Due to the current China situation, IT&CM China and CTW China 2022 has been rescheduled to November 28-30, 2022, in-person at The Anandi Hotel and Spa, followed by an online networking and conference segment on December 12-13, 2022.
A previous edition of the tradeshow
Organisers TTG Events and China-based CTG MICE Service Company Limited, stated in a joint statement: “We see positive indications towards the return of physical events, however, the situation is still very dynamic, and we have a responsibility to ensure our delegates have the safest and best possible experience. We look forward to re-connecting with everyone in November in Shanghai.
“The region’s industry has been waiting to be able to come together and meet with quality venues, destinations, suppliers, and buyers in person. IT&CM China and CTW China 2022 will provide a safe platform to do so, as well as also demonstrate the industry’s commitment to the resumption of Chinese MICE travel and events.”
he Thai MICE sector still has more room to thrive and looks for more enthusiastic young professionals to join the
IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center has restarted Kla MICE, a programme dedicated to teaching university students the foundations of event management over a two-month period.
Over the. two months, students work closely with senior executives and managers from multiple departments such as operations, sales, F&B, exhibitions, and human resources to gain knowledge and hands-on experience. The programme culminates in an exhibition themed MICE & Sustainability.
The Thai MICE sector still has more room to thrive and needs enthusiastic young professionals to join the industry
Currently in the programme are 40 students in their junior year from various Thai universities. This is the third batch of students IMPACT has trained.
Thamita Chongswatvorakul, director of the Corporate Human Resources Department, said: “The Thai MICE industry needs more young professionals whom we can rely on to make the MICE industry thrive again.
“The MICE industry is a potent business sector that generates billions in revenue, contributes to economic growth, and creates millions of jobs; therefore, as a proactive MICE operator, we will do our best to push Thailand’s business events forward, promote the exhibition industry in the global MICE market, as well as help the industry overcome challenges with respect to a shortage of experienced staff.”
Kla MICE, roughly translated to “the new kids on the block” in Thai was introduced in 2019 with approximately 40 sophomores joining the course then.
Following the successful hosting of the hybrid Global Tourism Forum (GTF) last year, the World Tourism Forum Institute has picked Indonesia to be the location for its 2022 annual meeting.
Set to take place in Bali from November 17-18 in-person, organisers are targeting to welcome between 500 and 700 international and domestic participants comprising ministers and CEOs of tourism-related companies and investors.
Sapta: global events are important wins for Indonesia
Sapta Nirwandar, chairman of the Indonesia Tourism Forum said that hosting events like GTF 2022 are not only important, but also strategic, for Indonesia.
Being a “global forum”, GTF 2022 will provide “global networking”, and as such, is an important way to raise Indonesia’s business events profile, and “inform the world” that the country is more than ready to host international events. This will in turn help with tourism recovery, Sapta elaborated.
Indonesia’s track record of international events include the World Bank Group and annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund; APEC Summit; while the G20 Summit will be happening later this year.
Masruroh, MICE director at Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, added: “GTF 2022 will improve Indonesia’s positioning in global leadership. It also provides benefits for improving the national economy, especially in the tourism and creative economy sectors.”
The whitepaper summarises the recovery of corporate travel in China – the largest corporate travel market in the world.
Trip.com Group’s corporate travel arm, Trip.Biz, has released a whitepaper delving into the trends defining the reviving corporate travel management sector in mainland China.
According to Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), China led the world in business travel spending in 2021, after a 38% decline in business travel spending in 2020. As the domestic market recovered, in 2021, China’s business travel spending saw a growth rate of 31.7%, more than double the global growth rate.
The whitepaper summarises the recovery of corporate travel in China – the largest corporate travel market in the world.
The paper shows 16.3% more companies in China worked with a TMC in 2021 compared to 2020, this figure rising by 24.6% in first tier cities in China such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
According to GBTA forecasts, China’s business travel market is expected to recover and surpass pre-pandemic levels by 2024, with total business travel spending exceeding US$400 billion.
Trip.com Group’s 2021 earnings data reflects the strong recovery momentum in China’s business travel market, where hotel bookings on Trip.Biz grew by nearly triple digits in the fourth quarter and full year of 2021, compared to the same period in 2019.
“The biggest industry change brought on by the pandemic is the recognition by customers of the true value of TMC offerings. Specifically, the convenience and flexibility of booking, changing and refunding, having a one-stop booking experience for all products worldwide with global travel guarantee and SOS services, and 24/7 multilingual customer support. These are precisely the areas that online TMCs like Trip.Biz specialise in,” commented Steven Zhang, CEO at Trip.Biz.
Trip.Biz currently provides travel management services to 13,000 large enterprises and 620,000 small and medium-sized enterprises, among which over 300 are Fortune 500 companies and over 10,000 are Sino-foreign joint venture businesses.
Trip.Biz’s international business growth plan aims to build on existing client needs, initially focusing on regional growth across North and South-east Asia, supporting business clients expanding in the region and globally.
Hilton Kuala Lumpur has rolled out a refreshed set of function venues, and dubbed it Collaboration Spaces.
The RM21 million (US$4.8 million) refurbishment included a redesign and technology upgrades to elevate the overall experience and quality of meetings and events.
The Verve in the grand ballroom
Facelifts include the installation of a chandelier in the grand ballroom called The Verve. Inspired by the movement of dance and developed together with LTW Singapore, The Verve was developed by LASVIT, a Czech glassmaking and design company known for custom-made installations exhibited all over the world.
Meanwhile, new hardware upgrades include wireless charging points by Chargifi, while Flip is an innovative digital flipchart designed for easier brainstorming.
According to the press release, Hilton Kuala Lumpur’s Collaboration Spaces have been “designed to be agile, relaxed and highly engaging, creating flexibility to meet the needs of different groups and events of all sizes”.
Routes Asia is set to be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, next year, from February 14-16, 2023.
The only route development event dedicated to the Asia Pacific region, Routes Asia 2023 will bring together airlines, airports and tourism authorities to discuss air service strategy and future networks.
Wa Phra Singh in Chiang Mai
Routes Asia, Steven Small, director of Routes, said: “Substantial and continuous infrastructure development, together with state-of-the-art conference facilities, have positioned Chiang Mai as a premier MICE centre destination, making it the perfect location for Routes Asia 2023. The event will provide a unique opportunity for the city to showcase the significant infrastructure developments to the region’s leading aviation stakeholders.”
Chiang Mai is Northern Thailand’s hub for medicine and education, and the city has enhanced its profile to host many international conferences ranging from small events to conferences hosting over 8,000 delegates from various professional fields.
In 2017, Chiang Mai International Airport served some 74,040 flights, and around 10 million passengers.
Wellington's Tākina exhibition and conference centre is on track for a mid-2023 opening
Wellington has added another win to its business events calendar, a major conference on digital preservation heading to New Zealand for the first time.
The iPRES 21st International Conference on Digital Presentation will take place in 2025 at Tākina, set to open next year. The annual event brings hundreds of researchers and practitioners from all over the world to discuss the latest research and practice for protecting and making accessible digital collections.
Wellington’s Tākina exhibition and conference centre is on track for a mid-2023 opening
iPRES is the oldest international conference about long-term digital preservation.
The bid was led by the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa and Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, both of which share a digital preservation programme. It was supported by Business Events Wellington and Tourism New Zealand’s Business Events team.
Andrea Goethals, programme director at the National Library of New Zealand, says: “By hosting iPRES in Wellington we can highlight our digital preservation activities in New Zealand while showing our commitment to being part of the international effort to protect our global digital heritage.
“We see this as an opportunity for New Zealand organisations to learn from and make connections with the community of international digital preservation experts.”
The win is just the latest in a series of wins for Tākina, which is on track to open mid-2023. The venue will be able to accommodate a plenary of up to 1,600 delegates, alongside exhibition space and stand-alone meeting rooms.
Quarantine for all arrivals in Taiwan has been reduced from seven to three days starting from June 15
Taiwan will be reducing mandatory quarantine for all arrivals from seven to three days starting from June 15, in the destination’s latest easing of Covid-related rules.
Upon completion of their quarantine, individuals also need to continue to monitor their health for another four days, and have been advised against going out where possible.
Quarantine for all arrivals in Taiwan has been reduced from seven to three days starting from June 15; Taoyuan International Airport pictured
Previously in May, Taiwan reduced the number of days spent in isolation for arrivals from 10 to seven.
As Taiwan has yet to fully reopen its borders, other Covid-19 restrictions – such as all arrivals are required to produce pre-departure negative PCR tests – remain in place.
Located a few minutes away from the Wongamat Beach in Naklua, North Pattaya, Courtyard by Marriott North Pattaya is only two hours’ drive from Bangkok and 1.5 hours from Suvarnabhumi Airport.
For business travellers and meeting planners, the property’s Grand Ballroom offers a 230m2, pillar-free function room can host mid-sized meetings, and be divided into two smaller spaces for more intimate events. The foyer also provides another option for coffee breaks and cocktail receptions.
Delegates will be able to stay in one of the 233 rooms and suites. Rooms range from the 28m2 Superior Room up to the 44m2 Courtyard Suites, all of which are furnished with ergonomic workspaces, LCD TVs, complimentary Wi-Fi, and spacious bathrooms with rainshowers.
Dining options at the hotel include Café 22, an all-day dining venue with an international menu; poolside Surf Bar for drinks; and Spart’s Bar for crafted cocktails, and cold-brew coffee.
Recreational facilities include the 24/7 fitness centre, and rooftop pool, while business travellers on the road with their families can ensure their children are entertained at the Kid’s Club.
Courtyard by Marriott North Pattaya is the third Courtyard branded hotel in Thailand, joining the Courtyard by Marriott Bangkok and Courtyard by Marriott Phuket Town.
Palawan hardly needs any introduction – it regularly picks up global accolades for its incomparable natural beauty and rich biodiversity.
Its three most-coveted destinations – the city of Puerto Princesa and the towns of El Nido and Coron – have varied offerings further boosted by the reopening of Philippine international borders and full capacity operations for business event venues since February this year.
Puerto Princesa, which is also Palawan’s capital city, is still the leader for business events. Its edge, according to Arfel Travel and Tours president, Fe Abling-Yu, is its airport that can handle bigger aircraft like the A321, while the city also has hotels with facilities for medium-sized events.
landscape makes it ideal for adventure-led teambuilding activities
Abling-Yu said that while there are frequent commercial flights to and from Coron, its short runway cannot accommodate large aircraft. A mountainous area, Internet signal and connectivity can pose a challenge at times. But as Coron aspires to capture more events, it has a growing number of new accommodation and the latest, TAG Resort, has event facilities for up to 500 pax.
Bustling El Nido has been expanding its cache of hotels but its slim airstrip can only accommodate small turboprops. For now, only Airswift flies to El Nido from Manila, Abling-Yu pointed out.
However, El Nido has a number of accommodation and at Lio Tourism Estate, a sustainable, low impact lifestyle destination, there are six quaint hotels of various categories to choose from.
If implemented, the proposal to develop the province’s second airport – in Taytay in north Palawan less than two hours’ drive from El Nido – will certainly enable the province to attract more passengers and host bigger corporate groups.
Taytay and Culion are being eyed for further tourism developments, as are various areas within the province that are still undiscovered by tourists, in what is known as the Philippines’ Last Frontier.
The town of San Vicente, known for its long stretch of pristine white sand beaches, was touted to be the next destination after El Nido but interest in its development was hindered by the pandemic.
What Palawan lacks in big airport is somehow compensated for by the variety it offers in terms of hotels and resorts, tours and activities, and logistics for bleisure.
For now, corporate groups are starting to find their way back to Palawan, after two years of lockdown. For instance, at the WTTC 21st Global Summit in Manila last April, El Nido and Boracay were the most popular sites for post tours.
According to Bernadette de Leon, owner of Amiable Intertours, Palawan can be a promising events destination as it has the facilities and logistics for such gatherings.
Since domestic and international borders reopened in February, de Leon observed an increase in fam trip invitations for the travel trade to see and experience new hotels and resorts that have sprouted in Palawan in recent years, indicating the destination’s readiness to host business events again.
Indeed, while Palawan is home to luxurious resorts such as Amanpulo and Pangulasian Island, it raises the bar with posh island retreats so exclusive that they can only be reached by chartered and private aircraft.
Curiously, there’s a scarcity of international hotel brands in Palawan. However, homegrown brands, with their architecture and service, are able to hold a candle to their foreign counterparts.
Palawan also offers more variety in tours and activities, being the only province in the Philippines that boasts two UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the 8.2km Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park and the 97,030-hectare Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park. Both are coveted for teambuilding adventures.
Kayangan Lake in Coron island is famed for its crystal-clear waters, and is loved by photographers
The province is also a getaway paradise with endless white beaches, secluded islands, coves and lagoons, breathtaking panorama of tall limestone cliffs rising above turquoise waters, unhurried life in fishing and agricultural villages, and exotic and endangered wildlife at the Calauit Game Preserve and Wildlife Sanctuary.
Variety is the spice for business events in Palawan, yet new tours and activities are continuously popping up, said eco-tour operator Al Linsangan III, particularly in the Calamian Islands which includes Coron.
Linsangan listed some of them: expeditions, eco-tours, land-based and marine-based adventures, tribal community immersion, gastronomy, urban agriculture specifically in Coron, and many more.
With most of Palawan still untouched and has not yet succumbed to mass tourism, the five-year Sustainable Tourism Development Plan launched in 2020 is out to make tourism in Coron and El Nido sustainable and inclusive.
This focus on sustainability leads the national tourism board to market Palawan for Inspiring Incentives, with emphasis on programmes and activities on sustainable tourism efforts, CSR, nonexploitative rather than staged activities, and slow food and slow travel concepts.
While Palawan undoubtedly has huge tourism potential, it should also prioritise its airport infrastructure if it were to optimise its business events potential.
Just 10 minutes from Phuket International Airport on the serene northern coast, this 178-key, Bill Bensley-designed resort offers delegates a quiet, tropical paradise steeped in Phuket’s tin-mining heritage
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
