Sven Toune has joined Park Inn by Radisson Davao’s as its new general manager.
The Belgian is not a stranger to the Philippines, and has been residing in the country for the past decade.
Prior to his arrival in Davao, Toune opened Novotel in Quezon City, and was general manager of Banwa Private Island – an exclusive resort in Palawan.
AC Hotel by Marriott Melbourne Southbank, Australia
Opened in July, the 205-key AC Hotel by Marriott Melbourne Southbank brings a touch of European soul and Spanish roots to a vibrant part of Melbourne.
The design-focused property features 576m2 of flexible meeting space, which comes with floor-to-ceiling windows providing natural light, along with an outdoor covered terrace and pool bar. Planners are welcome to craft pre-function socials on the terrace for up to 200 guests in a cocktail format.
Event attendees residing in the hotel will enjoy the AC Lounge, a signature of the lifestyle brand. This modern co-working space is ideal for creative gatherings in the day and transforms into a social hub offering European-style tapas at night.
Intimate gatherings over a shared meal can be hosted at various dining venues – Sorolla, Triana Bar, and Bar de Buceo by the pool. The signature AC Gin Tonic experience is not to be missed.
For recreation, the hotel offers an outdoor, infinity-edge swimming pool spanning the width of the building, and a 24-hour fitness centre.
DoubleTree by Hilton Shah Alam i-City, Malaysia
Located a 10-minute drive from i-City Convention Center and offering easy access to the city’s prime manufacturing hubs and recreational destinations, DoubleTree by Hilton Shah Alam i-City is an ideal hotel for business meetings.
The 300-room hotel offers nearly 1,600m2 of function space, with the largest venue being the 1,170m2 grand ballroom for up to 1,000 guests. Planners looking to host smaller meetings can choose from 10 flexible function rooms that are outfitted with advanced audio-visual and technical capabilities as well as high-speed Internet.
Dining destinations in the hotel include Makan Kitchen, Tosca Italian restaurant, Axis Lounge, and The Koffee.
Hilton Singapore Orchard
Armed with 1,080 keys and 2,400m2 of function space spread across 16 venues, the new Hilton Singapore Orchard is Hilton’s largest hotel in Asia-Pacific.
Taking over from the former Mandarin Orchard Singapore, the hotel underwent a S$150 million (US$110.2 million) comprehensive renovation to give it a new look.
Planners have two pillarless ballrooms to choose from – the Grand Ballroom which accommodates up to 900 guests, and the multi-tiered amphitheatre-style Imperial Ballroom which comes with city views. Both are fitted with state-of-the-art LED walls, and lighting and sound technologies to create memorable event experiences.
The hotel is home to five F&B concepts – Osteria Mozza by celebrity chef Nancy Silverton; all-day dining restaurant Estate; the Ginger.Lily lounge for afternoon tea and cocktails; two-Michelin-star Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro; and Chatterbox restaurant, known for its elevated take on local Singapore dishes.
Park Hyatt Jakarta, Indonesia
Occupying the top 17 floors of the 37-storey Park Tower within Jakarta’s CBD, the 220-key Park Hyatt Jakarta boasts a prime address, especially for planners of business events.
The hotel takes in 10 function rooms, where each space features an open kitchen and bars in the welcome foyers. Spread over four levels, spaces include the Ballroom duplex on levels two and three, and the level 22 Salons overlooking Menteng. The Observatory on level 36 boasts open-air terraces and panoramic views of Jakarta.
Planners can spill social gatherings into Park Hyatt Jakarta’s Kita Restaurant & Bar where Japanese dining and cocktails are served from its perch on level 37. Kita also offers private rooms, including tatami rooms and a large VIP room with a private kitchen. The bar is located on level 36, where drinks and a DJ spinning live sets can be found.
Attendees of residential meetings can look forward to unwinding at the hotel’s spa and fitness centre.
Radisson Hotel Danang, Vietnam
The new-build Radisson Hotel Danang is the brand’s debut in the Vietnamese city, and the latest offering for meetings and events in the destination.
The 270m2 Cyan Ballroom is supported by state-of-the-art audio-visual technology and set against a backdrop of tropical palms and ocean views. The space can comfortably accommodate 300 people in theatre-style or be divided into two smaller venues.
For social gatherings, planners can consider the Vivid Rooftop Bar & Pool. Team dinners can be hosted at The Market Place where authentic Vietnamese dishes are served.
Radisson Hotel Danang features 182 rooms and suites with views of the city, ocean or peninsula, across seven room categories. Event attendees with accompanying family will find the hotel’s 70m² Family Room to be a comfortable retreat.
For the convenience of guests, the hotel operates an airport shuttle to the nearby Da Nang International Airport.
The Westin Yokohama, Japan
The Westin Yokohama is one of the newest hotels to rise in the Japanese port city, taking a spot in the new Minatomirai CBD.
The hotel’s collection of event venues spans more than 1,000m2 of space, comprising a Grand Ballroom, four meeting rooms, and The Westin Garden with the city’s skyline as backdrop.
With 373 guestrooms, the hotel is suitable for residential meetings.
There are five F&B venues on-site, including signature restaurant Iron Bay which offers a private dining venue.
Resident event guests are assured of continuity in their healthy pursuits, as the hotel features a dedicated wellness floor of 900m2, which includes Japan’s first Heavenly Spa by Westin with four treatment rooms. There is also a heated indoor swimming pool, state-of-the-art gym, as well as a RunWestin programme that provides jogging routes around the Minatomirai waterfront area.
Rooms
The 48m2 deluxe room that my friend and I stayed overnight has a veranda overlooking the sea and the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary. In total, the hotel offers 261 keys, most of which have a sea view.
At press time, 70 per cent of the rooms are available for guests, with the property fully operational by year-end.
What greeted us when we entered our room was a handwritten welcome note from the general manager, chilled bubbly Chateau Gantonnet Bordeaux Blanc, and a wooden tray lavishly laden with premium cheeses, nuts, dried fruits and crackers.
The room offered a generous number of sockets for all sorts of gadgets a business traveller might possess, high-speed Internet and a 50-inch TV. Within the large bathroom were a smart toilet and a huge bathtub.
On the sustainability front, the room also has a sensor that automatically turns off the lights and aircon if it does not detect body heat.
MICE facilities
There are eight meeting venues on-site, the largest being the 727m2 Grand Ballroom that can hold 540 pax for banquets. There are also three meeting rooms, a boardroom, and a pre-function area that can be used for pre-event cocktails and networking. These indoor event spaces have been built to make the most out of the sea view, and allow in natural light.
Other unconventional event spaces within the resort include the beach, gardens, or open spaces tastefully dotted with Kenneth Cobonpue installations. There is also a roof deck on the 12th floor of the main building that can be transformed into an outdoor events venue.
Other facilities
Situated at the tip of Mactan Island with no neighbouring hotels, adds to the resort’s exclusive appeal. The beaches also look relatively untouched.
The lobby and reception area look out to the terraced pool, the sea and Olango Island. This relaxing and calming scenery puts me immediately at ease, and I liked the minimalist decor that made use of local materials like wood, wicker, rattan, and solihiya weave.
For meals, all-day diner 5 Cien has indoor and outdoor tables overlooking the sea and pools; Buhi Bar serves Mediterranean cuisine; while Sa Sitio is a grab-and-go coffee shop cum deli and bakery. The fourth F&B option, Dip, will serve Nikkei cuisine when it opens in October.
My favourite is the Buhi Bar, as the space is built to resemble a cave, blasted from the rocks originally strewn on the resort’s beachfront. Aside from the main bar, which corporates can have pre-drinks at, there are four mini “caves” for more intimate gatherings.
There are also terraced swimming pools, the Sheraton Spa, and a 24/7 gym on-site. For business travellers on the road with their families, the resort offers children’s pools, as well as an activity room filled with toys, books and games for younglings.
Water activities like island hopping, jet skiing, diving and snorkelling are also available. Soon-to-open is a marine sanctuary, and a jetty port that will ferry guests via water taxis to Mactan city and to the airport via Mactan Wharf.
Service
My travelling companion was feeling unwell when we arrived at the resort. Noticing her gait was unsteady, staff immediately provided her with a wheelchair, and offered the help of an in-house nurse and a visit to the medical centre, both of which we declined. She felt better after having a bowl of porridge, and the general manager continued to check in on her every now and then to ensure she felt better. If that’s not great service, what is?
Verdict
Used to the finer things in life, my globetrotting travelling companion, who is also a Marriott loyalty member, approved of the resort, its facilities and service, calling it the best resort stay she has had in the Philippines. And I completely agree with her.
Number of rooms 261
Contact details
Tel: +63 32-5205500
www.sheratoncebumactan.com
The Abu Dhabi Convention & Exhibition Bureau (ADCEB) is planning to offer some of its UNESCO Heritage-listed sites as business events venues to event organisers and corporates.
Speaking to TTGmice on the sidelines of a roadshow in New Delhi, the director of ADCEB, Mubarak Al Shamsi, shared that some of these sites are already open to the public to visit.
“We are working towards offering these sites for MICE activities such as the hosting of a gala dinner. We will be (marketing) these products to key corporates to enrich their experience (in Abu Dhabi).”
Some of the UNESCO Heritage-listed sites ADCEB on offer include the Al Jahili Fort and Qasr Al Hosn Fort.
ADCEB is also focusing its efforts to attract Indian corporate groups with various sporting events. This is because India is Abu Dhabi’s number one international source market for corporate meetings, conferences, and incentives, Shamsi shared.
“Sporting events like cricket have been a puller of Indian corporates. Similarly, we will be promoting two pre-season NBA games, UFC matches, as well as the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, taking place later this year to draw more Indian corporate movement,” said Shamsi.
Recently, ADCEB participated in a three-city roadshow in India covering New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai to educate Indian travel trade partners about the newly-launched Advantage Abu Dhabi Meetings & Incentives 2.0 programme. The roadshow was organised by Abu Dhabi’s Department of Culture and Tourism.
Business events practitioners and students keen on the industry are discovering improved access to professional education, with one of the latest on offer being ICCA Skills, a programme crafted by 150 industry experts that covers two certification tracks.
The Certified International Convention Specialist track provides foundational knowledge and practical skills for individuals who are new to the industry or want to improve their understanding of global business events standards. The first class commenced in July.
Meanwhile, the Certified International Convention Executive track, which commenced in August, is aimed at professionals with at least three years of management experience.
Since its launch in May, both courses have attracted strong interest, shared Waikin Wong, regional director Asia Pacific with ICCA.
“Some MICE destinations have signed an education plan with us to get a number of their local professionals certified,” revealed Wong.
Wong said providing easier access to training would lift the professional standards of the region’s business events practitioners, and strengthen the confidence of those keen to join the industry – the latter being critical now as the industry suffers from a lack of talented new blood.
The importance of training and upskilling was emphasised during the business disruption.
According to Kyuree Kim, project manager with the Korea MICE Association (KMA), course enrolment spiked during the pandemic, as people were eager to prepare themselves for the eventual resumption of events.
In addition to its online training programmes, KMA created an in-person course that imparts knowledge related to digital events. The course saw 1,000 graduates in its launch year in 2021, and another 600 as of August this year. Of these graduates, 60 per cent are new entrants while the rest are practitioners.
With the digitalisation of events becoming more established, KMA is now brainstorming new courses that will be relevant going forward. However, Kim believes that courses related to data analytics and augmented event content will continue to be valuable.
These courses are free of charge, with expenses funded by the government, shared Kim.
“While the MICE industry is vibrant in South Korea, it is still not recognised as one of the country’s key economic pillars.
“Therefore, students who wish to get a job in our industry or learn more about what we do have very few opportunities for specialised education. So, KMA has to play the critical role of educator,” noted Kim.
Noting that MICE education is not easily and equally available across the region, Wong said global professional associations like ICCA can help to plug the knowledge gap.
In Thailand, one of Asia’s most active and competitive business events destinations, the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) makes talent development one of its priorities.
Its MICE Capabilities Development Department has a mission to drive Thailand’s MICE industry forward with up-to-date knowledge, global standards, and proficient human resource.
According to Supanich Thiansing, TCEB’s director of meetings and incentives department, the development of manpower standards and professionalism is one of the bureau’s key missions since its establishment.
The MICE Capabilities Development Department also has programmes that cover the “entire events ecosystem”, from grooming the young generation to the upskilling of the current workforce.
“The areas of development and capacity-building are always kept up-to-date. So far, we have certified over 1,400 event professionals in various globally-recognised qualifications (such as the Certified Incentive Travel Professional and Certified Incentive Specialist),” said Supanich.
DMCs are dishing out fatter pay packets, upskilling and training options, flexible work arrangements, as well as incentives in cash or kind to resolve challenges in hiring and retaining staff in the current climate.
Speaking to TTGmice at the recent IT&CMA 2022 in Bangkok, US Travel-Korea’s CEO, Dooyoun Hwang, shared that he had to hire many new and inexperienced staff, and train them to create tour itineraries and issue quotations, as he could not find experienced ones to fill vacancies.
US Travel-Korea is a DMC based in South Korea with overseas offices in India, Russia, China and the Philippines.
Post-lockdown, Dooyoun is planning to continue the company’s tradition of bringing staff from different locations together in South Korea, where get-togethers would help to build better rapport and create a sense of belonging.
Meanwhile, Nihma Manih Karay, the CEO and president of CTPH Tour based in the Philippines shared that hiring is not easy, as there are few individuals willing to work full-time in an office environment.
A compromise had to be made with new hires, with Karay agreeing to flexible work arrangements on the condition of close performance tracking.
Karay said: “Flexi work arrangements are here to stay; it’s the new norm. People are demanding it in a tight labour market.”
Thailand-based Journey to Asia’s managing director, Suttiporn Fongmool, is urgently looking for staff with at least five years of related work experience. There was little option to hire foreigners as their commanding salary was higher than the industry standard in Thailand.
To attract new hires and retain existing staff to cope with the “tsunami” of post-lockdown enquiries, Suttiporn is incentivising employees with cash rewards and personal holiday trips.
Over at Tour East, staff engagement and training are the solutions for retention and motivation. Lisa-Marie Korth, Tour East’s MICE assistant manager, international market, based in Bangkok, shared that employees are given access to Yammer, an enterprise social networking service to improve engagement with employees, enhance communication within the organisation, and create a deeper sense of belonging.
As a member of the Global DMC network by JTB Group, Tour East employees enjoy access to JTB University, an integrated personal development platform with online courses for employees to upskill and reskill.
According to Korth, having access to such resources motivates employees to stay in the organisation and grow their expertise further.
The Malaysian travel trade is eyeing India as a key medium-haul market to rebuild the tourism and business events sector, as its previous top market China continues to remain shut.
Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau’s (MyCEB) CEO, Abdul Khani Daud, shared: “We will be initiating new marketing campaigns to attract more business events delegates from India, as well as providing incentives to DMCs to get more delegates from India.”
He added that the respective campaigns need to be tailored to each Indian state due to the different cultures and ethnicities, and will be working closely with the Tourism Malaysia office in India to roll out roadshows next year.
Ganneesh Ramaa, vice president, international sales at Destination Explore, opined that South-east Asia is regarded as a considerably safe destination to India-based travellers, and Malaysia should seize the opportunity.
Zahira Tahir, founder & CEO, Universal Holidays, further pointed out that Indian events organisers have also accepted the rising cost of inflation as well, and have increased their budgets by 10 to 15 per cent over the past year.
Based on her company’s incentive travel clients from India, Zahira shared the market is high yield and stays mainly in four- and five-star hotels.
However, one challenge she faces is that seat capacity and flight frequencies were still lacking, and it is not possible to book groups of more than 100 people on the same flight.
To lure more India-based corporates, Ganneesh, who also serves as vice president for inbound and domestic for the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents, suggested: “Granting Indian leisure and business event travellers multiple entry visas will encourage more repeat visits, as well as encourage event organisers to make Malaysia as the point of entry and departure for multiple destination programmes.”
Creating more flights and increasing frequencies are imperative to helping to grow the business events sector from India further, Zahira added.
Elsewhere in Malaysia, Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau’s (PCEB) CEO, Ashwin Gunasekeran, is also looking to India to help its business events sector recover faster, stating that the country is a very important market for the state.
In 2019, Penang hosted seven business event groups from India, the largest being V-Conference held in April and September, attracting 15,000 Indian delegates in total.
Seeing the potential of the market, PCEB continues to hold talks with India-based airlines to initiate direct flights to Penang, thus reducing lay-over time in Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok. PCEB is also planning to host get-togethers with clients in India.
The Tourism New Zealand Business Events National Awards, held at the national museum Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington on September 27, recognised the contribution of 61 key New Zealand industry leaders and academics.
Working in sectors ranging from robotics to pest management, cybersecurity to autism research, these experts in their field worked alongside Tourism New Zealand and its convention bureau partners to secure high-profile conference wins for the country.
Tourism New Zealand’s chief executive René de Monchy said: “The hard work of these influential and talented individuals plays an integral part in attracting these events to our shores. In the last financial year alone, New Zealand won 34 conferences, estimated to be worth NZ$41.6 million (US$23.3 million) to our local economy.
“Business events are extremely important to New Zealand’s tourism industry – attracting high-quality visitors to New Zealand. Conferences provide an opportunity to share knowledge, forge business relationships, and showcase local talent, tourism experiences and our unique culture.”
Tourism New Zealand will also plant a native tree in honour of each of the National Awards recipients through environmental charity Project Crimson’s Trees That Count programme.
Tourism New Zealand’s Conference Assistance Programme is available to any association or organisation, including universities, that wants to bid to host an international conference in New Zealand with a minimum of 200 international delegates.
SAP Concur has appointed Carl Jones as managing director for South-east Asia (SEA).
In this role, Jones will lead a multinational cross-functional team with sales, pre-sales, client success and cloud channel partnerships, ensuring alignment for all SEA projects within SAP Concur. He will be responsible for all client-facing commercial opportunities in the region.
Jones will also represent SAP Concur on corporate initiatives such as Climate 21, SAP’s global sustainability programme, an initiative to build analytical and transactional capabilities into SAP’s core business applications, to help customers both understand and minimise the carbon footprint of their products and operations.
Earlier this year, he was appointed to the Global Business Travel Association Global Sustainability Committee as vice-chair, representing the region’s interest in advancing standards and solutions to improve the sustainability performance of business travel across all three ESG pillars (Environmental, Social, Governance).
Most recently, Jones was the regional vice president, head of strategy, Asia Pacific and Greater China. In total, he has over two decades of experience in the industry, and has held various regional leadership roles in Asia Pacific countries, including Singapore and Thailand.
Prior to SAP Concur, he was vice president, global client management and global business consulting Asia Pacific with American Express Global Business Travel.
With effect from October 1, inbound travellers to South Korea will no longer be required to take an on-arrival PCR test.
Currently, incoming visitors need to perform the PCR test within the first 24 hours of their entry into the country.
This decision by the government was made due to the recent gradual decline in infections.
This follows the removal of the pre-departure testing requirement for travellers bound for South Korea earlier this month.
However, South Korea could reinforce restrictions regarding foreign entrants if it sees the emergence of risky virus variants and the global virus situation changes.
Second vice health minister Lee Ki-il said in a virus response meeting: “We are at the final stage of the Covid-19 pandemic. We expect another wave in winter, but we will finally overcome the virus through thorough preparations.”