The event returns to Cebu City (pictured) after 16 years
The Philippine Travel Exchange (PHITEX) 2023 will make its return this month to Cebu City after 16 years.
The theme for this year’s edition is Tourism Sustainability in the Era of IoT, and will be centred on sustainability in the age of the Internet of Things (IoT), highlighting the country’s digitalisation and sustainability efforts to meet global demands.
The event returns to Cebu City (pictured) after 16 years
PHITEX will commence with the PHITEX Educational Program Talk on September 19, fronted by speakers such as Maria Raisa Ysaac-Orbon, chief marketing officer of Packetworx; Geoff Andres, property president of the City of Dreams Manila; and Francis Euston R. Acero, vice president and data privacy officer of Meralco.
Following that, September 20 and 21 will see the 100 buyers from 18 countries and 168 Philippine sellers representing 122 companies attending a series of business meetings and networking events.
From September 22-26, 2023, buyers will also be participating on fam tours to Manila-Rizal, Cagayan de Oro-Bukidnon-Davao, Coron, Palawan, Boracay-Romblon, Cebu-Dumaguete, Pampanga-La Union, and Ilocos Norte and Sur.
Pullman Singapore Hill Street has appointed Mazen Abilmona as general manager.
Prior to this, he served as the cluster hotel manager of both Sofitel Singapore Resort & Spa and SO/Singapore.
Abilmona has built his 25-year career with properties across the Middle East, China, and Singapore; having spent the bulk of his earlier journey within F&B. He began his career with Fairmont Dubai as an F&B service supervisor, before becoming F&B Director within the same hotel.
Abilmona has also been involved in several pre-opening task forces over the years and has spearheaded rebranding projects in properties including Fairmont Singapore, Fairmont Peace Hotel, Sofitel Sanya Leeman Resort, and Fairmont Riyadh.
The 350-key Pullman Singapore Hill Street under Accor opens on October 1, 2023. The hotel will feature three dining concepts, a pool bar, outdoor swimming pool, 24-hour fitness area, and event spaces.
A wildfire on Mount Bromo’s Teletubbies Hill has forced The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Center (BB TNBTS) to close the attraction to visitors until further notice as authorities scramble to extinguish the fire.
The fire was allegedly caused by the use of flares by a couple who were taking pre-wedding photographs at the location.
The fire has so far destroyed 274 hectares of forest and land on Mt Bromo, based on Sep 14 data
All access routes to the Indonesian national park have been shut down. An entrance is available only for locals living in the areas surrounding the mountain.
In statement, Septi Eka Wardhani, head of the administrative division at BB TNBTS, explained that the closure would ensure the safety of visitors. Once the situation is under control, a reopening will be evaluated.
Based on Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency data, the area of forest and land destroyed by the fire on Mount Bromo has reached 274 hectares.
Efforts to extinguish the devastating fire is being carried out by the East Java provincial and Malang task force teams, volunteers, fire awareness community, and the BB TNBTS’s fire-handling team.
Septi said visitors who had purchased tickets online can apply for a change in visiting dates. Procedures for rescheduling and other information will be provided by BB TNBTS.
Although the national park is closed, Adjie Wahjono, operations manager of Aneka Kartika Tours, said tourists could still enjoy views of Mount Bromo from Seruni Point or Metigen Viewpoint, areas that are not within the management of BB TNBTS.
“There have been no cancellations so far. We can still conduct Mount Bromo tours with slight modifications, as tourists cannot go to Whispering Sands or hike up the mountain. However, Jeep rides and other activities are still possible,” said Adjie.
The Westin Resort & Spa, Himalayas has appointed Pankaj Singh Panwar as executive chef.
Panwar is a seasoned chef with global experience of over a decade in the hospitality industry. His primary responsibilities involve supervising the culinary operations, upholding high-quality standards, improving efficiency, and ensuring guest satisfaction.
An alumni of Punjab National University, Panwar commenced his career in 2010 with Wyndham hotels and gained valuable experience working at establishments such as JW Marriott Aero City, New Delhi, Sofitel Luxury Hotel Jumeirah Beach Dubai, St. Regis, W Hotel Al Habtoor city complex, The Show by Mawal club & lounge Hilton Al Habtoor city, and Marriott Executive Apartments Dubai Creek.
Sydney stands confidently in its own right; the new branding over the Harbour Bridge pictured
Business Events Sydney (BESydney) has unveiled a new logo, and a new website which has undergone a complete content refresh.
The website has also been completely re-engineered with new simplified customer journeys designed to reflect shifting client expectations and content to make choosing Sydney easier than ever.
Sydney stands confidently in its own right; the new branding over the Harbour Bridge pictured
BESydney’s general manager of content, creative & corporate affairs, Carolin Lenehan, stated that the new branding and website are backed by a comprehensive review of BESydney’s content strategy.
“We feel we have captured Sydney’s unique duality as an iconically recognised and aspirational visitor destination with a globally competitive business heart. It’s a delicate balance, but we believe by showcasing Sydney’s People, Place and Purpose, we’ve been able to showcase the intertwined strands of our city’s DNA. All this is presented in a vibrant new colour palette reflecting our harbour city’s blue skies, sea and sand along with the vividness and buzz of energy that Sydney creates.”
BESydney CEO, Lyn Lewis-Smith, added: “We feel the time is right for this bold change in our identity and the way we sell our city to reflect the evolution of our business, as the world of business events has shifted dramatically, with new business models, new ways of working, connecting and gathering.”
“We are the city’s international advocate with the responsibility for attracting global business and academic audiences to Sydney to get the fresh perspective they need to change their worlds,” she added.
Songdo Convensia has mandated that all event organisers utilise reusable coffee cups
Songdo ConvensiA, the first convention centre in Asia to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for New Construction back in 2008, has reiterated its commitment to its sustainability efforts.
As of this month, the venue located in Incheon, South Korea, has mandated the use of reusable cups by all conference and exhibition organisers. These cups have been provided by the Incheon Metropolitan City.
Songdo ConvensiA has mandated that all event organisers utilise reusable coffee cups
Youn-soo Sho, head of Songdo ConvensiA Division, shared: “Incheon Metropolitan City has provided invaluable support for our sustainability efforts. They generously contributed 10,000 reusable cups, covered logistics expenses, and assisted with a portion of the cleaning costs. Their commitment to environmental initiatives aligns with our shared goal of creating a more sustainable and eco-friendly event space.”
Wanting to create a positive impact beyond environmental considerations, Sho added that the venue has also partnered with the Incheon Namdong Regional Self-reliance Center to provide employment opportunities – through the washing and maintenance of the reusable cups – for disadvantaged individuals.
Other sustainability initiatives at the venue include the establishment of 12 ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) event implementation standards for organisers; providing financial support to events that meet three or more of the ESG event implementation standards; and the hosting of ESG-related seminars.
“Eco-friendly campaigns to promote sustainable practices among visitors to the venue are also run,” stated Sho.
Moving forward, Songdo ConvensiA will continue to build and continue to beef up its sustainability credentials.
“We intend to install digital kiosks to reduce the need for physical banners, explore more ways to reduce or eliminate single-use items and materials across operations, and regularly monitor and report on sustainability metrics (waste reduction, energy efficiency, and carbon emissions) to track progress and identify areas for improvement,” elaborated Sho.
In a boost to its sustainability credentials, Songdo ConvensiA also achieved the Earth Check Silver Certification in 2021.
The conference will take place at the Manila Marriott Hotel in Pasay City
The Philippines’ Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) will be launching its first HSMA Hospitality Summit on October 12 at the Manila Marriott Hotel in Pasay City.
Themed Elevate the Game: Taking the Lead Towards Global Competitiveness, the conference will tackle topics such as recovery in the hospitality industry, developing globally competitive Filipino hoteliers, and consumer behaviour and brand management.
The conference will take place at the Manila Marriott Hotel in Pasay City
These talks will be led by travel, tourism, and hospitality industry leaders, such as Jonathan Ravelas, managing director at eManagement for Business and Marketing Services, a private analyst in the Philippines known for his extensive expertise in the country’s economic landscape; and Wilma Estaura, group director of human resource at Ayala Hotels and Resorts.
Other speakers include Sophia Hilario-Altamirano, market director of sales, distribution and national sales office of Marriott Philippines; James Montenegro, who leads the Philippines’ Chroma Hospitality as its country manager; Peggy Angeles, SM Hotels and Convention Corp’s executive vice president; and Cleofe Albiso, managing director of Megaworld Hotels.
“We look forward to hosting this exciting summit to equip our sales and marketing leaders with the skills required to manage the demands of our constantly changing (hotel) industry,” said Loleth So, HSMA president and area director of sales and marketing of Megaworld Hotels and Resorts.
“As we continue on our road to recovery, it is through these kinds of events that we can gain critical insights to improve our travel, tourism, and hospitality as a whole and make it more competitive.”
Initiatives to create greater awareness about sustainable event planning, as well as offsetting carbon should be encouraged
Having evolved through various epochs over 4.5 billion years, humanity now lives in the “Anthropocene”, a term determined by our ability to affect Earth geologically on a global scale, not just locally and regionally.
Sadly, such amazing ability has proven mostly detrimental to the Earth and its non-human inhabitants, with a rapid build-up of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) through industrialisation and urbanisation happening in tandem with the Earth’s depleted ability to absorb these GHGs due to large-scale deforestation, ocean warming, and acidification that impairs the ability of sea organisms like phytoplankton and coral to sequester carbon.
Initiatives to create greater awareness about sustainable event planning, as well as ways to offset carbon should be encouraged
News reports highlight the increasing frequency of floods, droughts, wildfires and extreme heat sweeping the globe, which are set to worsen unless global warming is kept to no more than 1.5°C as called for in the Paris Agreement. According to the United Nations, this means GHG emissions need to be reduced by 45 per cent by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050. Frighteningly, with targets not being met to date, these goals seem out of reach.
According to the World Meteorological Organisation, the number of weather-related disasters driven by climate change has increased by a factor of five between 1970 to 2019. During this period, there were more than 11,000 reported disasters attributed to these hazards globally, with over two million deaths and more than US$3.6 trillion in losses.
As an industry whose reason for being stems from bringing people together, it makes sense that the business events industry should be at the forefront of addressing the climate challenge, not least of all by dealing with its own GHG emissions. We are also an aggregator industry that brings together specialist providers for our travel, F&B, accommodations, audiovisual and other events needs.
This is no easy task of course. As much as events can be designed to be more sustainable through redesign, reduction, reuse and recycling, there will always be an associated carbon footprint that is correlated to the factors of production required. In the same logic as how we work with expert providers in other fields, working with carbon experts could make the most sense for our industry.
Initiatives targeting the business events industry to create greater awareness about sustainable event planning, as well as provide a practical last-mile means of offsetting carbon should be encouraged and supported.
This implies better cross-industry collaboration between industry stakeholders who understand the unique challenges of our industry, and can communicate better with carbon market experts to jointly create carbon offset solutions that can be applied with pragmatism for our industry.
Solutions include platforms that democratise decarbonisation, making it easy for anyone with access to the Internet a means of supporting genuine, verified carbon offset projects at scale, and thus contribute towards collective mitigation of the climate crisis.
It is more than symbolic that an industry that brings people together should exercise the power to restore balance to our Earth, helping to avert a future of worsening climate disasters that threaten human progress, and ultimately, our very existence. With the reach and power our industry holds with multiple stakeholders, it is time we can do more to mitigate the climate crisis together.
Editor’s note: Daniel Chua will be presenting more about this topic during the How MICE Can Decarbonise session at the upcoming IT&CM Asia, happening from September 26-28, 2023, in Bangkok.
Daniel Chua is a business events industry veteran of 20 years and co-founder of MICEcarbon, a platform enabling decarbonisation of the MICE industry. A sustainability advocate, he serves on the Singapore Tourism Board’s Sustainability Committee, and was the inaugural chair of his Town Council’s Greener Environment committee.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) will launch non-stop flights between Singapore and Brussels, the capital of Belgium, from April 5, 2024, marking a return to the city after more than 20 years.
SIA schedules non-stop services to Brussels
The airline will operate four weekly flights to Brussels with the long-haul variant of its Airbus A350-900s, which feature 253 seats in three cabin classes: 42 in Business Class, 24 in Premium Economy Class, and 187 in Economy Class.
Subject to regulatory approval, flight SQ304 will depart Singapore for Brussels on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays at 2355hrs (local time). The return sector, operated as flight SQ303, will depart Brussels for Singapore on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 1210hrs (local time).
The addition of Brussels increases the number of European destinations in the SIA network to 13.
Wego’s Ross Veitch; and Travelstop’s Prashant Kirtane
Wego, the largest online travel marketplace in the Middle East and North Africa, has acquired Travelstop, a platform that simplifies business travel and expense management for companies globally.
This strategic move will expand Wego’s reach into business travel and expense management.
Wego’s Ross Veitch; and Travelstop’s Prashant Kirtane
By combining their resources and expertise, Wego and Travelstop aim to revolutionise the way companies navigate the complexities of corporate travel, as well as contribute to the growth and development of the travel industry in the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions.
Wego also aims to address the unique challenges faced by businesses operating in emerging markets, such as fragmented travel options and manual expense reporting. The combined platform will provide businesses with a one-stop solution, enabling them to seamlessly manage their corporate travel needs while gaining greater visibility and control over expenses.
According to an August 2022 GBTA BTI Outlook Annual Global Report & Forecast, the APAC and Middle East regions stand as the largest and most rapidly expanding markets in business travel. In 2023, APAC and the Middle East regions are set to contribute to 46 per cent of total global business travel expenditure.
A polished urban retreat designed for business travellers, Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown combines thoughtful design, seamless service, and exceptional facilities.
The five-star property excels in backing its expansive facilities with seamless service and personalised attention, setting the benchmark for luxury in Bangkok.
Daniel Chua is a business events industry veteran of 20 years and co-founder of MICEcarbon, a platform enabling decarbonisation of the MICE industry. A sustainability advocate, he serves on the Singapore Tourism Board’s Sustainability Committee, and was the inaugural chair of his Town Council’s Greener Environment committee.
A wildfire on Mount Bromo’s Teletubbies Hill has forced The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park Center (BB TNBTS) to close the attraction to visitors until further notice as authorities scramble to extinguish the fire.
The fire was allegedly caused by the use of flares by a couple who were taking pre-wedding photographs at the location.
All access routes to the Indonesian national park have been shut down. An entrance is available only for locals living in the areas surrounding the mountain.
In statement, Septi Eka Wardhani, head of the administrative division at BB TNBTS, explained that the closure would ensure the safety of visitors. Once the situation is under control, a reopening will be evaluated.
Based on Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency data, the area of forest and land destroyed by the fire on Mount Bromo has reached 274 hectares.
Efforts to extinguish the devastating fire is being carried out by the East Java provincial and Malang task force teams, volunteers, fire awareness community, and the BB TNBTS’s fire-handling team.
Septi said visitors who had purchased tickets online can apply for a change in visiting dates. Procedures for rescheduling and other information will be provided by BB TNBTS.
Although the national park is closed, Adjie Wahjono, operations manager of Aneka Kartika Tours, said tourists could still enjoy views of Mount Bromo from Seruni Point or Metigen Viewpoint, areas that are not within the management of BB TNBTS.
“There have been no cancellations so far. We can still conduct Mount Bromo tours with slight modifications, as tourists cannot go to Whispering Sands or hike up the mountain. However, Jeep rides and other activities are still possible,” said Adjie.