ASM Global is increasing its footprint in the Asia Pacific region with the announcement of a new regional headquarters in Singapore, and plans to grow its overall operations in the region.
ASM Global CEO and president Ron Bension said: “We believe that this part of the world is ready for a phase of robust growth, and we’re investing in personnel and plans to ensure we’re at the forefront of a significant growth curve.”
Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong
Currently, examples of the region’s vast potential include ASM’s under-construction Kai Tak Sports Park, a sports infrastructure in Hong Kong; the Shenzhen World Exhibition and Convention Center; and six future arenas confirmed to be managed by ASM Global.
ASM Global Singapore will have a joint leadership team comprising two long-term industry specialists. Executive vice president, operations, Paul Sergeant, is a veteran 30-year venue management industry leader who has been with ASM Global for three years, most recently as senior vice president.
Joining Sergeant is Ed Sanderson as executive vice president, venue development, who possesses 20 years of commercial and operational experience in venues and facilities across Asia, most recently with Populous.
Both men are expected to take up their roles in Singapore by the end of the year.
Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai added to the VTL network
Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its low-cost arm Scoot will restart flights between Singapore and India, under a vaccinated travel lane scheme (VTL) marking the resumption of scheduled flights between the two countries after nearly two years.
From November 29, SIA will operate daily VTL services from Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai to Singapore. The flights are open for booking, and will be indicated as VTL flights on the airline’s website accordingly.
Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai added to the VTL network
Additionally, SIA will progressively operate non-VTL services from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Kolkata to Singapore from November 29.
Scoot will operate four weekly non-VTL services between Singapore and Hyderabad from November 30, and three weekly non-VTL services between Singapore and Tiruchirappalli from December 2.
Three new individuals have been appointed to Meetings & Events Australia’s (MEA) Board at its recently held annual general meeting (AGM).
Valid nominations were received from nine candidates whose profiles and policy statements were presented to MEA members with voting eligibility.
Three positions were contested following resignations by incumbent directors Nigel Collin, Kirsty Forbes and Paula Nolan.
The ballot produced a clear result which saw the three highest vote counts be received by:
• Megan Peters, general manager, Lateral Event Management
• Tina Eggers, director of business development, The Venues Collection
• Vicky Troptsidis, an individual member based in South Australia
A meeting of the new Board was held subsequent to the AGM, at which the offices of chair, deputy chair, treasurer and company secretary were also determined.
These office bearers moving forward are:
• Chair: Michael Firman, Harry the hirer
• Deputy chair: Beverley Williamson, Melbourne Convention Bureau
• Treasurer: Paul Davison, SMC Conference & Function Centre
• Company secretary: Peter McDonald, MEA CEO
Accor has opened the Grand Mercure Malang Mirama, in partnership with PT. Mirama Wisata, in Malang, the second biggest city in East Java Province.
Grand Mercure Malang Mirama boasts 264 rooms and suites with picturesque views. All rooms are inspired by Batik, the Indonesian cultural icon, and adorned with local artwork. High tech solutions, including a smart television system and high-speed Wi-Fi, are also available in every room.
The hotel’s convention facilities comprise the city’s largest, pillarless grand ballroom, able to accommodate up to 2,200 guests; and 12 function rooms.
Recreational facilities include an outdoor swimming pool, gym, jacuzzi, spa and sauna. There are also five F&B options on-site, from the multi-cuisine all-day dining Trimurti, to the modern Japanese restaurant Ebisu.
Grand Mercure Malang Mirama is located just 10 minutes away from the exit toll gate of Singosari, and 15 minutes from Abdul Rachman Saleh Airport.
Japan is well on its way to welcoming back business events in 2022, according to the Japan Convention Bureau (JCB), which is building on successful hybrid and face-to-face events, and raising awareness of new programmes among event organisers.
A mythical beast stands tall on an Okinawan beach; snowshoeing in Hokkaido
“We are well prepared to host business events in the post-pandemic period,” said Etsuko Kawasaki, executive director of the JCB, pointing to an uptick in enquiries about incentive travel and several successful bids for international conferences scheduled for the next four years.
Kawasaki and her team have launched a range of programmes designed to make the most of their respective host regions, such as natural and cultural heritage, and demand in the post-pandemic period for “well-being, mindfulness and outdoor activities.” The new initiative will allow participants to contribute towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in areas such as protecting traditional cultures and the natural environment. Options include sea and snow activities, such as karate practice on the beach in Okinawa and snowshoeing in Hokkaido.
The JCB is also preparing virtual tour videos of 10 cities, designed specifically for international conference organisers. Kawasaki said the videos, which are scheduled for completion by March 2022, will “introduce the potential of each city as a host and show their allure by highlighting their strengths and individuality.”
Plans are also underway to hold online seminars and trade marts on inbound incentive travel. These activities will target Asian source markets, “where recovery seems to be relatively quick and there is strong demand for incentive travel to Japan,” she added.
From left: Mark Winterton, Walid Ouezini and Sahil Rahat
IHG Hotels & Resorts has revealed the senior leadership team at voco Orchard Singapore ahead of the hotel’s rebrand from Hilton Singapore on January 1, 2022.
The appointments will see Mark Winterton return to Singapore as general manager, and see Sahil Rahat step into the role of director of sales & marketing. Walid Ouezini will also start as hotel manager in January 2022.
From left: Mark Winterton, Walid Ouezini and Sahil Rahat
Winterton returns to Singapore after a three-year stint with IHG Australia, to spearhead the pre-opening conversion operations.
He first moved to Asia in 2007, and has since successfully launched new IHG hotels such as Crowne Plaza Changi Airport, Holiday Inn Express Singapore Clarke Quay and InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay, and rebranded the Crowne Plaza Bangkok Lumpini Park in Thailand.
Next, Rahat will lead the charge of developing and executing the overall commercial strategies of the hotel. Prior to joining voco Orchard Singapore, Rahat held dual responsibilities as director of sales, marketing and revenue, and acting director of operations at Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre. Having been with IHG for more than 10 years, he brings a wealth of experience across the different markets and all aspects of commercial deliverables.
Lastly, Ouezini has led operations at the Orchard Road Hotel since he joined as hotel manager in 2019. He has been instrumental in spearheading major projects for the hotel. Post-rebranding, he will continue to take on the role as hotel manager effective January 1, 2022, and lead daily hotel operations.
Ouezini started his career in F&B and has over 18 years of hospitality experience across luxury and lifestyle brands in France, Tunisia, Maldives and South-east Asia.
Marking the brand’s debut in South-east Asia when it opens on January 1, 2022, voco Orchard Singapore will offer 423 contemporary rooms, four restaurants and bars, and more than 1,750m2 of meeting and event space.
Voco Orchard Singapore will be IHG’s 12th hotel in Singapore and its seventh brand in the country where it joins Regent, InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express.
Azerai Can Tho in the Mekong Delta has appointed Nicolas Pillet as its new general manager.
The French national brings a strong culinary background to Azerai Can Tho, having studied cuisine as part of his hospitality education in Nantes. Pillet has worked with several internationally recognized brands in his career, including the Eastern & Oriental Express, where he was general manager of South-east Asia’s only luxury sleeper train, and most recently as the general manager of Amanoi, the Aman property in Ninh Thuan, Vietnam.
Australia’s first Kimpton property, Kimpton Margot Sydney has announced that Bruce Ryde has joined the hotel as general manager.
Ryde has a long history of both operating hotels and leading global brands across Asia Pacific. Most recently, Ryde worked with owners John and Karina Stewart on their holistic wellness brand, Kamalaya, in Thailand, where he helped expand Kamalaya’s diverse range of solutions, improving its digital reach and launching an online platform, Kamalaya Connect.
Previously, the Australian managed the luxury brand strategy for Marriott International’s brands, amongst them The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, JW Marriott, The Luxury Collection and W Hotels as vice president Asia Pacific. Prior to that, Ryde held the same position with IHG, overseeing the InterContinental brand as well as the launch of the Hotel Indigo and Kimpton brands in Asia Pacific.
Ryde will also act as the brand guardian for Pro-invest Group’s growing luxury and lifestyle portfolio.
From left: Changi Airport; and Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Corporate travel management companies are seeing an increase in enquiries, searches, and bookings since the Singapore-Malaysia Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) was announced on November 8, 2021, signalling a strong desire to resume travel on what was once the busiest international travel route pre-pandemic.
A BCD Travel spokesperson shared that there has been “almost two-folds of enquires coming through from both Singapore and Malaysian travellers”, but noted that some clients remained “cautious”.
The VTL between Singapore’s Changi Airport (left), and Kuala Lumpur International Airport (right) will open on November 29
Joanne Taylor, senior director, FCM Consulting Asia, echoes the observation, saying that there is “an indication of interest and pent-up demand but many have yet to take the plunge to book”.
Taylor added that the FCM team has observed a projected spike in seat capacity – almost 40,000 seats – for the week of November 29 to December 5.
“Prior to this, total seat capacity on the Singapore-Malaysia route was low and almost flat for most of the last 18 months,” she said.
Issued flight tickets data is supporting the observations. According to Jameson Wong, ForwardKeys’ vice president strategic clients & partnerships Asia Pacific, a 28-fold increase in air tickets issued for flights from Changi Airport (SIN) to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) was recorded on the day of the VTL announcement.
“This is not surprising. Before the pandemic, the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur air route was among the busiest in the world; it was like a 24/7 sky shuttle in the neighbourhood. Its revival is symbolic – underscoring that normalcy is in sight,” commented Wong.
ForwardKeys’ Air Ticket Data further revealed that 80 per cent of the issued air tickets for SIN-KUL were return tickets and 20 per cent were one-way tickets.
On whom were the most keen to hop on the SIN-KUL VTL, Wong said: “A cocktail of Malaysian PMEBs (Professionals, Managers, Executives and Businessmen) working in Singapore who are anxious to reunite with families and do not want to wait for the land borders to reopen; business travellers who are seizing the opportunity at bleisure, given Kuala Lumpur’s affordability in terms of travel time and budget; as well as pure leisure travellers who simply want to jump on a plane and fly out to the nearest city which they are familiar with.”
Taylor noted that Singapore’s recent VTL announcements have shown that business travel returns quickly once restrictions are lifted.
“If the momentum keeps up, seat capacity on the Singapore-Malaysia route could well return to pre-Covid levels by March 2022,” she said.
Pre-Covid, the combined business travel spend for the Singapore-Malaysia business travel industry was US$22.6 billion, but it has since contracted by 75 per cent, FCM Consulting Asia shared.
Hoteliers are also upbeat about the news, calling the VTL a positive sign and a step in the right direction for both countries.
Paul Hutton, area vice president, head of South-east Asia, for Hilton shared that his hotels have “received strong interest for meetings and events, both from Singapore and Malaysia, from late 2021 through to 1H2022”.
He added that Singapore was one of the “top source markets” for Hilton hotels in Malaysia before the pandemic.
A spokesperson for Desaru Coast integrated destination resort in south-eastern Johor of Malaysia expects the VTL to return a sense of normalcy to travel, and hopes that the VTL will be expanded to include land border arrangements to allow the tourist district to benefit from its close proximity to Singapore.
there is optimism overall as the industry, companies and travelers worldwide lean into recovery and the much-needed return to business travel.
Business travel recovery in 2021 proceeded at a slower, more cautionary pace than expected from a year ago. However, global business travel spending is expected to surge in 2022 with full recovery expected in 2024, ending the year on pace with the 2019 pre-pandemic spend of US$1.4 trillion, and a year sooner than previously forecast.
This is according to the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), which released the results of its latest business travel index – the BTI Outlook.
There is optimism overall as the industry, companies and travellers worldwide lean into recovery and the much-needed return to business travel
The report provides a detailed analysis of business travel in 2021 with projections for 2022 and beyond, including post-Covid-19 recovery forecasts. Now in its 13th edition, the BTI Outlook is an annual study of business travel spending and growth covering 73 countries across 44 industries.
New first-time additions this year include survey insights from global senior financial executives as well as business travellers.
Forecasts and analysis highlights from the latest BTI Outlook Global business travel activity has begun its rebound from the sharp downturn brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. After declining 53.8% in 2020 to US$661 billion, global expenditures are expected to have rebounded 14% in 2021 to US$754 billion. This was more slowly than forecast in GBTA’s previous BTI Outlook report issued in February 2021.
Despite recovery setbacks in 2021, a year-over-year surge of 38% is expected in 2022 as recovery and pent-up demand kicks into a higher gear, bringing global business travel spending back to over US$1 trillion.
Recovery will continue into 2023, with global spending rising 23% year-over-year as even more international and group travel comes back online.
By 2024, global business travel is forecast to have made a full recovery, ending the year at US$1.5 trillion or just above the 2019 pre-pandemic spend of US$1.4 trillion.
In 2025, global business travel growth is forecast to slow to 4.3% – just below the 10-year average growth rate of 5.1% coming into 2020 – ending the year at a forecasted US$1.5 trillion.
However, persistent COVID-related threats and disruptions, supply chain strains, labour shortages, rising inflation, increased costs, and lagging recovery in Asian markets are just a few of the risks for continued on-target recovery. Additionally, yet to be determined are the potential impacts of emerging factors including broad adoption of remote working models, long term cuts or elimination of business trips and travel volume, and the increased focus on sustainability practices and policies for business travel.
Other key findings from GBTA’s BTI Outlook include analysis of 2021 challenges for the business travel industry as well as recovery outlook into 2025.
Business travel faces headwinds in 2021 The global business travel recovery that began in late 2020 hit a fair number of bumps in 2021. Pandemic surges, variant introductions, uneven vaccination rates, and mounting supply chain challenges all took their toll on previously forecast growth expectations.
North America led the recovery, the US in particular, rebounding 27% in 2021. Business travel markets in Latin America, Middle East and Africa (MEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) all picked up 15% to 20% growth in 2021.
European markets have lagged in 2021. Emerging Europe is expected to gain only 10% and for the region of Western Europe, business travel expenditures for 2021 are expected to fall 3.8% from 2020 levels. This stems from early year underperformance, but with recent resurgence, business travel demand in the region is set to outpace most other parts of the world, barring any Covid-related setbacks.
Recovery in APAC has been slower, due to lagging border re-openings and a high dependence on international business travel. China’s expected growth was downgraded last year due to challenges posed by financial and other issues which could signal larger risks.
Business travel recovery will also vary by industry. Professional and business services and real estate have been resilient to date, while wholesale trade has been challenged. Accommodation and food services, arts, entertainment and recreation, and retail trade, which were significantly impacted during the pandemic, are expected to recover sharply over the forecast period.
View from the C-suite In a poll of 40 CFOs across North America, Latin America, APAC and Europe, 70% felt in 2022 the overall economy in their country would be better or much better than in 2021.
About half (52%) of respondents reported they expect their company’s business travel spend to reach 2019 levels in 2022.
When asked about the importance of business travel for their company, CFOs felt the top return-on-investment reasons for business travel are sales and business development (68%), internal business planning and strategy (50%), client account management (48%) and employee training and development (48%).
Business travellers are ready and willing Among 400 global business travellers polled, 86% report that they need travel to accomplish their business goals.
A majority (81%) believe that their volume of domestic business travel will be greater or on par in 2022 than it was prior to the pandemic.
Over half (54%) miss travelling and hope to travel more often in the future. However, 43% wouldn’t mind travelling less in the future, whether they indicated they miss it or not.
Four in five (81%) of business travellers say their company requires vaccines for travel and in-person meetings.
Challenges to the pace of recovery Global GDP growth is expected to reach 5.8% for 2021 and 4.2% in 2022. Should another wave of Covid materialise, China further decelerates, and/or an energy shortage intensifies, more downward revisions may be necessary.
The BTI Outlook outlines four conditions necessary for full recovery in global business travel: 1) the global vaccination effort, 2) national travel policy, 3) business traveller sentiment, and 4) corporate travel management policy. The recovery remains highly dependent on the vaccine rollout, employees’ return to the office, and normalisation of travel policies on both the national and corporate levels. Travel managers will also face the challenge of juggling duty of care with rising costs, sustainability priorities, and new considerations on the ROI of business travel.
GBTA members can download a full copy of the BTI Outlook on the GBTA members-only hub. The report was conducted in partnership with Rockport Analytics, a research and analytical consulting firm, and made possible by HRS.
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