ICCA's Waikin Wong. and Tourism New Zealand's Leonie Ashford celebrate the scholarship partnership at the Business Events Industry Aotearoa Conference in sunny Hawke’s Bay
Tourism New Zealand has partnered with ICCA (International Congress & Convention Association) to offer 10 new scholarships for the ICCASkills certification programme, to support the future of the country’s business events industry.
Tourism New Zealand will share costs with the scholarship recipient’s employer, offering five scholarships for the Certified International Convention Specialist (CICS) course for newcomers to the industry; and five scholarships for the Certified International Convention Executive (CICE) course, aimed at providing professional development to those with a minimum of three years in a management role.
ICCA’s Waikin Wong. and Tourism New Zealand’s Leonie Ashford celebrate the scholarship partnership at the Business Events Industry Aotearoa Conference in sunny Hawke’s Bay
The in-depth curriculum has been developed by industry experts, including business leaders, academics and ICCA members, and is delivered through on-site and online learning environments.
Tourism New Zealand general manager NZ & business events, Bjoern Spreitzer, commented: “New Zealand has invested in amazing new infrastructure and activities for the business events sector, and we need to recruit and retain the best talent to staff them. Business events are all about people – it makes sense to support the industry by investing in people.
“Encouraging professional development ensures the expertise of our people is recognised at a global level and helps to elevate New Zealand’s event standards.”
Bookings and spending continue to recover, and international travel narrows
the gap on domestic travel, while economic concerns eclipse Covid-19
According to the October 2022 Business Travel Recovery Poll released by the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), business travel will continue to bounce back, with a strong outlook set for 2023.
“We continue to see progress as business travel makes its way back to being a US$1.4 trillion global industry, pre-pandemic. It is also important to understand the context of global business travel’s recovery. Asia is still opening its borders, international business travel, in general, started picking up only earlier this year across the globe, and the U.S. has only permitted unrestricted travel since June,” said Suzanne Neufang, CEO, GBTA.
“Even as this latest poll shows economic considerations have eclipsed Covid-19 concerns, the industry is showing positive indicators and sentiment for 2023, a strong sign as business travel continues to come back over time,” she said.
Bookings and spending continue to recover, and international travel narrows the gap on domestic travel, while economic concerns eclipse Covid-19
Here are some of the key takeaways from the October GBTA Business Travel Recovery Poll:
Business travel volume continues to rebound when tracking recovery to 2019 pre-pandemic levels.
On average, travel managers estimate their company’s domestic business travel volume is back to 63% and international business travel is back to 50% of their 2019 pre-pandemic levels. In addition, 26% of respondents estimate their international business travel volume has recovered to more than 70% of their company’s pre-pandemic levels.
Economic considerations have eclipsed Covid concerns for the industry, but a majority of companies are not limiting their business travel specifically due to economic concerns.
When asked to choose among factors that are more likely to limit business travel next year, 80% of travel suppliers say economic conditions while only 4% cited Covid-19.
However, 75% of travel buyers surveyed say their company had no immediate plans to limit business travel because of economic concerns. One-third (30%) say their company is unlikely to limit business travel, while 45% say they are taking a wait-and-see approach but are not seriously considering limiting business travel at this point due to economic concerns.
Domestic travel recovery leads in terms of recovery, but international travel is closing the gap.
Currently, 86% of survey respondents say non-essential domestic business travel is sometimes or usually allowed at their company. Additionally, 74% say the same for non-essential international business travel.
By far, business travel respondents expect more recovery and growth for 2023 compared to this year.
Over three-fourths (78%) of travel managers expect the number of business trips taken by employees at their company will be higher or much higher in 2023 versus 2022.
Among travel suppliers, 85% expect the number of bookings by corporate clients will be higher or much higher in 2023. Additionally, 80% of suppliers expect travel spending by corporate clients will be higher or much higher in 2023 year over year.
Over 65% of travel managers are optimistic that their company will conduct more internal travel and external travel. Internal travel was defined as meetings with colleagues or working at other company office locations, while external travel examples are trips for sales meetings and conference travel.
Tracking the business travel impact of remote work and blended travel
GBTA also continues to follow how evolving developments related to the future of work and changing workforces might play out in the global business travel landscape.
The industry does not expect new ways of working to significantly impact business travel.
The industry is embracing remote work models (88%), as 68% of respondents say their company has a hybrid approach where employees are expected to report to the office on some days and 20% indicate their company is working “full-time remote.” An additional 12% say they are “full-time in-office.”
Of those with a hybrid or full-time remote work policy, 72% of respondents do not expect flexibility to work from home will impact the number of business trips taken by their employees. Additionally, 14% expect it will lead to more business travel while an identical per cent expect it will lead to less business travel.
How companies are approaching employee remote work and blended / “bleisure” travel.
For companies that allow hybrid or fully remote work, 44% say employees are allowed to work for extended periods outside of the city, state, or province where they are typically based. This also includes 22% that even allow employees to work for an extended period outside of their home-base country.
Some companies even reimburse employees for costs or expenses while working remotely – 27% of respondents say their company does reimburse, while most do not (42%) or leave it to the manager’s discretion (25%).
Many travel managers report they are seeing a rise in the desire for blended or “bleisure” travel among employees. Two in five travel managers (41%) have seen an increase in employees asking for blended travel, whereby they combine a business trip with a vacation or leisure component.
From left: Invest Islands'Kevin Deisser; Phuket Hotels Association's Bjorn Courage; South Palms Resort's Hope Uy; and Greenview's Eric Ricaurte
The fifth annual PHIST (Phuket Hotels for Islands Sustaining Tourism) forum was held on September 26 at the ACES Angsana Laguna Phuket Resort, where 500 delegates from across South-east Asia met in person.
The theme of this year’s PHIST was Muay Thai, the high-energy, culturally-rich sport of Thai boxing. Muay Thai fighters from Australia, Brazil, Thailand and the US faced off in the main hall of ACES on Monday in a series of “super fights”.
From left: Invest Islands’Kevin Deisser; Phuket Hotels Association’s Bjorn Courage; South Palms Resort’s Hope Uy; and Greenview’s Eric Ricaurte
Following these physical battles, keynote speakers delivered verbal blows as they provided unique insights on the critical issues facing the industry, including community tourism, green operations, ocean health, destination management, post-Covid trends and more.
There was also a series of expert-led workshops focused on practical subjects such as Green Finance for Hotels, Zero Waste and Materials for Sustainable Tourism, and a Green Expo presented a selection of innovative, eco-friendly products from approximately 30 exhibitors.
The International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2023) has selected Brisbane as the host city for its HIV Sciences conference.
Taking place at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) in July 2023, organisers are forecasting that 6,000 delegates – two-thirds of whom will travel to Queensland from overseas – will be attending the five-day event. In total, the event will contribute A$36.8 million (US$23.3 million) to the state’s economic recovery.
Conference events were important to Queensland’s visitor economy; Brisbane pictured
The team at the BCEC together with local host organisation ASHM (Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine) submitted the successful bid to host the 2023 Conference, with strong support from the Queensland Government, through Queensland Health and Tourism and Events Queensland, Tourism Australia and Brisbane Economic Development Agency.
Hosting the conference in Australia would be an accelerator for the country to reach its goal of achieving the virtual elimination of HIV transmission by 2025. It will also focus attention on the HIV epidemic in the Asia Pacific region, bringing an important spotlight to the region’s most vulnerable communities.
The event will take place at Resorts World Sentosa
Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) will be presenting the second edition of the Wine Pinnacle Awards from October 28 to November 1.
Happening in person, the five-day event will also include Masterclass Experiences, Wine and Dine Sessions, as well as a two-day Wine Industry Symposium on October 31 and November 1.
The event will take place at Resorts World Sentosa (pictured)
Wine Industry Symposium attendees will leave better prepared to navigate a more dynamic future for the wine industry by discussing key topics like new areas of economic growth and the impact of climate change with wine professionals from all sectors.
There will also be panel discussions to help related businesses position themselves to thrive amidst contemporary market trends led by the world’s thought leaders – this includes wine educator and consultant Karen MacNeil, Henschke’s Prue Henschke, and Yamajin’s Kenichi Ohashi.
Capping off the five-day programme will be the Wine Pinnacle Awards Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony, held at the Resorts World Ballroom. There are 52 nominees in total, vying for over 18 categories.
One new Platinum member has been elected to the Business Events Industry Association (BEIA) board of management, and a new co-opted member is filling Air New Zealand’s seat following the annual general meeting in Napier.
Ross Steele, general manager of Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre has been elected to replace Georgina Grey from Accor New Zealand, who has stepped down after three years in the role.
Ross Steele
Prior to moving to Christchurch in March 2019, Steele was general manager of the Cairns Convention Centre, and before that he was with the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Meanwhile, Iain Walker fills Air New Zealand’s co-opted seat, replacing Blair Catton.
Walker is currently the general manager of revenue management at Air New Zealand, responsible for developing revenue, pricing and commercial expertise across the passenger, cargo and loyalty areas of the airline.
In November, Walker will be stepping into the role of general manager domestic, responsible for growing the domestic airline.
BEIA’s 10-strong Board includes independent chair Steve Armitage, plus two seats from the Platinum member category, and one seat from each of the Gold and Silver member categories.
The board structure also includes one non-voting seat for Air New Zealand, one non-voting seat for Tourism New Zealand, and two appointed members.
The 2022-2023 Board’s other Platinum category member is Prue Daly from New Zealand International Convention Centre / SkyCity Entertainment Group.
The Gold representative is Tracey Thomas from Conference Innovators has been retained for another two-year term.
The Silver representative is Jake Downing from Weta Workshop.
The board also includes co-opted members Bjoern Spreitzer, Tourism New Zealand, plus BEIA chief executive Lisa Hopkins.
The two members appointed by the Board in 2021 are David Perks, Regional Tourism NZ, and David Downs, CEO of the New Zealand Story.
A feature on Asian destinations that are committed to rebuilding tourism more responsibly and sustainably post-lockdown has won the PATA Gold Awards 2022 for Business Article.
Group editor Karen Yue (extreme right) receives the award on behalf of the TTG Asia team; the award was presented by PATA’s Liz Ortiguera (extreme left) and Macao Government Tourism Office’s Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes
Titled Building back better, the article was authored by TTG Asia‘s Marissa Carruthers, Mimi Hudoyo, Rosa Ocampo, as well as Suchat Sritama, who was the former correspondent-Thailand for TTG Asia Media.
It was published within the TTG Asia July-August 2021 issue.
This is TTG Asia‘s second PATA Gold Awards win for Business Article, and the ninth for TTG Asia Media’s stable of English language trade titles. TTG Asia Luxury won the award in 2016; TTGmice won the award in 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2018 and 2020.
CTG Hotel has appointed James Kim as the chief operating officer of CTG Hotel. He will take full charge of the operations of CTG Hotel and its subsidiaries.
With more than 28 years of experience in the global hotel industry, his extensive market insight, advanced business strategies and exceptional operational management skills have contributed to the strategic development and operations management of CTG Hotel in China and abroad.
Prior to this position, he was the chief overseas development and operations officer at CTG Hotel, responsible for the development, operation and management of the company’s overseas projects and hotels.
Seeing is believing, so will fam trips for the buyer community be one of the top activities on Business Events Perth’s agenda as it rebuilds travel demand?
Fam trips are certainly a priority for the Business Events Perth team. Earlier in (August), we had the pleasure of hosting a group of Australia’s top PCOs. The group explored new hotels, event venues, restaurants and incentive activities to update their product knowledge of our extraordinary state.
Following that, we welcomed a group of key clients from the Asia-Pacific region for a fam trip (to see) Fremantle, the Swan Valley, Rottnest and our vibrant city centre which is practically brand new.
Since the beginning of July 2022, we have hosted 12 client site inspections and three fam trips. Our business development team has more site inspections and fam trips on the agenda.
Our strategy in showcasing Western Australia (WA) through these activations is to ensure our member partners get face-to-face meetings with business event organisers so that they can profile their venue or service in person, allowing a mutually beneficial showcase of WA’s capabilities in hosting events.
The bulk of destination marketing messages in the past year has been about new and refreshed experiences awaiting post-lockdown visitors. How is Business Events Perth breaking through similar tunes to reach target planners?
Over the past 18 months, we’ve diversified our marketing and communications efforts and channels in a big way, in order to effectively convey our message on the international stage.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words and in this case, a thousand stories. WA is set to become the nation’s premier destination for authentic Aboriginal cultural experiences, and we aim to highlight opportunities for business event visitors to connect with signature Indigenous Cultural experiences across the state. We recently commissioned an artwork through Nani Creative, a local, Aboriginal-led creative studio based in WA, highlighting the importance of Indigenous Cultural experiences. This work features native flora and fauna spanning this vast state, from the red sands of our North to the deep colours of our abundant South-west and in between.
You will see this displayed throughout our marketing, activated to recognise our 50th year as an organisation and at tradeshows. We want international visitors to connect with the world’s oldest living culture, dating back 60,000 years.
This activation is part of our efforts to support the delivery of the Jina: Western Australian Aboriginal Tourism Action Plan 2021-2025, which was developed by the WA government to strategically enhance the state’s Aboriginal tourism experiences and encourage engagement and employment for Aboriginal people in the tourism sector.
We’re (also) leveraging some trailblazing mediums such as virtual reality, to showcase our iconic experiences and environs. A big part of destination marketing in the current climate relies on engaging non-locals in an immersive way and giving them a glimpse of what we have on offer from the comfort of their home. In addition, and in an Australian first, we have produced an extensive library of 3D venue tours to allow clients to explore a vast array of WA venues while travel was restricted.
We’ve reimagined our Business Events Planners Guide to be completely virtual, increasing its accessibility to global stakeholders, and expanding its scope to better represent WA’s business events offering through a series of strategic industry partnerships.
We also introduced a first-of-its-kind funding incentive, Keynote Speaker Funding, created to strategically generate leads for Western Australia in the long-term, while supporting the continuance of business events.
Are there programmes to play up the intellectual side of the state to attract congresses?
Each year, Business Events Perth runs the Aspire Awards Program (2022 edition is now open) to support WA researchers, academics and professionals by sponsoring them to attend an international business event (that will benefit) their professional development. This is a very important programme to recognise and foster the career of those who are doing amazing things for the WA community. The awards also highlight the talent and innovation that can be found in WA and in turn attract business events to our state.
To support the development of (the state’s eight key economic) sectors, and through increased Reconnect WA funding from the WA government, we have aligned our business development strategy to reflect these priorities by bidding for conferences aligned to the areas of growth. This has already generated strong success with several key national and international conferences secured for the state (across multiple) sectors, (including) the World Indigenous Tourism Summit – all occurring in the next six months.
A participant scaling the Sydney Harbour Bridge with BridgeClimb Sydney
A new programme, the Ignite Sydney Business Event Fund, has been launched in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, specifically for corporate meetings, incentives and conferences held in Greater Sydney in 2023.
The funding will offset costs for events with 200 to 400 delegates, whereby the client will receive support to the value of A$40 (US$26) per person. For events with a group size of over 401 delegates, it will be deferred to a customised funding offer. Applications will be assessed on a first-come-first-served basis.
A participant scaling the Sydney Harbour Bridge with BridgeClimb Sydney
“BESydney’s Ignite Sydney Business Event Fund is an exciting initiative, to stimulate a return to hosting incredible corporate events and incentives in our harbour city,” said BESydney CEO, Lyn Lewis-Smith.
“We want to support our important meeting planners and encourage the return of our Asian incentive and corporate market to Sydney to experience the vibrancy and energy of the city, as well as our new products, attractions and venues.”
Applications are now open, and will close on November 18, 2022, or earlier if funds have been allocated.
The newly-opened Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok anchors the One Bangkok development with cosmopolitan elegance. Featuring the city's largest ballroom and a spectacular new penthouse suite, it delivers exceptional hardware and deeply authentic, soulful service for business and leisure travellers alike
Behind the imposing, Brutalist concrete that defines Zurich’s Oerlikon district lies a surprising secret. While its exterior honours the neighbourhood’s industrial roots, stepping inside Mama Shelter reveals a vibrant, neon-soaked world that is a far cry from its rigid shell
A polished urban retreat designed for business travellers, Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown combines thoughtful design, seamless service, and exceptional facilities.
Prior to this position, he was the chief overseas development and operations officer at CTG Hotel, responsible for the development, operation and management of the company’s overseas projects and hotels.
Following that, we welcomed a group of key clients from the Asia-Pacific region for a fam trip (to see) Fremantle, the Swan Valley, Rottnest and our vibrant city centre which is practically brand new.
