Michael Issenberg joins TFE Hotels’ Board
Hotelier Michael Issenberg has joined the Board of TFE Hotels, where he will assist the company with the next stage of its growth and evolution.
A 26-year veteran of Accor, where he helms as chairman and CEO of Accor Asia Pacific, Issenberg brings more than 42 years of international experience at executive management and Board level in the travel and hospitality industry to the table.
He is also the current chair of Tourism Australia and a director of the Star Entertainment Group.
Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta welcomes new manager
Vishal Sanadhya has been named the new hotel manager for Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta.
With more than 16 years of experience with Four Seasons, he will take charge of day-to-day hotel operations.
He was previously part of the pre-opening team at Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River, and has supported several Four Seasons properties in other locations, including Beijing, Maldives, Singapore and Mumbai.
W Goa appoints Siddharth Joshi as new DOSM
W Goa has named Siddharth Joshi as its new director of sales & marketing.
With over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Joshi’s in-depth knowledge of the market and his strategic approach to sales and marketing will help him develop and implement sales and marketing strategies to drive revenue growth, enhance the hotel’s brand positioning, and foster strategic partnerships.
Joshi joins the W Goa team from The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts where he was also director of sales & marketing.
Taiwan events industry takes sustainability strategy forward
Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) has commissioned the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) to implement its Sustainable MICE, Taking Strides Towards Net Zero project under the MEET TAIWAN programme this year.
The project, which aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations, will comprise three parts: evaluation and guidance, speaking out and taking action, and encouragement and honour.
The first segment, evaluation and guidance, provides three resources – helping business events companies reduce carbon emissions, the Taiwan MICE Sustainability White Paper, and helping business events companies gain ISO certifications and producing corporate sustainability reports.
These resources are designed to enhance the industry’s sustainability. MEET TAIWAN will provide customised consultation services to help industry players meet sustainability goals.
The second segment, speaking out and taking action, involves promoting Taiwan’s international image as a destination for sustainable business events. It carries on from last year’s Net Zero Carbon Events – Route to Net Zero report published by the Joint Meetings Industry Council (JMIC)during COP 27. This year, BOFT and JMIC have co-organised an event for COP 28 to jointly promote the net zero initiative for the global business events industry. That, along with the Taiwan MICE Sustainability White Paper and carbon reduction results of Taiwan’s business events industry, will contribute to Taiwan’s sustainable business events image.
In addition, Taiwan has launched the 100 x 100 campaign, which calls on 100 business events stakeholders to carry out 100 sustainable actions.
For the third segment, encouragement and honor, Taiwan’s business events companies will be recognised for their contributions to sustainable events. The annual Sustainable MICE Awards this year will highlight achievements with an SDGs Action Award and a Carbon Reduction Action Award.
BOFT has also declared 2023 a year of carbon reduction and sustainability action for Taiwan’s business events industry.
BCD Travel gets closer to Asia-Pacific customers with Sri Lanka call centre
BCD Travel has opened a fully-owned service centre in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to facilitate more efficient programme deployment for clients in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore as well as to support its global travellers with frontline services during out-of-office hours in their regions.
The BCD Asia-Pacific Service Center draws on Sri Lanka’s abundant pool of skilled talent and favourable market economics. The company is said to be the first global travel management company to join the Sri Lanka Board of Investment, which demonstrates the facility’s contribution to the local economy and job creation.
The BCD Asia-Pacific Service Center is also creating a local Sustainability Committee and will appoint a local charity to further expand its outreach to the local communities.
“Coming out of the pandemic, our laser focus was on ‘building forward’ through a sustainable operating strategy,” said John Snyder, president and CEO at BCD Travel.
“Investing in a country emerging from political and economic instability not only supports our strategy for sustainable growth, but also demonstrates our commitment to care for our communities and feed the future.”
The BCD Asia-Pacific Service Center is pivotal to BCD’s preparation for the travel industry’s emergence from the pandemic and for clients’ subsequent growing demand for travel. The service centre currently has close to 200 full-time employees and is in active expansion mode. The company expects it to be one of its largest operations in Asia-Pacific by the end of this year.
The facility will be led by a local management team, with Pradeep Kumar at the helm as executive director. Kumar reports to Greg O’Neil, BCD’s president for Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa & Global Network.
Auckland’s Viaduct Events Centre reopens with events on the books
The waterfront Viaduct Events Centre in Auckland has reopened with high interest from event organisers.
The venue is said to have secured 117 events for the 2023/2024 financial year, with an estimated value of NZ$3 million (US$1.8 million).
Viaduct Events Centre is regarded as one of Auckland’s premier waterfront venues, and used to host several major events, most notably New Zealand Fashion Week, New Zealand Design Awards, since its opening in 2011 and prior to its closure in 2018.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited chief executive Nick Hill said: “Auckland is proud to open the doors once again to this landmark building and offer it as one of our unique world-class venues available to hire.
“This hasn’t happened overnight so thanks to the hard work of the team at Auckland Live and Conventions and the wider Tātaki Auckland Unlimited whānau, we are able to expand the portfolio of venues ready to welcome a range of events.”
The venue spans three levels and offers 6,000m² of space. It takes in eight function rooms that are ideal for a wide range of events, from tradeshows to gala dinners. Its banquet space has capacity for up to 1,200 guests.
Event organisers enjoy easy access to five-star accommodation, world-class hospitality and a central transport hub.
Jan Tonkin, managing director of The Conference Company said the business events and conferencing sector is ready to return to the Viaduct Events Centre.
“The re-opening of the Viaduct Events Centre is welcome news indeed for business events hosts. Its harbour views, day-lit rooms and balconies make it a very appealing environment for meetings and conferences and the Waiheke Room is an ideal space for large scale dinners and exhibitions.
All in all, as conference organisers, we’re delighted to have the venue available once again and already have bookings there in May.”
Royal Albatross offers corporate bookings complimentary beer this May
For the month of May, The Royal Albatross ship in Singapore is offering complimentary unlimited beer, for corporates that book their Weekday Corporate Package on Mondays to Thursdays.
There are three corporate buyout packages available, all of which include 2.5 hours of sailing, and 1.5 hours of dockside.
Package A, an evening sail from 18.00 to 22.00, starts at S$10,500 (US$7,850) for a minimum of 30 pax, while the additional headcount is S$280 per pax up to a maximum of 130 people.
Package B is from 09.00 to 13.00, and will start at S$8,500 for a minimum of 30 pax, while the additional headcount is S$250 per pax up to a maximum of 130 people. Package C is from 11.00 to 15.00, and will start at S$12,500 for a minimum of 30 pax, with the additional headcount price the same as Package B.
For more private gatherings, Royal Albatross also offers section buyouts for Weekend Dinner Cruises, tailor-made to accommodate smaller groups of 30. Food is freshly prepared on board in the galley by the head chef and kitchen team, and can be buffet-style, or a four-course menu.
Contact info@tallship.com.sg
Pan Pacific Orchard makes two new executive appointments in F&B
Pan Pacific Orchard has added Amelia Matheson and Pedro Samper to its leadership ranks, ahead of its opening on June 1, 2023.
As director of F&B, Australian-born Matheson will lead commercial strategy for the restaurants. Matheson moved from Melbourne to Singapore in 2014 and she spent most of her career with independent F&B establishments. Prior to moving to Pan Pacific, her last role was with The Garcha Group where she managed a cluster of four boutique hotels.
Meanwhile, the hotel’s culinary programme will be spearheaded by Samper, who has honed his skills over two decades in Michelin-star kitchens across cities like Hong Kong, Japan, and Spain. The San Sebastian native was most recently Executive Chef at Four Seasons Resort Dubai in Jumeirah Beach. This is his first stint in Singapore.
MEETINGS 2023 confirms more than 230 hosted buyers
The two-day MEETINGS tradeshow, organised by Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA) for the business events community, has secured more than 230 leading business event organisers from Australia, North America, Singapore and New Zealand in attendance.
To be held at the new Tākina – Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre on June 21 and 22, the event will comprise exhibition, educational and networking components.
BEIA chief executive, Lisa Hopkins said the response to the MEETINGS 2023 programme has been phenomenal.
“Now, more than ever, it is important to bring buyers to New Zealand to educate them on our destination and show them our country is back open and ready for their business,” she said.
“BEIA has been working with Tourism New Zealand, Business Events Wellington, and Air New Zealand to target key decision-makers. We have filled all our available hosted buyer spots in record time and day buyer registration is now open with chances for domestic event organisers to win travel to Wellington for MEETINGS.”
Tourism New Zealand will be hosting eight high-end senior incentive and meetings planners from North America who will visit Auckland and Queenstown before and after MEETINGS in Wellington.
BEIA will also host two international buyers and one media representative from Singapore. These influential buyers will visit Auckland and Christchurch prior to the main event.
With 100 hosted or semi-hosted buyers flying in from Australia, 86 are key decision-makers who have not attended MEETINGS before or have not been hosted since 2018. Over 130 hosted buyers from across New Zealand will attend this year, with 47 per cent hosted at MEETINGS for the first time.
“It’s a massive vote of confidence for our sector, for the new venue, our host city and for the MEETINGS programme this year,” Hopkins said.
Air New Zealand has again partnered with MEETINGS to facilitate flights for buyers and 26 Wellington hotels are hosting accommodation.
Meanwhile, day buyers who register before May 17 can stand a chance to win flights and travel expenses to MEETINGS plus social function tickets in one of three prize draws.
The day buyer programme is free of charge, and attendees can join hosted lunch and refreshments throughout the day, as well as educational programmes at the Tourism New Zealand Knowledge and Destination Hub.
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Edward Koh, executive director of the Conventions, Meetings & Incentive Travel division of the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau, has been appointed as BestCities Global Alliance’s board chair.
Koh takes over from Kit Lykketoft, director of the Copenhagen Convention Bureau. During her two-year tenure as board chair, Lykketoft oversaw the addition of two new partner cities – Guadalajara and Dublin – and navigated the alliance through the global pandemic, among other accomplishments.
Julia Swanson, CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau, will assume Koh’s vacated role of incoming board chair, while David Noack Perez, director of the Madrid Convention Bureau, will take up the position of board treasurer.