This space offers new user-friendly and eco-conscious features
The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (the Centre) has introduced a newly refurbished meeting space, complemented by a dedicated solutions package known as SmartConnect@301.
The room features a smart office system, occupancy sensors, an expansive 136-inch LED screen and an 86-inch interactive screen. These in-built technologies facilitate seamless connection of multiple devices, content casting, energy conservation and paperless meetings. The space also boasts a private balcony overlooking the iconic PETRONAS Twin Towers and the 20-hectare KLCC Park.
This space offers new user-friendly and eco-conscious features
Offered with SmartConnect@301, a solutions package that includes a dedicated F&B and a technical specialist, the room’s versatility allows it to transform for any event, from corporate board meetings to social gatherings.
John Burke, general manager of the Centre, said this refurbishment is the latest phase in its ongoing efforts to ensure the venue remains competitive. Ongoing upgrades are also being planned for the future.
SmartConnect@301 package is now available for booking at an introductory price of RM301+ (US$63.30) per person until July 31, 2024.
SITA explained that biometrics is the solution for a safe and seamless air transport experience
SITA’s Biometrics White Paper, Face the Future, acknowledged that the global demand for travel is rising, and biometrics is at the forefront of this transformation.
The white paper also discussed how the surge in air traveller numbers places extraordinary pressure on existing and new airports, national borders, and airline resources.
SITA explained that biometrics is the solution for a safe and seamless air transport experience
According to the CAPA-Centre for Aviation, 425 major construction projects (worth around US$450 billion) have already been put underway at existing global airports, along with 225 new airport investment projects in 2022.
However, SITA stated that “existing paper-based and manual travel infrastructure and legacy processes simply won’t be able to cope”, and that brick and mortar infrastructure is only part of the solution. Airlines and airports will struggle to manage passenger numbers, affecting the quality of the travel experience they are able to deliver.
The solution, explained SITA, is in harnessing the power of facial and fingerprint biometrics to create a safer and seamless air transport experience. By applying advanced technological solutions, SITA will also solve other industry challenges, like space constraints, specialist staff shortages, and evolving passenger wants and needs.
The white paper outlined more solutions using advanced biometrics technology, including SITA Flex, a common-use passenger processing platform, and SITA Border Management, which covers border control, risk intelligence, and travel authorisation. Both solutions are well recognised in the industry and used by more than 40 airports globally.
It also breaks down SITA’s Digital Travel Credentials (DTC) solution, a verifiable digital identity shared before arrival (with the passenger’s consent) for seamless border crossing.
Additionally, Face the Future also showcased successful case studies like the Star Alliance Biometric initiative and the Indian government’s DigiYatra programme – both cases use the end-to-end biometric passenger processing solution, SITA Smart Path.
“SITA Smart Path biometrically enables every step of the passenger journey, from mobile enrolment to aircraft boarding and every point in between and beyond,” shared Stefan Schaffner, vice president of airports at SITA.
“With facial recognition across as many airport touch points as you need, it lets passengers manage their identity across their whole journey, in a unique and touchless way. The final result is a radically improved travel experience.”
SAS Scandinavian Airlines will exit Star Alliance on August 31, 2024, and the airline grouping will take steps to ensure the change is seamless for customers, particularly with respect to previously booked flights.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines will bid Star Alliance goodbye end of August
Members of frequent flyer programmes are asked to consult their individual airline programmes directly with specific questions related to mileage accrual and redemption for travel within the Star Alliance network.
Going forward, 17 Star Alliance member airlines will continue to offer direct flights to and from Scandinavia, including Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, TAP Air Portugal, Thai, Turkish Airlines, and United.
From September 1, there will be 25 member airlines in the network.
This surge in interest reflects a broader trend of Chinese businesses seeking opportunities in Indonesia's thriving market
Indonesian business events industry players have seen significant growth of interest from China this year compared to the pre-pandemic period.
Hosea Andreas Runkat, chairman of the Indonesia Exhibition Companies Association, said: “After the pandemic, I’ve observed an increase in business activity originating from China.
This surge in interest reflects a broader trend of Chinese businesses seeking opportunities in Indonesia’s thriving market
“As I learned from my industry contacts in China, their government is actively encouraging industry members to pursue overseas business ventures to support China’s economy. These initiatives receive government funding and have been pursued with increased intensity since 2022, surpassing the level of activity seen in 2019.”
Among the events hosted in Jakarta this year is China Homelife Indonesia, which took place from March 13-16. Held at the Jakarta International Expo, this marked the largest show from China to date, occupying up to 50,000m2 of space.
Looking ahead to September, Jakarta will host the Global Source and Gift Show exhibitions, each taking up approximately 15,000m2 of space.
“Many are still in the process of exploring opportunities. I’ve hosted several groups per month, each comprising about 10 people. In China, these activities are organised by cities, with each city allocating funds for such endeavours.”
Andreas identified Indonesia’s large population and its strong consumer culture as the primary factors driving the aggressive approach.
“The mid to low-end consumer base in Indonesia is substantial, even more so than in neighbouring countries, and they have a strong penchant for shopping across various product categories. This creates abundant opportunities for Chinese producers to market their products here,” he remarked.
Indonesia is increasingly becoming an attractive destination for Chinese companies to host their meetings and seminars for product introductions, as noted by Ramson Piter, head of convex and professional training at AntaVaya.
Piter has received enquiries for events not only in Bali, but also in Yogyakarta, due to the latter’s rich heritage and improved infrastructure. As such, he has started offering Yogyakarta to PCOs in China.
“Although these products may originate from Europe or the US, after successfully expanding their business into China, companies are now looking to expand into Indonesia,” Piter explained.
One ongoing discussion involves a skincare product from Italy that has made strides in the Chinese market, and now sees an opportunity in Indonesia.
“They are planning to host a conference for approximately 250-300 attendees, including a product exhibition, in Jakarta,” Piter revealed.
Construction of the Penang Waterfront Convention Centre (PWCC), located at The Light City in Gelugor, Penang, has topped out, with completion on track for 2Q2025.
PWCC will feature a gross floor area of around 30,650m2, and facilities will include a large kitchen, pre-function area, a rooftop area, with views of the Penang Bridge, and 19 meeting rooms. Its main exhibition hall will have 7,060m2 of net lettable area and seat up to 5,500 guests banquet-style or up to 8,000 in a theatre arrangement.
PWCC under construction
The venue will be part of The Light City’s first development phase, which will also include a retail mall, a hotel, office towers and two residential projects.
Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau’s (PCEB) CEO, Ashwin Gunasekeran, shared that with the imminent opening of PWCC – a prime venue for holding large-scale exhibitions – the state bureau will focus on securing more B2B international exhibitions.
Ashwin elaborated: “Penang is a manufacturing economic powerhouse and now that we have a venue for holding exhibitions, we can target this segment and support more investment into the state.”
To date, PCEB has secured exhibitions in the heavy machinery, robotics and Artificial Intelligence sectors.
Gracie Geikie, director of Place Borneo, added: “PWCC will provide an additional advantage to Penang and Malaysia by enhancing our country’s ability to bid for and oversee international exhibitions.
“Malaysia is already well-equipped to manage conferences, so this will further expand our business events sector. I’m looking forward to this development as we continue to grow our business in Malaysia.”
On whether he anticipates the competition with a new venue entering the market, Francis Teo, head, Setia Convention Centres, commented: “Setia SPICE and PWCC cater to distinct market segments, collectively attracting a wider range of business events to Penang. Setia SPICE primarily focuses on conventions and corporate events, while PWCC targets the exhibition segment.”
Singapore Expo’s new Arena @ Expo multipurpose concert venue, which comes with plug-and-play audio and visual capabilities, is expected to cater to the growing demand for elevated entertainment presentations during business events.
Speaking to TTGmice during an exclusive venue showcase for music promotors and producers last week, Ng Sim Lim, vice president, sales with Constellar, the organisation that manages Singapore Expo, pointed out that business events were getting “more sophisticated (in terms of entertainment and performances), particularly the ones that are in the direct selling business or have a massive attendance”.
A concert at the Arena @ Expo
“These are huge productions that are business in nature, but calls for programming and entertainment content that is not typical of a business conference. They would come in and invest a lot in making sure that show is a great experience,” he added.
A selling point for Arena @ Expo, according to Ng, is that it simplifies the production process for event organisers.
The new venue charges a flat-fee venue rental with half-hall and full-hall options, and boasts a plug-and-play concert concept that comes with pre-configured basic production support, such as audio, intercom and lighting equipment; and LED wall; truss and rigging system; crowd management equipment and manpower; and more.
Organisers can utilise a 60 feet (18.3 metres) by 40 feet Grand Stage and a fixed production console. Floor space is flexible, and is good for up to 6,700 seats or a blended setup for 2,500 tiered seats and 4,200 in a standing pen. It can also cater to smaller gatherings of hundreds.
While Singapore Expo typically courts “very, very big” corporate incentive groups with around 20,000 delegates – where such events occupy multiple halls – Ng believes that the Arena @ Expo is ideal for smaller gatherings with 6,000 or so attendees, especially those that intend to feature performances as part of the business programme.
Furthermore, as the Arena @ Expo is intended to attract local and regional artists and has already built up strong interest among music promotors, Ng sees potential for business events held at Singapore Expo to weave concerts into their hospitality offering for high-value partners and delegates.
A screenshot from the newly-released video depicting SkyPoint Climb
Experience Gold Coast has released the first of three videos designed to attract international meetings, conferences and incentive travel programmes to the city.
The first video takes the viewer into the imagination of a meeting planner who pictures a destination with an extensive range of business event infrastructure and experiences, framed by a spectacular coastline and tropical rainforest, just like the Gold Coast.
A screenshot from the newly-released video depicting SkyPoint Climb
The first of three business event videos is now available with an additional two videos – focused on the association and incentive travel markets – to be released in the coming weeks.
Experience Gold Coast’s head of business events Brooke Campbell said: “Although we know one in two business events held in Queensland meet on the Gold Coast, it’s a fiercely competitive market and we need to continue pushing the city and the growing range of venues, accommodations and experiences on offer for business events.”
The project is supported by Tourism Australia’s Business Events Advance Program designed to increase the number and value of international business events for Australia.
Campbell added that Experience Gold Coast has received a strong level of interest, where 105 business events worth an estimated A$196 million (US$129 million) have been secured between now and 2030. Of the 105 total events secured, 20 are international business events which is expected to inject A$40 million into the city.
“Our most recent international win is the 28th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems 2025 which will see 1,000 delegates inject A$2.5 million alone into the economy,” she said.
Hotels join CWT's suite of offerings; CWT already offers central payments for air and rail bookings in China
CWT has introduced a new end-to-end central payment solution for hotel bookings in China, developed in partnership with corporate payments specialist AirPlus.
Integrated into the myCWT platform, this solution covers all types of hotel content including CWT business rates and client negotiated rates, in addition to non-GDS content sourced via aggregators and CWT’s direct API connections with hotels. It works for both self-service bookings made using the myCWT web and mobile apps, and for travel counsellor-assisted bookings.
Hotels join CWT’s suite of offerings; CWT already offers central payments for air and rail bookings in China
When a traveller books a hotel, their company’s payment information is captured at the time of booking to cover the room rate and deposit. The traveller is not required to provide a credit card at check-in, make any payment at check-out, or keep track of invoices from their stay to get reimbursed by their company. The company receives a consolidated monthly statement for all their travellers’ bookings, with a single, itemised invoice that facilitates VAT reclaim and expense management.
“This new solution will address several major pain points for our customers,” said Albert Zhong, general manager, China, CWT. “The adoption of corporate credit cards and virtual cards in China is relatively low compared to many other markets around the world. Business travellers here usually first pay for travel expenses out of their own pocket, and then submit tax invoices for all these expenses to get reimbursed.
“A central payments solution not only creates a much better experience for travellers, it can also help companies gain greater control over their spend, increase policy compliance, improve hotel attachment rates, reduce the risk of fraudulent transactions, and streamline invoice reconciliation.”
An energy company and another company from the life sciences sector have become the first customers that have signed up to use central payments for their hotel bookings. In the three months since making the switch, they have already seen their hotel attachment rates improve by 50-60 percentage points, while usage of their corporate negotiated hotel rates has climbed by around 20 percentage points.
Grand Millennium Auckland has unveiled its ballroom transformation following an extensive makeover that features a custom-designed lighting sculpture by James Russ Studio, an 11.5m LED wall, and updated interiors.
Adorning the entire ballroom ceiling, The Sky Garden lighting sculpture handcrafted by James Russ Studio features over a million hand-assembled LED lights.
Grand Millennium Auckland Ballroom
Drawing inspiration from spring blossoms of pink, purple and white wisteria flowers, the lighting sculpture embraces viewers in an immersive experience, adaptable across three dimmable settings.
The carpet design is inspired by the Wai o Horotiu stream that charts its course under the city and flows to Te Waitematā harbour. Changing colour tones reflect a widening of the river connecting to a sense of place and grounding the ballroom’s interior and experience to the past, and the city’s future.
The Grand Ballroom is one of the largest ballrooms in Auckland ideal for catering to a 1,000-guest cocktail function, 800 delegates for a theatre-style conference or a 550-guest banquet. The 830m2 space can be separated into four sections for smaller events that are all accessible via the pre-function area with views of Auckland city.
To celebrate the new-look ballroom, Grand Millennium Auckland is offering complimentary usage of the LED wall for gala dinners with 300+ people booked and held in 2024.
The Grand Ballroom refresh forms part of Grand Millennium Auckland’s extensive NZ$30 million (US$18 million) makeover across its F&B venues, meetings and events spaces and guestrooms.
The event will be an opportunity for the business events community to forge meaningful connections, and engage in peer-to-peer learning
The Business of Events, powered by PCMA APAC (Professional Conventions Management Association Asia Pacific), will be held on April 15-16, 2024, at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.
The theme for April 15 is Unlearn, where PCMA will offer three plenary sessions – The Future Thinkers; The Future of Middle Managers; and The Future of Risk-Driven Leadership.
The event will be an opportunity for the business events community to forge meaningful connections, and engage in peer-to-peer learning
In partnership with Ovations! International, Sally Foley-Lewis, an accomplished author and multi-award-winning expert in the field, will be the keynote speaker for The Future of Middle Managers.
Another speaker is Scott Bales, who will delve into The Future of Risk-Driven Leadership, highlighting C-Suite leaders’ unlearning journey and how they embrace calculated risks in today’s volatile economy. Bales is a consultant, speaker, and author, and has worked with brands such as Microsoft, Google, Deloitte, Amazon, and Visa.
Meanwhile, seasoned digital marketing and the founder & CEO of Kobe Global Technologies, Evangeline Leong, will present The Future Thinkers, a topic aimed at unlocking the potential of the modern workforce and cultivating a dynamic, innovative environment.
After lunch, delegates will be able to choose from four concurrent breakout sessions led by industry luminaries.
The following day’s theme will be Relearn, where PCMA will activate multiple 90-minute workshops and put new knowledge into action.
Themed Relearn, the day will kick off with a Connecting The Dots session, led by Dominic Thurbon, partner, climate change and sustainability services, at multidisciplinary professional services organisation EY.
Drawing insights from the first day, Thurbon will help participants embark on a journey of discovery, readying their minds for the immersive experience of Relearning across the 14 concurrent PCMA APAC Labs. Workshop topics include The Future of Events, Advancing Women in the Business Events Industry, and AI + Future Tech.
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