Sarawak’s minister of tourism, creative industry and performing arts, Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzahlaunches Beimpactful campaign in Kuala Lumpur on March 30. With him on stage are high ranking government officers from Sarawak.
Sarawak state convention bureau, BESarawak, in partnership with the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), jointly launched the BEimpactful package on March 30, a timely move as Malaysia’s borders reopen.
BEimpactful will offer targeted support for physical, hybrid and homegrown national and international conventions, exhibitions and corporate meetings held in Sarawak. For incentives however, the event must be physical in order to qualify for support.
Sarawak’s minister of tourism, creative industry and performing arts, Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah (in the centre), at the launch of the BEimpactful campaign in Kuala Lumpur on March 30, 2022. With him on stage are other high ranking government officers from Sarawak.
BESarawak offers funding support up to a maximum of RM20,000 (US$4,750) for business events with 30 to 149 national and international delegates, and funding from RM20,000 onwards for more than 150 national and international delegates. It will help cover bidding costs, website development, marketing, committee travelling expenses, site inspections, delegate boosting, technical visits and speaker expenses.
Speaking at BESarawak’s Tribal Gathering held in Kuala Lumpur, Sarawak’s minister of tourism, creative industry and performing arts, Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, said: “BESarawak and MyCEB are working closer than ever at higher levels of collaboration to drive Malaysia’s economic
Situated on Wellington's waterfront, Te Papa has multiple conference, convention, and meeting spaces
Te Papa Venues and Takina, two event venues in Wellington, New Zealand, have combined forces to form Takina Events.
The partnership enables business events planners to access and book the spaces and services of both conference venues together. The two venues are situated across the road from each other, and one dedicated team will run the operation.
Situated on Wellington’s waterfront, Te Papa (pictured) has multiple conference, convention, and meeting spaces
Te Papa is a conference and events venue that hosts more than 900 events each year, while soon-to-open Takina will offer over 10,000m2 of flexible meeting and events space over two floors that can cater for up to 1,600 in its main plenary space, when it opens in mid-2023.
“What is already an exciting new asset for Wellington, combined with the venue spaces at Te Papa under one operation, now gives us an opportunity to deliver unique events on a scale the capital hasn’t seen before,” indicated Tākina Events’ general manager Andrew Dorrington.
“And joining forces will help to support the promotion of the capital as a vibrant destination for hosting local and international events,” he said.
Adopting a hybrid approach to events presents a win-win solution as it allows both organisations and attendees to zoom in on what matters most - the experience
Once considered an alternative to face-to-face events when the physical was simply not possible, virtual events have since taken on a life of their own.
Technology, experience, and to some extent, experimentation have expanded the possibilities of what and how virtual events can look like. In fact, the Asia-Pacific region is set to become the fastest-growing regional market for virtual events. With virtual events today no longer just an option but an expectation, the next stage of their evolution has arrived: hybrid events.
Adopting a hybrid approach to events can be a win-win solution for both organisations and attendees
Over the course of the pandemic, event organisers have sought to break away from the traditional, pre-pandemic notion of virtual events. Think multi-day and multi-track support, ticketing options and even post-event data tracking – virtual events platforms have evolved to be fit-for-purpose, allowing organisers to scale and tweak on demand.
Some are even able to replicate live networking among attendees, speakers, and sponsors with virtual expo floors and topic-based booths that allow both one-on-one chats and the ability to interact freely with other participants – as if in person.
Yet, going virtual is only the first step of the equation.
As vaccination rates increase and countries in the region start to reopen, virtual events now need to evolve to meet a different set of demands. For one, there remains a preference for face-to-face communications, especially when it comes to physical networking.
However, organisations are not ready to give up the convenience, time and cost savings of hosting virtual events. Similarly, the potential of reaching wider audiences from around the world at a scale that has not been possible before is hard to reject. For attendees, flexibility is key, where they can better manage their work schedules and personal commitments around these events. The safe virtual medium also takes away any complexities around pre-event testing and quarantine.
Adopting a hybrid approach to events presents a win-win solution as it allows both organisations and attendees to zoom in on what matters most – the experience. It’s not uncommon to see advanced technologies like AI and AR/ VR come into play on the virtual platform, bringing features like live translation and transcription into the event experience. This helps to create a unique, inclusive and interactive experience for all, regardless of language preferences or needs. This in itself is hard to achieve in a purely physical setting.
Where inclusivity is concerned, the virtual medium has also allowed individuals with physical limitations to participate meaningfully at events from where they are. The physical aspect completes the experience, allowing attendees to continue enjoying the engagement and intimacy from live segments – but better, coupled with the increased interactivity, flexibility and scale that the virtual platform offers.
For organisers, ease of use shapes the experience of hosting and organising events. In fact, the tools that are required to enable such effective and engaging hybrid events are readily available. Employee town halls, for example, can easily leverage video communications platforms that are already being utilised on the day-to-day.
The integration of technology with events has been a gamechanger in the pandemic era, but the blend of physical and virtual channels is set to elevate the potential of events even further. From conferences and tradeshows to internal town halls and even mass religious celebrations, the hybrid approach brings together the best of both digital and physical channels to facilitate more engaging, inclusive and seamless experiences.
We saw how quickly employees around the world took to hybrid work. With hybrid events beginning to take centrestage, it might only be a matter of time until this approach becomes the default.
Ricky Kapur is head of APAC for Zoom, bringing over 25 years of experience to his role. Prior to joining Zoom, Kapur was vice president of sales and marketing operations at Microsoft APAC. Before joining Microsoft, Kapur served as managing director at Google where he was responsible for overseeing the growth of the Google Cloud Platform across APJ. He also worked at Oracle, Siebel Systems, Unica Corporation, and Chordiant Software.
Matthew Donegan-Ryan has joined EventsAIR as CEO as of April 1, 2022
Global private equity firm The Riverside Company has invested in EventsAIR, an Australian events management software solutions provider.
This substantial investment in EventsAIR is one of the largest ever in a private events technology company.
Matthew Donegan-Ryan has joined EventsAIR as CEO as of April 1, 2022
Riverside will support EventsAIR with its international expansion plans around the globe and will drive the continued evolution of the product to maintain its market-leading features and functionality. Riverside will also selectively consider accretive M&A by targeting complementary event tech players or expanding into attractive adjacencies.
“Riverside views this investment as a highly compelling opportunity to build upon EventsAIR’s already impressive international footprint by targeting large and growing customer segments globally where the company has a clear competitive advantage,” said Riverside’s managing partner Simon Feiglin. “In addition, we will further enhance the management team.”
Additional investors taking part include EventsAIR’s founder, Trevor Gardiner, several other members of the management team, and incoming CEO Matthew Donegan-Ryan. Taking over from Gardiner, Donegan-Ryan brings deep event technology domain expertise and experience working with event planners, having worked in the industry for his entire career, including most recently at Hopin, Swapcard and Cvent.
Brisbane-headquartered EventsAIR develops software used before, during and after events to manage registration, attendee engagement, operations, housing, travel, marketing and communications. It has delivered more than 350,000 events across Asia-Pacific, EMEA and North America, for customers such as Reed Exhibitions, the British Medical Association, Telstra, and the Australian Department of Defence.
JW Marriott Bangkok in Thailand has pulled back the curtain on its latest unique venue, created to support event organisers in creating virtual and hybrid events.
Manhattan Studio
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Manhattan Studio is a real-time live stream platform, offering ultra-fast connectivity to link events from all over the world, and features a 7×6-metre green screen with full visual and audio system equipment.
Rates start at 25,000++ baht (US$746++) per hour, with a minimum booking of four hours. This includes live broadcasting, and a support team to handle all the technical aspects of the hybrid meeting with complimentary meeting facilities.
Banyan Tree Bangkok’s new Saffron Cruise takes business events and corporate groups onto the iconic Chao Phraya River for a cruise and dinner treat.
The lower dining deck can comfortably seat 100 people, while another 50 guests can occupy the Moon deck, where the open-air lounge and bar are also situated.
Saffon Cruise
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A three-hour dinner cruise costs 2,900 baht nett (US$87) per person, and includes one cocktail or mocktail, a five-course Thai dinner, and background music.
A complete buyout for 100 people costs 250,000 baht nett, and includes soft drinks, a Thai or international buffet dinner, and background music.
There is also the option of a 75 minute-long private sunset cocktail cruise inclusive of a one-hour limited open bar, and Thai canapes. This costs 75,000 baht nett and is good for groups of 50 people. Guests can embark at the Asiatique Pier or ICON Siam Pier 2. Every additional guest will be charged 1,500 baht nett.
Live entertainment and performance shows are available upon request and are subject to an additional charge.
Contact events-bangkok@banyantree.com for more information.
Blessed Yacht Charters has put a new Meridien 391 Power Boat Cabin Cruiser into the waters, ready to take holidaymakers and corporate groups around Singapore waters.
The 13m-long vessel, currently berthed at Marina At Keppel Bay, offers two air-conditioned cabins, a fully-equipped galley with refrigerator and microwave oven, a karaoke room with good sound system, and a flybridge at the upper deck that offers panoramic views and a spacious lounge.
It is good for small groups of 18 guests.
Floating mats, kayak, paddle boards, floats, fishing rods with artificial baits come part of the recreation package. Guests can charter the vessel for sailings to Lazarus Island or along Marina Bay to take in the city skyline.
Charter packages are priced at S$850 (US$625.40) for a four-hour block on a weekday, between 08.00 to 22.00, and at S$1,200 for weekends.
Guests can bring their own food and drinks at no extra charge.
Blessed Yacht Charters also provides BBQ pit rental and photography services at additional charges.
Contact info@blessedyacht.com for more information.
As the world begins to meet again after the disruption of the pandemic, Sydney’s offering is bigger and more diverse than ever, making the city an exciting proposition for future events. Here are just a few of Sydney’s new business event offerings.
Crown Towers Sydney
Home to Sydney’s highest hotel room, Crown Towers is a superbly luxurious hotel in Sydney’s newest waterside precinct Barangaroo. It has 349 rooms, suites and villas, with room sizes starting at a generous 47m2 and getting larger from there, right up to a 250m2 three-bedroom villa. The 20 villas come with check-in at a private lobby and a 24-hour butler service at guests’ disposal. The skyline-shaping Crown Towers complex also hosts several fine dining restaurants, including Nobu and Oncore by Clare Smyth.
A Harbour Bridge Suite at the new luxurious Crown Towers
Experience wildlife up close
The recently opened Wildlife Retreat at Taronga is an unmissable opportunity to experience an Australian wildlife oasis. Stay overnight in sustainable luxury at the boutique retreat built around a native wildlife habitat filled with koalas, wallabies, echidnas, and other Australian animals inside the conservation-driven Taronga Zoo. A short boat ride from Sydney’s city centre, incentive delegates might just wake up in the morning with a koala outside their window.
New Harbour Bridge Climb
See Sydney Harbour and the city’s landmarks from a new perspective with BridgeClimb Sydney. A knowledgeable guide will lead you to the peak of “the coat hanger” which forms the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge, 134m/440ft above sea level. The BridgeClimb team has recently introduced two new climbs: the Ultimate Climb, which takes groups to the north side of the bridge for the first time, and Burrawa, which is led by an Indigenous guide and tells stories of Sydney’s First Nations history.
The Burrawa is a new Harbour Bridge climb which tells stories of Sydney’s First Nations history.
Australian Museum
This cultural institution reopened in December 2020 after a 14-month $57.5 million renovation, debuting its most flexible event space to date right in the centre of the Australian Museum, partially surrounded by sandstone walls. The striking Hintze Hall can host up to 450 people for a cocktail event or up to 270 delegates seated and leads off into the museum’s exhibition spaces around and above it. Dramatic exhibition spaces can also host a night at the museum – drinks and dinners can be hosted in the shadow of a dinosaur or amongst a tribute to the extraordinary past and present animals of Australia.
The Australian Museum’s exhibits provide a unique event backdrop
Watersedge at Campbell’s Stores
After a multi-million-dollar restoration, Watersedge at Campbell’s Stores launched in The Rocks in mid-2021 between the Overseas Passenger Terminal and the Park Hyatt, with stunning views of both the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. The venue features a series of interconnected dedicated event spaces on its top floor which can each be hired individually for long table dining for up to 120 people or be used as a “blank canvas” event setting. The entire venue, including restaurant spaces on the bottom two floors and the ground floor outdoor terrace which extends onto Campbell’s Cove public thoroughfare can be hired for up to 5,000 attendees.
Watersedge at Campbell’s Stores features fine dining and event spaces, located on Sydney Harbour
The WINX Stand at Royal Randwick
At the end of 2021, a new large-scale event venue opened at Sydney’s inner-city racecourse, Royal Randwick. The WINX Stand, named after the record-breaking Australian racehorse, comprises three flexible spaces over two floors overlooking the turf. On the first floor, two gallery spaces can host up to 500 people each, with an interconnecting outdoor terrace. On the ground floor, there’s capacity for up to 3,000 people standing, or 1,800 for a seated meal, in an expansive space with ceilings of over 6m/19ft, which can open onto more outdoor space.
The Jackson
A new super yacht has just launched exclusively for incentive and corporate groups to cruise Sydney Harbour. With high-end finishes throughout all three indoor levels and outdoor decks, plus digital media walls on every floor, The Jackson can host up to 500 delegates standing across the entire vessel, 280 on a single level for formal dining or 420 people across two levels. The bespoke creative catering focuses on local seafood and beef and Australian wines, while the moving views of Sydney from the water are second to none.
As Hong Kong approaches friendlier entry requirements that will take effect this Friday, local event players remain doubtful of a business rebound.
Among the measures that will set in on April 1 are the lifting of a flight ban on nine countries and reduction of hotel quarantine requirement to seven days for all arrivals from overseas.
Hong Kong will need to relax more measures for business events to return
Liberty Hong Kong, CEO, Portia Hau, told TTGmice: “The easing measures will not benefit inbound MICE, as travellers are still required to serve quarantine for seven days when their average length of stay is three or four nights. Event organisers will not choose a destination with compulsory quarantine. Now, many other destinations in Asia have removed their quarantine requirement. Unless the trip is critical, event organisers will not consider Hong Kong.”
George Kai, deputy general manager, CTSHK Metropole International Travel Service, expressed concerns about the availability of flight capacity and hotel accommodation as Hong Kong opens up. He noted that passenger flights have not fully resumed, while event venues such as Asia-World Expo are now serving as community treatment facilities; a number of hotels are also functioning as quarantine facilities.
Industry players said business events recovery would take time, and some are confident that Hong Kong can rebuild her status as an important business events hub.
“Hong Kong has established herself as a strategic location and entry point to China. We are well equipped and trained for business events. We believe that a favourable business environment, as well as clear and strategic government policies, are crucial to rebuilding Hong Kong’s status as the business hub for Asia,” remarked CTM Asia’s CEO Larry Lo.
“A clear plan can help business leaders and investors in multinational companies to plan better for the future, and most importantly to maintain their operations in Hong Kong,” Lo added.
While Doris Lam, general manager of Momentous Asia Travel & Events, acknowledges that some exhibitions have moved away from Hong Kong, she said the destination should capitalise on her “unique position” as gateway to the Greater Bay Area – a region that connects Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau – to rebuild the industry.
She sees value in playing up what the Greater Bay Area has to offer for leisure and business travellers.
For now, she said, business events in Hong Kong will continue with their virtual or hybrid formats to overcome social restrictions and travel inconveniences.
Urbanview is the latest label to join RedDoorz’s multi-brand portfolio, with the new collection of accommodation being aimed at urban and business travellers who desire affordable, aesthetic and comfortable options.
Urbanview properties are strategically located in close proximities to key business districts, transport nodes, urban areas, and key tourist attractions. The firm currently has 50 Urbanview properties in Indonesia and the rooms are priced at an average rate of US$15 to US$20 per night.
Urbanview is starting off with a collection of 50 properties in Indonesia
Urbanview will provide travellers with amenities such as Wi-Fi, cable TV, and an atmosphere inspired by a natural oasis at an affordable price, while also adhering to RedDoorz’s proprietary HygienePass-certified cleanliness measures for travellers’ peace of mind.
Amit Saberwal, founder and CEO of RedDoorz, said: “We are pleased to announce the launch of Urbanview in our bid to provide greater quality and value for a larger spectrum of travellers within this region. Urbanview will allow our multi-brand strategy to tap onto a larger segment of travellers, driving us further towards our goal of being a key leader in the hospitality and tourism sector.
“As per Statista, in 2020, domestic tourism spending in South-east Asia totalled over US$106 billion. This was an increase from 2011, in which domestic tourism spending almost reached US$74 billion. We believe we have only scratched the surface in this region.”
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.
The 13m-long vessel, currently berthed at Marina At Keppel Bay, offers two air-conditioned cabins, a fully-equipped galley with refrigerator and microwave oven, a karaoke room with good sound system, and a flybridge at the upper deck that offers panoramic views and a spacious lounge.
