Greg Liddell has been named general manager of Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong and area vice president, operations.
He will oversee the operations of Mandarin Oriental, Macau and Mandarin Oriental, Tokyo in his new position.
A seasoned hotelier with over 25 years of experience in the luxury hospitality industry, Liddell has held various senior management positions around Asia. He was most recently general manager and area vice president operations of Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid.
Martin Wuethrich has been appointed as the new general manager of Hua Hin Marriott Resort & Spa.
Bringing with him 30 years of hospitality experience and expertise, the Swiss national was most recently the general manager at Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur.
Paula Vatunicoko has been promoted to resort manager at Outrigger Resorts & Hotels’ Castaway Island, Fiji.
With experience in administration, concierge and front office operations, housekeeping, events and weddings, Vatunicoko returns to Castaway Island, Fiji Resort from his 15-year stint with Lalucala Island Resort.
Business enquiries on hotel rooms and event spaces have spiked for top Wellington hotels as the city welcomed its first purpose-built convention centre on May 31.
Scott Hamilton, general manager and director of human resources New Zealand Wellington at InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, told TTGmice that Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre’s opening is an “exciting” development for the destination.
“I’ve been here for 11 years and have been waiting for this (convention centre development) to happen. Having a convention centre is an absolutely brilliant move by the city,” he said, adding that major events going into Tākina are contributing to guestroom bookings, as well as venue take-ups for fringe activities.
Tākina usually “sends out feelers to surrounding hotels” whenever it is bidding for events in order to build accommodation supply for event attendees.
“We will look at contributing 40 to 60 guestrooms, where possible during that time, to be featured for the event that is being brought to the city,” Hamilton shared.
InterContinental Wellington has 236 rooms and boasts the “largest independent conference space apart from the fabulous Tākina”. As it is popular with large tour series groups that flock in nine months a year, the hotel’s ability to commit rooms to business events taking place in Tākina will likely fluctuate through the year.
“But when we are in the low season, we will definitely put in more rooms for events happening then,” he added.
Naumi Wellington has seen “a lot of interest” from event planners in the lead up to and after the opening of Tākina.
“We have our own conference facility that takes up to 250 people, so conferencing is a big part of what we do. Hence, we rely on big event spaces like Tākina, particularly over the quieter winter period, to bring in business. We get social functions and offshoot meetings from main events happening in Tākina,” said Rachael Findlay, head of sales, New Zealand & Australia, Naumi Hotels.
QT Wellington, which stands just a stone’s throw from Tākina, has benefitted from pre- and post-event functions, as well as breakout events from main meetings at the convention centre.
Chris Greening, the hotel’s general manager, said: “We have three gorgeous function spaces at the hotel, along with unique restaurants. When one of the trial events was held at Tākina in May, the group hosted drinks in our lobby bar. This week for MEETINGS 2023, our venues are being used by a number of evening parties.”
He noted that interest levels in Wellington have been “really high” since Tākina announced its opening date.
“Wellington is all ready to welcome more business events. It has all the right infrastructure in place,” he remarked.
Tākina has so far secured a number of business events, such as the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrician and Gynaecologists Annual Scientific Meeting in 2024, and the Congress of the International Association of Sedimentologists in 2026 for 900 and 800 delegates respectively. But it is also designed with locals in mind, pointed out David Perks, general manager of Tākina Commercial Development.
“When the Wellington City Council received the idea of having a convention centre, it was clear about wanting a convention centre that would be accessible to Wellingtonians on a regular basis. So, the ground floor was all about providing good activated space for the public. There are three elements to make this up: the walkway that is open all the time unless (high security is needed when a head of state is onsite); a café that is getting a lot of good use, including on weekends; and the public exhibition space where the Jurassic World by Brickman exhibition is on at the moment,” Perks elaborated.
Tākina’s provision of space for public events has positive impacts on InterContinental Wellington too, with Hamilton noting that the ongoing Jurassic World by Brickman showcase has brought in many guests who have journeyed to town just for the attraction.
Malaysian DMCs handling the Indian market are finding it difficult to secure rooms, as well as hotel ballroom facilities, in five-star hotels for big groups in the nation’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.
Zahira Tahir, founder and CEO, Universal Holidays, noted that the outbound business events travel from India this year was different from previous years, as they were also travelling during this current peak Indian summer season, which is usually when Malaysia receives many Indian families on holiday.
Due to the additional number of travellers, she shared that availability of rooms in the lead-in categories in five-star hotels in Kuala Lumpur is a challenge for groups of more than 100. Her company is currently handling Indian corporates from now until October, with group sizes ranging from 100 people to 2,000 people.
As such, she is facing difficulty getting sufficient rooms, and has to split the group across two or more hotels in the city, which results in additional logistic and manpower challenges.
Arokia Das Anthony, executive director, The Essence of Asia Tours and Travel, agreed, stating that breaking groups across hotels makes logistics “complicated”.
Jessica Koh, director/general manager, The Traveller Malaysia, also revealed that she had many business events enquiries from India coming in with only a lead time of a month, which makes it more difficult to get hotel rooms in the city for more than 200 people.
In order not to lose the lead, The Traveller Malaysia provides organisers with options to hold their events in other destinations such as Penang, Desaru Coast and Sabah.
Another major challenge, Koh revealed, was that large groups were unable to confirm travel dates due to limitations in airline seat capacity, where the trickle-down effect would make it difficult to secure rooms and hotel ballrooms.
Arokia also pointed out that there were not many five-star properties in the city that had ballrooms large enough to cater to the requirements of Indian organisers, such as conferences and gala dinners. Usually, Indian organisers would stay three nights in Malaysia, where one day would comprise of a full-day conference and gala dinner.
This is because the inventory of large hotel ballrooms in Kuala Lumpur has fallen compared to pre-pandemic times, and the international business events market also had to compete with a strong domestic market.
“Many ask for half-moon seating, a stage and rear screen projectors. All of these take up space and there are not many hotels in Kuala Lumpur which is able to accommodate these requests,” he stated.
To get around this, he proposes a stay in Kuala Lumpur and Resorts World Genting, as the Genting International Convention Centre has the space to accommodate large groups.
Members of Priority Pass and LoungeKey will soon gain access to 63 Plaza Premium lounges, starting with 39 lounges that will be made available for members from June 6.
The remaining 24 lounges will join the programme from June 6.
The renewed partnership between Plaza Premium Group (PPG) and Collinson, the operator of Priority Pass and LoungeKey, will expand both lounge membership networks’ global footprint.
For the Asia Pacific region, 27 additional lounges will be added Cambodia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines, with nine lounges available from June 6. Priority Pass Members now gain access to lounges located at Phnom Penh International Airport and Siem Reap International Airport in Cambodia, as well as Macau International Airport in Macau China, Mactan-Cebu International Airport in the Philippines, and Qingdao Airport. The remaining 18 lounges will be available from June 20.
In North America, the renewed relationship will see Priority Pass and LoungeKey add a total of 15 additional lounges across the US and Canada, with all 15 lounges available to members from June 6. The Plaza Premium Lounges added to the network include those at Toronto Lester B. Pearson International Airport, Vancouver International Airport, and Orlando FL International Airport.
A total of 21 additional lounges will be added across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with 15 lounges available from June 6, and the remaining six lounges joining the programme from June 20. The Plaza Premium Lounges added to the network include those at London Gatwick and Dubai International.
David Evans, joint CEO at Collinson, said: “The rekindling of a long-standing relationship reminds us that the travel industry is a rich ecosystem that delivers the best experience for consumers when the various players work together as one. With demand for premium travel stronger than ever we are significantly increasing our network of lounges and experiences in key travel hubs across the world.”
GCH Aviation, one of New Zealand’s largest privately-owned aviation businesses and the only aviation member from the country in the Virtuoso luxury travel trade network, has crafted a new experience that takes conference groups for a white water jet boating adventure on the Clarence River that flows through the Kaikōura Ranges in New Zealand’s South Island.
The Kaikoura Clarence River Heli Jet experience takes delegates into the up-and-coming Kaikoura destination, where there are plenty of water-based activities. The adventure begins with a helicopter ride from GCH Aviation’s pads in Kaikoura. This is then followed by the highlight – an adrenaline rush down the Clarence River in jet boats.
Groups as large as 120 pax can enjoy the experience, as GCH Aviation has a large fleet of helicopters and can move its jet boat assets to location.
The company takes pride in designing in-depth New Zealand experiences in collaboration with quality lodging, food, wine and activity companies, and its approach has led to numerous experiences that allow conference delegates to appreciate the country’s many points of appeal.
Other pre/post-conference experience options include the Truffle hunt with Kings Truffles in North Canterbury, which is followed by a truffle lunch at one of the award-winning Waipara wineries; the Akaroa Craft Distillery Helicopter Gin tour in Christchurch; and degustation lunches at Wharekauhau or through Marlborough Sounds and Bay of Many Coves in Wellington.
The Society of Radiopharmaceutical Sciences (SRS) has chosen the Gold Coast to host its 26th International Symposium on Radiopharmaceutical Sciences in May 2025.
This marks the first time the event has returned to Australia since 2003, when it took place in Sydney. The five-day event is expected to attract around 700 delegates.
According to Giancarlo Pascali, chair of iSRS 2025, the symposium is the most important conference in the field of basic radiochemistry developments and innovation, covering all areas of the discipline.
Destination Gold Coast’s acting chief operating officer, Rachel Hancock added: “It is great to see a strong global interest in the Gold Coast for health and life sciences events, particularly as the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct increasingly becomes known as a hub for cross industry collaboration, healthcare innovation and next-generation technologies”.
“It’s great to see more evidence of the city’s appeal as a major destination for international conventions and we look forward to welcoming ISRS delegates to experience the region,” she said.
The 26th International Symposium on Radiopharmaceutical Sciences is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland.
New Zealand’s capital city is cast into the spotlight this week as MEETINGS 2023 opens this evening with a welcome function at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.
More than 1,000 business events industry professionals have turned up for the two-day annual industry tradeshow.
Addressing delegates of the event led by Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA), Tory Whanau, mayor of Wellington, said the gathering was made possible by BEIA’s faith in Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Whanau said: “One year ago, BEIA chose Takina as the venue of MEETINGS 2023. It was a big call, trusting that the venue will be open on time and ready to host all of you.
“Thank you for trusting us, and we will repay you in the form of a great experience at the venue. I honestly think Takina is the best convention centre in the country. Well, I may be biased, but you will see for yourself that is pretty fabulous.”
New Zealand’s tourism minister, Peeni Henare, who also addressed the audience during the opening ceremony, said the new venue, which had opened earlier this month, “demonstrates our country’s commitment to developing a world-class and business events-friendly destination”.
Tākina is the second of three major and purpose-built convention centres to open in New Zealand, with the first being the Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre in 2021.
Asia-Pacific is IAAPA’s fastest-growing region and the international association for amusement parks and attractions says the adoption of technology is reaping results for its members.
According to Jakob Wahl, president and CEO, technology is “making a huge change”, where more visitors are pre-booking, members are capping capacity numbers, yet the “new pricing strategy” is resulting in people spending more money.
The region, which has more than 700 members, is also adopting artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the visitor experience and Universal Studios Japan is the first theme park to offer an augmented reality (AR) ride.
Joey Zhang, senior director, China office, added that new park and attraction designs were incorporating elements which address climate change and unusual weather conditions to improve the visitor experience.
Meanwhile, June Ko, executive director and vice president, IAAPA Asia-Pacific, shared that the association was looking at investment opportunities “with government support”.
Ko noted Singapore was “ahead of the game” for its easy-to-invest and “secure” investment environment and Wahl was scheduled to meet Sentosa Development Corporation and the Singapore Tourism Board.
Wahl said the “right infrastructure” and “airline capacity” were key considerations for investments and IAAPA’s expansion was important because members contribute to the economy of a country.
Zhang commented that members in China were tapping more business events, citing the example of multinational professional services company Deloitte hosting a meeting for 5,000 employees at Disney Shanghai.
Similarly, Universal Studios Beijing was eyeing more corporate events, and Ko noted business events were also picking up in India.
She reported the rate of growth of Asian members this year exceeded the target by 100 per cent.
Wahl observed: “Our Singapore show will serve as a marker in our industry as we continue regional recovery efforts and is our new baseline for how we grow in the future.”