HHonors points.

There will also be a regional challenge where the top bookers from five Asia-Pacific regions – Australasia, Greater China, South and South-east Asia, India, Japan, South Korea and Micronesia – will be awarded one million Hilton HHonors points.

Philippe Garnier, vice president, sales and regional marketing, Asia-Pacific, said: “Hilton Worldwide understands that organisations are more discerning about their MICE expenditures and are looking to yield more value and unique experiences that can be shared when face-to-face meetings are conducted.

“With this in mind, we have made it a priority to not only offer exceptional value to our customers who are hosting meetings at our portfolio of hotels, but also provide them with tailored solutions for each meeting.”

TOASTMASTERS International will take its annual convention out of North America for the first time in 2014, in favour of Malaysia.

To be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre from August 20-23, the Toastmasters International World Convention will be attended by some 2,000 delegates. The event is expected to contribute RM32.5 million (US$10.4 million) to the country’s economy.

Toastmasters International executive director, Daniel Rex, said: “Kuala Lumpur is high on the list of international travel destinations. Known for its dazzling high-rises and rich cultural sense, the city is a prime international convention site for many reasons. It is centrally located (with) a broad membership population, which would potentially boost convention attendance higher than it has ever been.”

Currently, the association has more than 30 per cent of its global membership base residing outside of North America, and has seen strongest membership growth in South-east Asia.

Toastmasters International World Convention is supported by the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) under an industry partners’ subvention scheme.

MELBOURNE will host the world’s leading transplantation experts in 2015 when they convene in the city for the Joint International Pancreas and Islet Transplant Association, International Xenotransplantation Association and Cell Transplant Society Congress.

Minister for Tourism & Major Events, Louise Asher, said Melbourne had been granted the opportunity to host the congress because of its exceptional quality of transplantation experts based in Victoria and the calibre of research being conducted in the state.

The congress will be held at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, and is expected to attract 700 delegates to Melbourne over five days and generate an estimated A$3.3 million (US$3.5 million) for the state economy.

Asher said: “This is yet another addition to a growing number of medical conferences due to be hosted in the city in 2015. During 2015, Melbourne will host a number of significant medical conferences including the International Conference on Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Congress of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Coloproctology and the 35th Congress of the Societe Internationale d’Urologie.”

THE KESATRIA 1Malaysia programme initiated by the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) in January has identified 14 new business event leads, which together are expected to attract 30,000 international delegates and RM351 million (US$122 million) in tourism revenue for the country.

The programme aims to spur leaders of key industry sectors, who had previously hosted large-scale international events in Malaysia, to voluntarily assist in identifying and encouraging other potential hosts to bid for and stage international conventions in Malaysia.

With the assistance of its appointed Kesatrias, or knights in Bahasa Malaysia, MyCEB has also organised a series of presentations at universities and research institutions to guide potential hosts on how to bid for and stage international congresses. The presentations provide case studies on the benefits a local host stands to gain from organising a global congress, as well as outlines support services offered by MyCEB.

MyCEB CEO, Zulkefli Sharif, said: “Having Kesatrias present the case studies will offer so much more inspiration to potential local hosts.”

There are currently 17 appointed Kesatrias, and according to Zulkefli, the bureau is in the process of growing the pool to represent all key economic growth sectors including agriculture, business services and education.

A STUDY by GBTA Foundation and Egencia, the corporate travel arm of Expedia, has found that travel professionals are having a bigger say in business travel policy, aided by online booking tools and a growing focus on cost-saving efforts.

Titled Travel Policy Trends: Control – What Does it Mean and Who Has It, the study surveyed almost 1,500 travel professionals across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America to determine their definition of travel policy control and how respondents were adapting to new and evolving business travel requirements.

The majority of travel professionals – 60 per cent – indicated that they now have more control over travel policy compared to a few years ago.

Most respondents – 61 per cent – also indicated that driving savings and controlling costs were important definitions of travel policy control. Setting policies and procedures and driving compliance followed with 41 per cent and 35 per cent of the votes, respectively.

In addition, the study found that travel professionals were increasingly using mobile phones and social media to communicate with their travellers and to improve travel experience. Some 65 per cent of respondents said they maintained contact with travellers “to let them know they’re watching out for them”. However, only 18 per cent of respondents had integrated travel policy information into mobile booking tools used by travellers.

As well, 72 per cent of respondents agreed that they now have more travel spend data and improved reporting tools compared to a few years ago, which help to provide more information to find gaps in compliance and bolster their ability to negotiate with suppliers.

THE YOKOHAMA Convention & Visitors Bureau has successfully bagged the hosting rights for the 9^th International Orthodontic Congress, which will be held from October 4-7, 2020.

Organised by the World Federation of Orthodontists, the congress is expected to draw 6,000 participants, with 2,000 from overseas. It will take place at Pacifico Yokohama, a convention complex that overlooks Yokohama Bay.

The International Orthodontic Congress is held once every five years. The last edition was held in Sydney in 2010, and the next will head to London in 2015.