Singapore Airlines regularly reviews its network and routes to align capacity with demand
Singapore Airlines (SIA) will be boosting flight frequencies and capacities to several popular destinations for the 2025 Northern Summer season, which runs from 30 March to 25 October 2025.
From March 30, 2025, SIA will have a daily service to London (Gatwick), up from the current five-times weekly services. Together with its four-times daily flights to London (Heathrow), this will give the Airline five daily services to the UK capital.
Singapore Airlines regularly reviews its network and routes to align capacity with demand
Services to Rome will increase to five times a week between June 26, 2025 and August 28, 2025, up from the current four-weekly flights.
SIA will delink its three-times weekly Singapore-Milan-Barcelona flights from June 24, 2025 to September 7, 2025, and operate more direct flights between Singapore and the two European cities. The Airline will mount five-times weekly direct flights to Barcelona during this period, up from the current two weekly flights. Milan will have a daily service, up from four-times weekly currently.
Flights to Adelaide will go up to 10 a week across the Northern Winter 2024 and Northern Summer 2025 seasons, up from the current seven-times weekly services. Frequencies to Ho Chi Minh City will rise to thrice daily, up from 19-times weekly, and services to Siem Reap will go to twice daily, up from a daily service.
A three-times weekly service will be mounted to Johannesburg from December 11, 2024 to January 10, 2025, and from April 2, 2025 to October 24 , 2025, bringing the total number of flights to the city to 10 times a week, up from the current daily services, during these periods.
The Airbus A380 will return to Tokyo (Narita) between March 30, 2025 and May 31, 2025 on one of its two daily services, replacing the Boeing 787-10. The A380 will stop operating to Mumbai from July 28, 2025 to August 31, 2025, and Delhi from June 23, 2025 to July 27, 2025, and will be replaced by the Boeing 777-300ER.
SIA will also suspend services to Houston via Manchester from April 1, 2025. However, SIA will maintain five-times weekly services between Singapore and Manchester via SQ302 and SQ301.
Event brief The Philippines successfully secured the hosting of two major United Nations (UN) tourism events. In addition to chairing the 36th Joint Meeting of the UN Tourism Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the Commission for South Asia, the country also brought the inaugural UN Gastronomy Tourism Forum for Asia Pacific to Cebu.
These events highlighted the Philippines’ hospitality, tourism offerings, and rich culinary heritage on the global stage.
Event highlights In a spirit of unity and cooperation, both private and government representatives from across the Philippines convened in Cebu. Even Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr graced the occasion.
The Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa hosted the gastronomy forum, while the Sheraton Mactan Cebu Resort served as the venue for the joint commission meeting.
A technical tour was scheduled between the two main events, offering delegates the opportunity to explore the Camotes Islands, the neighbouring towns of Argao and Dalaguete, or the eco-tourism attractions of Aloguinsan.
Renowned chefs showcased their culinary expertise by whipping up dishes from all 16 regions of the Philippines. Keen attention was paid to sourcing the finest ingredients, including giant tuna, fresh produce, and unique spices from various provinces.
The event was also filled with vibrant Filipino culture, featuring captivating dances, live music, and even a fashion show. These elements contributed to a festive and joyful atmosphere throughout the three-day event.
Challenges
Given the high-profile nature of the event, with attendees including the president and foreign dignitaries, stringent protocols were enacted for security, emergency preparedness, and guest accommodations. Discreetly positioned tourist police provided an added layer of protection at event venues and hotels.
To ensure seamless delegate arrival and departure, the Department of Tourism coordinated with tourism students to provide round-the-clock hospitality services at Manila and Cebu airports and host hotels.
Managing two concurrent international events across separate resorts required meticulous planning and resource allocation. Efficient supply chain management, including sourcing ingredients, promotional materials, and documentation, was crucial to the event’s success.
Strong collaboration between Cebu’s government, private sector, and national stakeholders was instrumental in overcoming logistical challenges and delivering exceptional experiences.
Event United Nations Tourism’ Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Asia and the Pacific, and the 36th Joint Meeting of its Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the Commission for South Asia Organisers Philippine Department of Tourism, UN Tourism and Basque Culinary Center Venue Mactan, Cebu in the Philippines Date June 26-28, 2024 Attendees Over 600 delegates
Hyatt Regency Danang Resort and Spa in Central Vietnam has unveiled a new offer for business events.
Under the Hyatt MICE Offer 2024, event organisers who ink contracts with the property from now until September 30, 2024, as well as meet the US$3,000 spend requirement will receive an additional 20,000 Bonus Points. Events must be completed by March 31, 2025.
Regency Ballroom
In addition to Bonus Points, event planners can enjoy a complimentary Wellbeing experience and earn 2 Tier-Qualifying Night credits for every US$5,000 in eligible revenue settled to a Group Master.
The 360-key Hyatt Regency Danang Resort and Spa is easily accessible from Da Nang International Airport. The sprawling property offers 12 versatile meeting and event spaces, accommodating conferences or receptions for up to 400 guests in the Regency Ballroom or up to 700 guests at its beachfront venues.
There are also seven outdoor options like the Vive Océane Garden, Pool House Garden, and Pool Villa Garden, perfect for events of up to 100 guests. The property can also organise teambuilding activities for groups ranging from 10 to 100.
Facilities on-site include a spa, five outdoor pools, Regency Club, and six restaurants and bars.
Minor Hotels has appointed Richard Beh as vice president commercial – Asia.
Based at the company headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, he will spearhead the overall regional strategy, adopting a holistic approach to sales, marketing, e-commerce, revenue and distribution across all Minor Hotels brands in Asia, including Anantara, Avani, Oaks, Tivoli, NH and NH Collection.
Before joining Minor Hotels, Beh served as global vice president, hotel chains at Trip.com.
ICCA has unveiled a preliminary programme for the upcoming ICCA Congress 2024, set for Abu Dhabi this October.
The organisation has curated content aligned with four content pillars – Technology and Innovation, Sustainability and Environmental Impact, Cultural Awareness, and Business Trends and Growth.
ICCA Congress is recognised as one of the most important gatherings of meetings professionals; a conference session during the 2023 edition pictured
The four-day event will kick off on October 20 with an opening keynote, titled Visionaries in Conversation. The conversational-style presentation will feature Senthil Gopinath, CEO of ICCA and Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General at UN Tourism, speaking on their pivotal roles in fostering tourism development and significant contributions towards sustainable growth in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Other speakers confirmed so far include Julius Solaris of Boldpush, Kashif Khalid of IATA, Tania Baumann of World Energy Council, and more.
Congress attendees can expect to take home practical strategies and ideas for creating innovative events in niche sectors, understand connections between sustainability initiatives and association meeting values, acquire practical strategies for inclusive event planning, explore how destinations are making subventions funds conditional on compliance with environmental or social requirements, and more.
The 63rd ICCA Congress 2024 will also welcome Jonathan Bradshow as emcee. Bradshow is the founder of Meetology and a keynote speaker specialising in behavioural science powering human interaction.
As with all ICCA congresses, participants can also expect a variety of networking opportunities and host city discoveries.
Chad Grospe has been appointed as vice president and managing director, Asia-Pacific for Royal Caribbean International (RCI).
He has been with RCI since 2017 and most recently led the international marketing team, supporting efforts across the Asia-Pacific, Australia and New Zealand, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
With his vision, deep industry knowledge, and proven experience working across international markets at RCI, Grospe will lead the team to continue the growth and success of the company.
The Danna Langkawi Resort & Beach Villas has named Aditya Shamsher Malla as its new general manager.
With over three decades of extensive experience in the hospitality industry, Malla brings a strong commitment to excellence to the team at The Danna.
He has worked with brands like Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, Taj Luxury Hotels, Shangri-La, Hyatt Regency, The Westin, Marriot International, and Hilton, and most recently served as the general manager in Indonesia, transitioning it to full service following acquisition and conversion from Accor.
2023 and 2024 revenues expected to grow by 20% and 17% on average globally year on year
The exhibition industry will achieve record revenues globally in 2024, moving beyond the post-pandemic recovery that was achieved at the end of 2023 on average. Moreover, 2023 and 2024 revenues are expected to grow by 20% and 17% year-on-year respectively.
This is according to UFI’s 33rd edition of its flagship Global Exhibition Barometer report.
2023 and 2024 revenues are expected to grow by 20% and 17% on average globally year on year
“This edition of UFI’s flagship Barometer research confirms our early data from January that 2024 will be a record year for industry revenues globally. This edition shows how this growth translates into new jobs in our sector, as well as in expansion plans from the majority of businesses – aiming both at new business activities, as well as new geographies. Against a complex global backdrop, the global exhibition industry is bullish about its short and mid-term prospects”, commented Kai Hattendorf, managing director and CEO at UFI.
“The barometer also shows how 19 key exhibition markets and regions match up both against their respective regions and the global averages. We have expanded this reporting further to make this data more easily accessible. There is no other research in this industry that allows for such level of comparison.”
Operations
Globally, the level of operations in 1H2024 has picked up for half of the companies (four out of 10 in Asia-Pacific, Central & South America and the Middle East & Africa; and 6 out of 10 in Europe and North America) while it was qualified as “normal” for one in three.
This trend will continue in the coming year with, on average, a percentage of companies reporting an increased activity ranging from 59% in North America to 50% in Asia-Pacific, 49% in the Middle East and Africa, and 48% in Central & South America and Europe, respectively.
Turnover and operating profits
Revenues increased by 20% on average in 2023, and this trend is expected to continue. In 2024, revenues are expected to grow again by an average of 17% year-on-year.
These general trends vary from one country to another. Revenues from 2023 compared to 2022 vary from 143% in Malaysia, 139% in Thailand, 132% in Argentina and the USA, to 105% in Spain, 103% in Brazil and 101% in Australia.
Revenues from 2024 compared to 2023 vary from 148% in Colombia, 138% in Brazil, 123% in the UAE, 106% in Germany, 105% in China and 98% in France.
In terms of operating profits for 2023, 61% of the companies declare an annual increase of more than 10%, and 27% declare a stable one. The same total of 88% applies to the 2024 operating profits, with 47% planning an annual increase of more than 10% and 39% a stable one.
The highest proportion of companies expecting an annual profit increase of more than 10% are in Malaysia (100%), Spain (83%) and Thailand (75%) for 2023, and Brazil (82%), the UK (69%) and Malaysia (58%) for 2024.
Workforce development
Globally, 48% of companies declare that they plan to increase their staff numbers, while another 48% declare that they will keep current staff numbers stable.
The highest proportion of companies planning to add staff are identified in Malaysia (91%), Brazil (75%) and the UAE (73%).
Most important business issues
This edition does not show significant changes when compared to the previous edition of the Barometer released six months ago.
The most pressing business issue is “State of the economy in home market” (22% of answers globally – same as six months ago – and the main issue in all regions, except the Middle East and Africa, where it ranks second).
Overall, “Global economic developments” come in as the second most important issue globally (15% of answers, compared to 17% six months ago), followed by “Geopolitical challenges” (14%, and the top issue for the Middle East and Africa) and “Competition from within the exhibition industry” (14%).
“Internal management challenges” (11%), “Sustainability / Climate” (9%) and “Impact of digitalisation” (6%) follow.
An analysis by industry segment (organiser, venue only and service provider) shows no differences regarding the most pressing issue (“State of the economy in home market”), but the second and third ones vary: “Global economic developments” (17%) and “Geopolitical challenges” (16%) for organisers; “Competition from within the exhibition industry” (18%) and “Sustainability / Climate” (13%) for venues; “Competition from within the exhibition industry” (19%) and “Global economic developments” (15%) for service providers.
Current strategic priorities
In all regions, a large majority of companies intend to develop new activities, either in the classic range of exhibition industry activities (venue/organiser/services), outside of the current product portfolios, or in both areas: 69% in Asia-Pacific, 74% in North America, 75% in Central & South America, 83% in Europe and 84% in the Middle East & Africa.
In terms of geographic expansion, 43% of companies declare an intention to develop operations in new countries and regions.
Generative AI applications
Globally, there is an overwhelming consensus that AI will affect the industry, with 90% of companies stating this.
The areas expected to be most affected by the development of AI are the same in all regions: “Sales, Marketing and Customer Relations” (83% globally), “Research & Development” (82%) and “Event Production” (69%). These are precisely the areas where generative AI applications are already mostly used, and in all regions (39%, 38%, and 28% globally, respectively).
This latest edition of UFI’s bi-annual industry report concluded in July 2024 and includes data from 453 companies in 68 countries and regions.
The study also includes outlooks and analysis for 19 focus countries and regions – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, UAE, UK, and the US – as well as five additional aggregated regional zones.
For 28 years, the Congress has been dedicated to creating a platform for the Chinese financial insurance industry
The 15th Worldwide Chinese Life Insurance Congress and the 2024 International Dragon Award (IDA) Annual Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, concluded with a record-breaking attendance of nearly 11,000 delegates from 17 countries.
Held at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre from August 9-12, 2024, the event marked a significant milestone for the insurance industry.
For 28 years, the Congress has been dedicated to creating a platform for the Chinese financial insurance industry
The congress, organised by IMM International and supported by the Malaysian government, brought together industry leaders, experts, and delegates for four days of knowledge sharing and networking. The event also featured the 26th National Chinese Life Insurance Congress, which saw participants from Malaysia and Singapore join in.
The conference featured nearly 120 speakers who shared insights and best practices to drive the future of the financial insurance sector forward. After which, the IDA Awards Ceremony recognised 23,093 outstanding individuals and organisations in the industry.
Malaysia’s visa-free entry policy for Chinese citizens contributed to the strong turnout, with 4,800 delegates from China attending the event. The congress highlighted the country’s growing prominence as a regional hub for the insurance industry.
Malaysia’s prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, and the minister of tourism, arts and culture, Tiong King Sing, attended the opening ceremony and Dragon Night Awards Ceremony, underscoring the government’s support for the event.
Malaysia has hosted the congress and IDA conference three times, with the most recent event being in 2013, which drew approximately 5,000 delegates. The inaugural event took place in Langkawi in 1998.
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A polished urban retreat designed for business travellers, Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown combines thoughtful design, seamless service, and exceptional facilities.
Before joining Grand Hyatt Jakarta, Kumar was the hotel manager at Grand Hyatt Singapore.
With his vision, deep industry knowledge, and proven experience working across international markets at RCI, Grospe will lead the team to continue the growth and success of the company.
He has worked with brands like Oberoi Hotels & Resorts, Taj Luxury Hotels, Shangri-La, Hyatt Regency, The Westin, Marriot International, and Hilton, and most recently served as the general manager in Indonesia, transitioning it to full service following acquisition and conversion from Accor.
Minor Hotels has appointed Richard Beh as vice president commercial – Asia.
Based at the company headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, he will spearhead the overall regional strategy, adopting a holistic approach to sales, marketing, e-commerce, revenue and distribution across all Minor Hotels brands in Asia, including Anantara, Avani, Oaks, Tivoli, NH and NH Collection.