Global business travel management company FCM has appointed Kevin Yang Wen Xuan as China’s commercial director.
Yang has nearly 10 years of experience in the industry and has held several business development positions. He has a deep understanding of the ecology of China’s travel industry. Before joining FCM, Yang worked for Ctrip Business Travel as the East China regional director of the customer success department.
Yang previously served as the sales director of FCM China from 2017 to 2019.
Danang Marriott Resort & Spa is inviting meeting planners to create unforgettable get-togethers on the shores of Vietnam’s central coast.
Their recently-launched Spark This Moment package includes one complimentary room night for every 20 room nights booked, a 60-minute welcome reception with free-flow soft drinks or local beer, and double Marriott Bonvoy points.
This promotion is valid for bookings made until September 30, 2023, where events must be hosted before December 31, 2023.
Danang Marriott Resort & Spa offers event planners a choice of six indoor spaces and 1,055m2 of flexible function space. Venues include a 741m2 pillarfree Grand Ballroom for up to 500 delegates, which can be divided into two spaces. There are also several function rooms that can cater to events of between 10 and 60 guests.
The beachfront property also offers several outdoor spaces for teambuilding activities and social gatherings.
Collinson has named Rishi Kapoor as chief transformation officer, who joins the company from British Airways.
Based in London, his appointment will strengthen Collinson’s transformation capability, with responsibility for driving a cohesive approach to overall business change, including supporting on existing transformation programmes across product, data and technology.
He has over twenty-five years’ experience of leading business transformation teams, and recently concluded a four-year secondment at the oneworld Alliance as chief transformation officer.
Oceania Cruises has appointed Jason Worth to the newly-created role of vice president, international sales.
Worth, currently vice president, sales & general manager, Asia Pacific, will assume the role with immediate effect, and will oversee sales teams in the UK, Europe, Latin America and Brazil, as well as Asia-Pacific.
He has held various positions with the company since joining in 2011, including vice president, sales, Australia & New Zealand, Oceania Cruises, from 2019 through to 2022, and vice president, finance & accounting – Asia Pacific at Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings.
Thai Airways International Public Company (THAI) and Turkish Airlines have signed a memorandum of understanding to move towards a joint venture operations agreement between the two airlines in Istanbul.
The collaboration will enhance connectivity between the two regions as well as provide seamless travel experiences to passengers of THAI and Turkish Airlines.
THAI will introduce daily services to Istanbul from its hub of Bangkok in December.
With the extensive networks offered by both carriers, passengers can then travel between Thailand and Turkey as well as on to Europe and other points in Asia.
Marked as one of Indonesia’s five Super Priority Destinations, Labuan Bajo, has already established itself as a leisure hotspot, but it is working towards positioning itself as an ideal destination for business events as well.
Located in East Nusa Tenggara, the harbour city stepped confidently into the limelight when it recently played host to the ASEAN Summit, a gathering of heads of state from member countries earlier in May.
Wiwin Kurniawan, director of marketing and operations at Pacto Convex, expressed that while there were some limitations when considering Labuan Bajo as an events destination, the successful hosting of the Summit demonstrated the city’s ability as a prime business events hub.
One such limitation was the lack of accommodations and meeting spaces suited for large-scale or high-profile events.
According to data from the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, Labuan Bajo currently has 38 hotels offering over 1,500 rooms. Among these properties, only five are classified as upscale accommodations, such as the Ayana Komodo Waecicu Beach Hotel, Meruorah Komodo Labuan Bajo, and Plataran Komodo Resort & Spa.
For the 145-key Meruorah Komodo Labuan Bajo and 205-key Ayana Komodo Waecicu Beach Hotel, hosting national and international business events is not new.
Rizal Kasim, president director of Hotel Indonesia Group, the holding company of Meruorah Komodo Labuan Bajo, stated: “In fact, Meruorah was purposefully designed to target business events. Our meeting facilities are currently the largest on the island. Since its launch in 2019, we have successfully hosted several national and international events, including last year’s G20 meetings.”
The hotel ballroom can accommodate up to 375 people theatre-style and be further divided into three meeting rooms.
Christian Hoechtl, general manager of Ayana Hospitality Group as well as Ayana Midplaza Jakarta, said: “MICE bookings accounted for 35 per cent of Ayana’s revenue in 2019. For 2023, MICE business has contributed 25 per cent thus far, and we are optimistic that our participation in this year’s ASEAN Summit will significantly boost revenue.”
Ayana Komodo Waecicu Beach Hotel’s function spaces include a ballroom with up to 220 people for reception and sits 150 theatre-style, as well as five breakout rooms amnd several outdoor venues.
Hochtl added that the Summit will enhance the promotion of local tourist destinations and domestic industries, showcasing Indonesia’s competitive advantage.
In a boost to Labuan Bajo’s event capability beyond five-star hotels’ ballrooms and venues, the Golo Mori Convention Centre (GMCC) was recently completed.
A standalone facility, GMCC is located a 30-minute drive away from the city centre on a 26-km long newly built road. The venue features an amphitheatre with a capacity of up to 1,500 people, a convention centre that can accommodate up to 500 people, and several boardrooms.
Ari Respati, president director of the Indonesia Tourism Development Corporation, also revealed plans for an integrated resort complex spanning 200 hectares around GMCC. A beach club and small dock have already been built, while several hotels and attractions are in the pipeline.
Rizal also pointed out that Labuan Bajo has several upscale hotels currently under development, and are set to come online this year and next.
As such, Pacto’s Wiwin is immensely confident in Labuan Bajo’s business events potential, because aside from having suitable business events spaces, the area’s natural beauty is something that would appeal to many.
She stated: “Labuan Bajo has stunning and alluring natural surroundings, which will captivate visitors from the moment they step off the plane. Although the destination may not be suitable for large conventions due to current facility limitations, it will appeal to small and medium-sized corporate meetings and incentives.”
Possible additions to corporate itineraries include island hopping, sunset cruising, one-day trips to Komodo Island, diving, and enjoying the scenic views from Puncak Waringin Peak.
Terence Lee, general manager of Meruorah Komodo Labuan Bajo, agreed: “Labuan Bajo is good for combining meetings and incentives. You arrive in Labuan Bajo for meetings (on the first day), then go island hopping on the second and third days.”
Wiwin further pointed out that as demand for business events increases, investors will be keen to explore the further development of facilities and equipment, thereby reducing logistical costs.
To sustain the momentum of high demand for both leisure and business events, Lee expects an increase in seat capacity to the Labuan Bajo, which could lead to the expansion of Komodo Airport.
Currently, the airport is equipped with a 2,650m-long runway capable of accommodating A320 and B738 aircraft.
Hochtl is also optimistic, sharing that the government’s plans to establish Labuan Bajo as an international hub in the near future will further solidify the region’s position as a preferred business events destination.
With enhanced infrastructure and convenient access to Komodo National Park, Labuan Bajo would attract event planners seeking new and different experiences for their meetings and incentive travel, he said.
The Workshop Agreement (WA) 4 Sustainable MICE – Guidelines for carbon emissions management was launched by SACEOS (Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers) and the Singapore Standards Council (SSC; overseen by Enterprise Singapore), at the Singapore MICE Forum (SMF) at Sands Expo & Convention on July 27.
This set of standards will support the Singapore MICE Sustainability Roadmap and the Singapore Green Plan 2030 by providing guidelines for the industry to better manage its carbon emissions.
WA 4 covers guidelines and best practices for the measurement, reduction, calculation, verification and offset of carbon emissions for business events. It also provides an emissions-reporting template for reference.
Yap Chin Siang, deputy chief executive of STB, said: “The launch of the new guidelines for carbon management is a critical step in our collective effort with SACEOS to raise sustainability standards across the MICE industry and reinforces STB’s commitment in working with the industry to build a more sustainable tourism sector.”
SACEOS will be running its first MICE Carbon Management Guidelines workshop based on WA 4 in the coming months. The workshop will promote awareness and provide guidance to reduce carbon footprint by each stakeholder.
WA 4 also complements the WA 3 – Guidelines for waste management, which provides guidance and best practices to the industry in reducing waste at business events.
To showcase and drive innovation in sustainability within the business events sector, SMF also featured the inaugural MICE Sustainability Innovation Marketplace. The Marketplace explored various solutions to improve the sustainability performance of organisations, as well as innovative ways to host sustainable events. Attendees discovered solutions in leveraging data and analytics, robotics, energy optimisation, sustainable materials and food & beverage from the Marketplace.
Flexible workspace provider JustCo has partnered with Changi Airport Group (CAG) to launch and manage Asia’s first pay-per-minute co-working centre in an airport.
Located at Changi Airport Terminal 3, the new co-working centre will adopt a pay-per-minute pricing model, and feature close to 50 hot-desk workstations. Aside from the hot-desk workstations, the centre will also be equipped with private office suites, a work lounge, meeting rooms with video conferencing tools, and collaboration areas. The space is scheduled to open in 4Q2023.
JustCo Changi Airport T3 will also feature a nap zone fitted with partitions and a pantry with food vending machines.
“JustCo’s new partnership with CAG will reinvent the work-life harmony experience for frequent business travellers and digital nomads. We are offering a convenient and cost-effective workspace solution to travellers and patrons of Changi Airport, regardless of their length of stay.
“Round-the-clock access, as well as amenities such as nap zone, food vending machines, and meeting rooms with video conferencing tools, will reshape the work experience for business travellers who need a conducive space to work in between flight transits, or for digital nomads looking for a relaxing work environment,” said Kong Wan Long, co-founder and chief commercial officer, JustCo.
FCM Travel Asia’s technology capabilities and NDC readiness are well ahead of the pack, thanks to a US$200 million investment by parent company Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) in 2019.
Bertrand Saillet, managing director, FCM Travel Asia, who spoke at the CTC Singapore Corporate Travel Summit in June, told TTGmice it was the “first global TMC to attain IATA Level 4 NDC certification”, and is able “to provide Full Offer and Order Management, including booking, servicing, and flight disruption handling”.
He added FCM was also among the first global TMCs to be included in the IATA Airline Retailing Maturity index, and was launch partner of Amadeus’s NDC-X programme and Sabre’s Beyond NDC programme.
FCM was “‘live’ delivering NDC content to corporate customers and was driving pilot programmes in partnership with customers, airlines and OBTs (online booking tools) to discover the best solutions for our wider customer base and create an industry standard”, noted Saillet.
Since 2019, FCTG has made several acquisitions. In 2019, it acquired SAM. Short for Smart Assistant for Mobile, it is available 24/7 and includes an instant live chat with an agent. In 2020, FCTG acquired San Francisco-based WhereTo, an enterprise travel platform and technology company that simplifies and improves business travel planning for corporations.
In 2021, FCTG acquired FCM Extension. Previously known as Shep, the Texas-based software company provides a browser-extension-based communication platform for MNCs. In the same year, FCM Platform, a new proprietary platform was developed to target customers’ pain points with current and legacy corporate travel technology.
He added that the group’s technology investment was addressing the more complex air distribution environment due to the different strategies implemented by the airlines and the acceleration of NDC in Asia.
The omnichannel, Saillet continued, was designed to address six key pillars: a globally consistent booking experience; always available travel assistance; traveller safety and wellbeing support; sustainability; AI-powered reporting and savings, and flexible integration capabilities.
FCTG also took a majority stake in Dubai-based travel firm TPConnects Technologies in 2022 to offer a wider choice of airfares to clients by aggregating airline content from multiple sources, including GDSs, low-cost carriers (LCCs) and the growing number of NDC-enabled booking channels.
In understanding different market needs, FCM has also developed its very own platform for China. Meanwhile in India, FCM Booking was developed and deployed as a proprietary online booking tool in 2022 to cater to the uniqueness and specificity of the market, allowing access to international content, and a wide variety of relevant domestic content including local LCCs and rail.
Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, part of Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR), has unveiled its S$30 million (US$22.3 million) renovation after a nine-month revamp that commenced in October 2022.
At the forefront of Grand Copthorne Waterfront’s renovations are its 33 versatile function rooms. Spanning over 6,200m2 across three floors, the conference spaces benefit from an abundance of natural sunlight, and come equipped with cutting-edge technology, including wireless video signal transmission, laser projectors, and 2K to 4K high-resolution LED video walls.
Venues include the pillarless 850m2 Grand Ballroom with two giant LED screens on two walls that can be divided into smaller screens and junior ballrooms for various event sizes.
Eco-conscious practices are evident throughout with the use of recyclable and biodegradable stationery, filtered drinking water replacing plastic bottles, and a linen-less table setup.
Meanwhile, all of its 574 guestrooms and suites have received a redesign. Each room now features an in-room water filtration system, a smart room control thermostat, a HD TV, and wireless bedside charging technology.
In addition to the hotel’s redesign, Grand Copthorne Waterfront offers enhanced food and beverage concepts at its three restaurants, as well as events catering. Food Capital is an all-day dining buffet restaurant; TEMPO Bar & Grill is a cocktail bar featuring an alfresco dining area with a selection of barbecue and grilled seafood delicacies; while Grand Shanghai serves Shanghainese fare inspired by the golden age of the 1930s.
Catering to the demands of the function spaces, the hotel operates three individual kitchens including a Halal-certified kitchen to cater to guests’ personal dietary requirements.
The Executive Club Lounge, located on Level 29, has also undergone a complete transformation, boasting a contemporary living room ambience with vistas of Singapore’s iconic cityscape. Reserved exclusively for My Millennium Prestige members and Club Floor paying guests, the Club Lounge will also offer afternoon snacks from live food stations, as well as evening cocktails.
