Bangkok mulls plan to allow vaccinated travellers to be exempted from quarantine from October 1
Thailand is considering scrapping its mandatory quarantine for vaccinated visitors to its capital Bangkok and other top tourist destinations from October, as it looks to rebuild its coronavirus-battered tourism industry.
Among the 10 provinces planned to welcome vaccinated tourists from October 1 are Pattaya, Phang Nga, Koh Samui, Krabi, and Bangkok, deputy government spokeswoman Traisulee Traisoranakul said on Friday (May 7), according to a Channel NewsAsia report.
Bangkok mulls plan to allow vaccinated travellers to be exempted from quarantine from October 1
The report also quoted Traisulee as saying in a statement that the new plan is expected to attract 3.5 million tourists this year, and generate 298 billion baht (US$9.5 billion) in revenue. However, she added, at least 70 per cent of residents in each of the 10 provinces must first be vaccinated for the plan to proceed.
Under current regulations, all foreign visitors to Thailand are required to undergo a 14-day quarantine in government-approved facilities.
In 2020, Penang recorded a total of 156 events with 19,283 participants and 48,963 room nights, despite the halt on international travel and limitations for business events.
This announcement was made by the Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) during a ‘buka puasa’ or iftar at The Wembley hotel last week. The iftar was also PCEB’s first official event of the year.
PCEB’s CEO Ashwin Gunasekeran, chief minister of Penang Chow Kon Yeow, Penang State Exco for Tourism and Creative Economy’s Yeoh Soon Hin, chairman of Malaysian Association of Hotels Penang Chapter Raj Kumar were among those present.
The launch also included a short video thanking the industry. The video compiled by PCEB showcased activities and initiatives conducted by the Penang State Government and Business Events Penang stakeholders throughout 2020.
“We have to keep in mind that the business events industry is built on the principle of collaboration and now more than ever, we have to cleverly harness its power, exhausting every potential avenue so that we can find opportunities for business together,” said Ashwin Gunasekeran, CEO of PCEB.
Oval Hotel, Adelaide is Australia’s first stadium hotel and one of only a handful of hotels in the world aligned to a sporting stadium.
The luxury boutique hotel offers 138 rooms, spanning two wings that integrate seamlessly with the existing stadium. Wrapping around the eastern facade of Adelaide Oval, each room overlooks the surrounding parklands and is designed to bring these picturesque views into the rooms.
Oval Hotel, Adelaide
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Surprising touches like a Tiffany-inspired minibar and automatic curtains upon room entry hint of a pleasantly unordinary stay.
The hotel is independently designed by South Australian firm Cox Architecture, which also led the Adelaide Oval stadium redevelopment and designed the hotel as a natural extension. The interiors are by Carr, featuring natural textures and enveloping furnishings for a feel of understated luxury.
On the ground floor, the Bespoke Wine Bar & Kitchen features a 2,000 bottle wine wall that stocks wine from across Australia, as well as international selections.
Connected to the hotel is the Adelaide Oval, South Australia’s 50,000 seat home for major cultural and sporting events, as well as the state’s main meetings and events offering. This includes 24 dedicated function spaces for anywhere between 10 and 2,000 delegates, with a variety of options from unique outdoor terraces to intimate meeting rooms overlooking the hallowed turf.
ICCA’s regional director for Asia-Pacific, Noor Ahmad Hamid, will leave his role on June 4, 2021, after having spent 12 years serving the association, supporting its members across the region’s meetings industry, and lifting the profile of the meetings profession.
Noor Ahmad Hamid has been the face of ICCA in the Asia-Pacific region for the last 12 years
In a letter to ICCA members on May 7, ICCA CEO Senthil Gopinath said a new regional director will be recruited. In the meantime, he will step in to lead the region with the support of existing ICCA regional staff – research and market analytics manager Kavitha Pragalathan; membership development manager Margaret Lu; and membership development executive Nusheena Mohd Shahimi.
Noor will be starting a new chapter in his career in the public sector.
unparalleled choice by having the best solutions for each managed travel segment that we serve
American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has entered a binding deal to acquire Egencia, Expedia Group’s corporate travel arm.
As part of the transaction, Expedia Group would become a shareholder in, and enter a long-term strategic commercial agreement with, AMEX GBT.
Both entities aim to provide the best solutions for each managed travel segment they serve
Together, GBT and Egencia would offer comprehensive technology and customer solutions across every segment of business travel. Teaming Egencia with GBT’s Supply MarketPlace – a source for content and experiences for business travellers – would give customers more choice and suppliers more access to business travelers.
Meanwhile, with both the Egencia platform and GBT’s Neo Technology Group, the business would be positioned to build the best solutions for the future of business travel.
Paul Abbott, AMEX GBT’s CEO, said that: “Egencia would be strengthened by GBT’s complementary technology, enterprise capabilities and cutting-edge content.”
He added that this deal would “create new opportunities for both multinational and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) clients, suppliers” and teams within both organisations.
Meanwhile, president of Expedia Business Services, Ariane Gori, said: “Expedia Group strongly believes in the robust return of travel, including in the corporate space. We’re excited about our potential ownership in GBT and our long-term arrangement to power Egencia and GBT, as we do for thousands of other travel companies.”
The proposed deal is subject to consultation by Expedia Group and Egencia with their applicable employee representatives, as well as customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals.
The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) has called upon the Commonwealth Government to extend the money available under the Business Events Grants Program to the industry immediately.
Claudia Sagripanti, EEAA’s chief executive said the association’s members need the AUSTRADE Business Events Grants Program to urgently reopen for new applications.
Sagripanti: many businesses need the funds to help them survive
“In September 2020, AUSTRADE opened applications for exhibitors and potential exhibitors, with A$50 million (US$38.6 million) available for assistance. The EEAA is aware of many exhibitors across a range of exhibition types and locations applying for and being approved and welcomed the speed with which AUSTRADE acted to process applications,” she said.
The fund was closed temporarily at the end of March. While the closure was announced as temporary, it isn’t clear whether there are funds leftover from the original A$50 million to assist the industry.
“If there is money left after currently approved applications, EEAA calls for applications to urgently reopen to distribute any remaining money.
The events sector was one of the first to be impacted by the Federal Government’s changes to mass gathering rules in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is one of the last to be reactivated. Many businesses, which are privately owned SMEs, lost over 90 per cent of their income, and have had no alternative ways of generating revenue due to these restrictions,” said Sagripanti.
Research conducted by the Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) shows the catastrophic impact of the pandemic and related closures on events: 96 per cent of events in 2021 were either cancelled or postponed.
Follow up research by BECA in late October 2020, showed the pandemic’s effects continued, with 62 per cent of event owners and planners cancelling or postponing events in 1Q2021. For the period January – June 2021, 57 per cent said they had cancelled or postponed events.
Sagripanti said: “Through BECA we worked with organisations across the sector to get the fairest possible structure for distribution of the fund, and one which would have had the biggest impact supporting employment across our sector.
“Exhibitions and events have restarted, but at a much lower level than pre-Covid. Giving the industry modest government assistance is the confidence boost needed to exhibit and get employment back to normal,” concluded Sagripanti.
Singapore's government takes steps to avoid second lockdown
Capacity at public facilities and social gatherings in Singapore will be reduced between May 8 and 30 as the city-state further tightens Covid-19 safety measures to counter a rising trend in community infections.
To minimise the likelihood of large cluster formations, the Singapore Ministry of Health will cut event sizes and require pre-event testing for events of certain sizes.
Singapore’s government takes steps to avoid second lockdown; Singapore skyline pictured
For MICE events and live performances, up to 250 people will be allowed, down from 750. In addition, pre-event testing will be required if there are more than 100 attendees. Tours will be able to accommodate a maximum of 20 people, down from 50.
Social and religious events such as weddings, funerals and worship services are also affected.
Operating capacity will be reduced from 65 per cent to 50 per cent at museums and public libraries, while companies must ensure that no more than 50 per cent of employees are at the workplace at any time, down from the current 75 per cent allowed capacity.
Meanwhile, only five people will be allowed to gather this month, reduced from previous groups of eight.
Co-chair of Singapore’s Covid-19 multi-ministry task force, Lawrence Wong, said at a press conference on May 4 that while the latest measures were not a lockdown, he did not rule out the possibility of taking such a tough measure should the situation worsen.
“If new unlinked cases continue to emerge in the coming days and weeks, then certainly, we will not hesitate to take even more stringent measures, even the possibility of having to enter another circuit breaker (lockdown) down the road,” he said.
support from the experts and the opportunity to network with peers
With the addition of regional experts, Professional Convention Management Association’s (PCMA) Digital Event Strategist (DES) course can now cater specifically for APAC business events and marketing professionals planning a hybrid or digital meeting.
The five regional experts appointed by PCMA include Deanna Varga, managing director and founder of Mayvin Global; Darren Chuckry, founder and managing partner, HK Initiative; Justin Choy, managing director of Hong Kong at Creative Technology; Jayson Chau, senior manager of digital at Sinclair Comms; and Deborah Caldwell, Asia Pacific head of event marketing, Bank of America.
Students taking the DES course will have support from the experts and the opportunity to network with peers
These APAC experts provide “expert hours” which include opportunities for mentoring, discussion and conversation on business events challenges from a local perspective.
DES is a six-week course of self-paced materials, with weekly expert hours. It will cover six modules from business planning and technology to marketing and measurement. Upon successfully completing the DES course, participants will remain certified for two years.
In the last 12 months, some 2,000 individuals have completed the course globally, and PCMA managing director APAC Karen Bolinger and her team have been working hard to tailor the DES program for the Asia Pacific region.
“The APAC Experts are a vital addition to the already popular course. In APAC we have unique challenges and are working through our post-COVID plans at different speeds to the rest of the world.”
Moreover, Bolinger added that “hybrid and digital events aren’t going anywhere”.
Varga said she is looking forward to helping shape the business events industry as a DES APAC Expert.
“I’ll be the DES Expert for ‘Business Planning and Monetisation’ and will help participants implement sustainable commercial strategies to drive revenue, profit and visitor engagement. I believe these skills are more important than ever before as we navigate the post-COVID environment.”
Ecklund: essential for the corporate travel industry to be highly adaptable to rapid change
Travel management company FCM is expecting a significant rebound in its global corporate travel business by year-end, with vaccination programmes well underway in key markets.
The gain in momentum is also leading to an increase in consumer confidence.
Ecklund: essential for the corporate travel industry to be highly adaptable to rapid change
The business, which operates in more than 95 countries, believes sales will continue to increase globally and is targeting 50 per cent of pre-COVID levels by the end of the year. Recent wins for the company include large and high-profile accounts, such as Procter & Gamble and Atos.
Marcus Eklund, FCM global managing director, said: “Based on early signs that vaccines are effective in preventing symptomatic infection, and with healthy vaccine rollout rates in key markets such as Australia, New Zealand, the US and UK, we expect health risks to reduce. In the absence of disruptions such as new strains, this should lead to an easing of government-imposed restrictions on domestic and international travel, and a partial rebound of the global business travel market by year-end.
“Based on our experiences, travel immediately rises by 20-30 per cent when restrictions are relaxed. A healthier rebound will occur if international borders remain open.”
FCM’s diverse customer base is playing a key role in future growth, with recent focus groups indicating high levels of pent-up demand.
Eklund said: “The mining, construction, pharma, energy and resources, FMCG manufacturing industries and their associated supply chains, together with governments and other growth companies, were responsible for most business travel activity during 2020. They will also drive early growth in travel activity this year, as their C-suite, customer-facing and sales executives recommence their traditional customer and team engagement.
Global research has also revealed the emergence of a new hybrid working model, with more than half of all employees expected to work from home several days a month.
As a result, Eklund expects some pre-pandemic travel activity will shift to virtual working models, leading to further consolidation in the corporate travel industry, as organisations increasingly seek travel management providers that are secure and demonstrate a strong duty of care.
A polished urban retreat designed for business travellers, Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown combines thoughtful design, seamless service, and exceptional facilities.
The five-star property excels in backing its expansive facilities with seamless service and personalised attention, setting the benchmark for luxury in Bangkok.
