AMERICAN Express Business Travel has appointed Andi Budd vice president and general manager for Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan.

Budd brings with him close to two decades of experience working across a spectrum of roles in business travel and corporate payments within American Express. Since joining the company in 1992, Budd has held various senior executive positions including president of the American Express Nippon Travel Agency, the business travel joint-venture between American Express and Nippon Travel Agency, in Japan from 2004 to 2007.

He has also lived in the UK, India, Australia and most recently Singapore.

AGORA Hospitalities has opened the 175-room Hotel Agora Osaka Morugichi in Osaka, Japan, bringing with it 15 meeting facilities of various sizes.

The hotel’s meeting rooms are said to be ideal for small private dinners, company events, workshops and meetings, and can accommodate 20 to 500 guests. The grand ballroom can cater to events with 460 people in theatre style or 210 in banquet style.

As a result of its extensive meeting and F&B facilities – six dining outlets in all, the hotel will target business travellers and corporate guests.

According to Agora Hospitalities CEO and president, Aya Aso, the hotel’s main target markets are North Asia and attention is being paid to pharmaceutical, academic, finance, IT and medical industries.

The hotel is located at 10-5 Kawahara-cho, Moriguchi, 40 minutes by train from Osaka International Airport.

THE BIENNIAL congress of the Combustion Institute will head to Seoul, South Korea in 2016.

To be held at the capital city’s Coex Convention & Exhibition Center, the 36^th Symposium on Combustion is expected to attract more than 700 international experts from 70 countries, along with more than 500 local participants.

The secured bid is one of the many wins for associations in South Korea that have benefited from bidding support offered by the Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB).

Along with strong local association chapters and a rapidly growing meetings industry, bidding support offered by the SCB and the Seoul Metropolitan Government has led to over 100 bid wins for events in Seoul to be held from 2012 to 2018. These events are expected to bring in over 1.3 trillion won (US$1.15 billion) in revenue for the city.

Upcoming events in Seoul include the 2014 International Congress of Mathematicians, the 26^th International Society of Hypertension Biennial Scientific Meeting 2016, and the General Session of the International Association for Dental Research in 2016.

THE LONDON 2012 Olympics Games has come to a close, but its legacy lingers on, as Britain is now capitalising on the hype generated to draw corporate travellers and MICE delegates from Asia to its shores.

“Brand Britannia is on the rise, and hopefully, the country will be able to sustain its newfound popularity and ultimately, benefit from all the hype centred around the Olympics. The UK showed the world and the travel trade exactly what London can do. The capital’s infrastructure coped with an influx of arrivals, even in the face of security issues and strike threats. To top it off, the media projected Britain in a positive light, which could serve us well in marketing campaigns targeted at Asian (corporate travel) markets,” said James Alba-Duignan, regional sales director, Hogg Robinson Group.

VisitEngland, which opened its first Asian regional headquarters in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) in July, has been assigned to bolster corporate travel and MICE from Asia-Pacific to London and the rest of England.

Alba-Duignan believes that London will be the main beneficiary of this renewed interest in the UK. “However, the UK is a small country, and London is connected to an artery of roads and railway lines. Any additional traffic generated post-Olympics should spread across the country,” he said.

Nonetheless, despite the feel-good sentiment and the riches anticipated to trickle down to Britain’s coffers, the UK economy continues to tether on the brink of disaster.

But this could work to Britain’s advantage, said Alba-Duignan.

“Reports are already suggesting that Britain is in recession. This could trigger more quantitative easing from the Bank of England in the near term, which would send the pound plunging. Cost is a major concern for corporate firms in Asia when deciding to hold a meeting or event in Europe, and if the pound was debased further against Asian currencies, this could encourage more Asian firms to conduct business or stage events in the UK,” he explained.

He added that it was essential for tourism authorities, travel consultancies and event planners in the UK to work creatively to ensure that corporate companies see the added value of holding a meeting or event in the UK versus other destinations.

THE DATAI Langkawi, a resort surrounded by a rainforest and secluded beach and renowned for its residential monkeys, has introduced a new package that brings the fun of nature into meeting programmes.

Priced at RM988+ (US$319) per person on a twin-share basis, the Monkey Business Package includes a two-night stay in a deluxe room, full-day use of a meeting room with LCD projector and complimentary Wi-Fi Internet access, daily breakfast, one lunch, one morning and afternoon tea break, as well as a kite-flying session on Datai Beach and a nature walk with the resident naturalist.

Event planners can pay an extra RM588+ for single occupancy per room.

This offer is valid for a minimum booking of eight rooms, and for stays by December 19 this year.

Contact salesdatailangkawi@dataihotels.com for more details.

LUXURY cruise company, Silversea, has launched a series of foreign language resources for corporate and incentive travel planners.

The highlight of the new resources is a 34-page e-brochure that comes in English, Mandarin, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese and Russian languages. Other tools include proposals, contracts and an e-newsletter, Executive Connection, which is now available in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Corporate and incentive rates are also reflected in euro, US dollar, British pound and Australian dollar.

Steve Odell, Silversea president for Europe and Asia-Pacific, said: “These new tools, combined with Silversea’s team of corporate and incentive professionals in North America, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Europe and the UK, will help to create a meaningful dialogue with our valued partners around the globe.”

ECONOMIC woes have hurt corporate teambuilding business at Singapore’s Forest Adventure, a tree-top course that has been popular with corporate and school groups.

“Our corporate teambuilding business has gone down this year, a result of the poor economy. Some clients have chosen to stop holding teambuilding programmes altogether, while others have slashed their event budgets. We have had clients who come to us with only S$30 (US$24) per head for teambuilding activities,” said Manjit Singh, sales manager of Forest Adventure.

He added: “This month is especially quiet for us because of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and the Chinese Hungry Ghost Festival. Some clients are superstitious and prefer to avoid adventure-type activities during the Hungry Ghost Festival.”

While the obstacle-based attraction usually offers corporate packages from S$68 per person, the company intends to entice budget-conscious clients with a la carte activities.

With an a la carte programme, groups will pay S$38 per person for a 34-obstacle course, which will come without the usual corporate package frills such as riddles and games, F&B and a certificate of completion, among other things.

“While corporate teambuilding business is down, thankfully our school groups have increased slightly this year,” Singh said.

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.