Metro Manila to be placed under enhanced community quarantine for third time since the outbreak of Covid-19
In yet another setback for the Philippines’ tourism industry, the government has announced that Metro Manila will be placed under the most restrictive enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) from August 6 to 20 to stave off a surge of the highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19.
Under the ECQ, only essential industries are allowed to operate and public transportation either suspended or limited.
Metro Manila to be placed under enhanced community quarantine for third time since the outbreak of Covid-19
This comes after authorities extended the general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened and additional restrictions in Metro Manila, from July 30 to August 5, with leisure and business travel being prohibited.
Various destinations throughout the Philippines are in varying levels of lockdown.
Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific have cancelled a number of domestic flights following the immediate suspension of point-to-point flights for leisure. Returning flights are for tourists residing in the NCR Plus (metro Manila plus Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal).
Tourism secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat had informed the travel and tourism sector that from July 30, hotels are not allowed to accept leisure or staycation guests. Staycation guests residing in areas outside Metro Manila have to shorten their stay and return to their place of residence.
Essential meetings and social events are prohibited and dining is not allowed in restaurants in Metro Manila during the GCQ with heightened restrictions and ECQ.
Indoor tourist attractions have already been closed, and while outdoor attractions may operate at 30 per cent of maximum venue capacity, they will have to suspend operations by August 6.
Since July 30, point-to-point travel for leisure from NCR Plus areas has been banned. Accredited establishments outside NCR Plus areas are not allowed to accept leisure guests coming from NCR Plus areas, regardless of the date of the booking.
On August 1, the Philippines recorded 8,735 new Covid-19 cases, and 127 deaths. The country has reported 216 cases of the Delta variant, but health experts say the real number could be higher.
This is the third time metro Manila has entered ECQ, including the first at the onset of Covid-19 in March last year.
Like many social activities, corporate teambuilding programmes have been disrupted since early 2020 as governments enforced safe distancing requirements and companies began an unusual work-from-home experiment that has since become the norm in many Asian cities.
For Action Teams, a Singapore-based provider that has been in business since 1996, bookings tumbled almost 75 per cent.
Founder Raj Sandhu recalled how 2020 had started off strongly, with the whole year booked out with programmes all over the world, but spiraled into despair in February as the pandemic hit and clients either cancelled or paused their plans.
Other specialist providers, such as Asia Ability and smallWORLD Experience, saw bookings recede too. But even as governments eased restrictions and virtual teambuilding options emerged to connect remote teams, engagements throughout 2020 and 2021 are nowhere near pre-pandemic levels.
Slashed budgets due to poor corporate performance amid the global crisis, fatigue from daily online communications, and unfamiliarity with virtual teambuilding programmes are blamed for the slow pick-up.
What worries Sandhu most are companies freezing teambuilding activities because of human resource disruptions.
He explained: “Some clients have had to let people go. Hence, they feel that this isn’t a good time for teambuilding. But this is why now is a good time. If you are letting people go, the rest of the team will be worried. They will be wondering when it will be their turn.”
Sandhu said some clients also mistakenly believe that as long as teams were communicating daily via instant messaging tools, there was no need for engagement.
Lost connections
Elevated stress levels at work and remote work arrangements have presented employers with a welfare challenge, noted teambuilding specialists.
Ana Marques, general manager of Macau-based events specialist smallWORLD Experience, noted the downsides of isolation at the workplace: the growing lack of team interaction will dismantle team spirit, break down communications and eventually impact client servicing.
Remote work requires greater information sharing, as people could no longer simply walk over to a colleague for discussions, opined Marques. Teambuilding programmes can convey to participants the advantages of information sharing and identify ways to work efficiently with sharing tools.
Sandhu warned of staff burnout, especially as remote employees feel their purpose at work was just to generate results and go at it alone.
“This is the serious side of what we do,” commented David Powell, managing director of Asia Ability. “Teambuilding is often seen as being all about play. But the new work arrangements have highlighted the important values of teambuilding. Working remotely turns people’s attention to the task and away from relationships. By not conducting any team engagement now, companies risk team cohesiveness.”
Virtual uncertainty
While teambuilding specialists were able to translate their in-person teambuilding programmes for virtual use – and even craft new ones specifically for online interaction, they found themselves having to convincing clients to get onboard last year, as many companies struggled to make sense of the concept of remote work and video conferencing. This led Marques to describe the year 2020 as an “adaptation period”.
Powell: online teambuilding can be effective
“Many people were also waiting for things to get better and to return to in-person events. Different markets had different pandemic situations; some were improving and that fuelled hopes that things would return to normal soon. But as we have seen, conditions can go back and forth. Now, we are finally at a stage where people are realising that life as normal is actually some distance away and they are opening up to the idea of remote teambuilding,” said Powell.
As more clients came to accept their present situation and appreciated virtual and hybrid events, online teambuilding programmes started to see a brighter future this year, found Marques.
Teambuilding specialists were also challenged by the existence of simple and cheaper online games that competed with professional remote team engagement programmes – some of which disappointed corporate buyers and turned them off the real deal.
Sandhu said some competition came from escape room games that provided no real takeaways to achieve business goals. With prices as low as S$10 (US$7.30) per participant for these games, Sandhu said professional teambuilding providers are having a hard time competing, especially when clients are themselves unsure of what teambuilding truly means.
“For some companies, going bowling together or sharing a seafood dinner counts as teambuilding. Clients are comparing in-person experiential teambuilding programmes with (such options). To many of them, virtual teambuilding activities are perceived as just games, and therefore shouldn’t cost much.”
A real solution
Experienced teambuilding providers say clients have little to worry about the effectiveness of virtual teambuilding programmes, which are carefully designed to bring about similar results as a live engagement.
Sandhu: companies risk staff burnout
While Actions Teams had a programme matrix of 60-plus in-person activities, with each fulfilling specific team goals and serving different purposes, only 10 made the final cut for virtual conversion. Sandhu shared: “We had an intense discussion internally to determine which activities would translate well online. We have some excellent in-person activities that are not quite feasible as online versions, perhaps because it was not easy to put details on shared screens or on Google Drive.”
Actions Teams’s virtual selection attracted “great feedback”, with the company delivering five virtual and hybrid teambuilding events in November and December last year for clients in the thriving pharmaceutical industry, some of which engaged a global audience.
Powell believes that virtual teambuilding activities can be as effective as face-to-face versions – provided they are properly set up and designed to allow the same high level of energy and interaction.
“There is a lot of investment in the programme’s redesign to ensure we are doing it right,” said Powell, adding that most of Asia Ability’s virtual teambuilding programmes provide a higher facilitator-to-attendee ratio and more resources are channeled into demonstrations and rehearsals to prepare clients.
Since evolving its programmes in early-2020 to suit the online and hybrid event norm, Asia Ability has continued to innovate and today offers clients an opportunity to fulfill Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goals while engaging remote teams. It has also designed apps to collect live scores and other useful data for client’s real-time review.
Teambuilding specialists said virtual options offer some unique advantages, such as ease of preparations, lower logistical costs and time savings as participants do not need to travel and be far from their duties for too long.
Furthermore, a successful virtual teambuilding experience could even teach participants how to cope better with other forms of virtual engagements, added Powell.
Choosing the right option will depend on factors such as corporate theme and objectives; time constraints; team’s demographic; and team’s level of technical readiness, advised David Fotheringham, director, Asia Ability. Here is a graphic to guide your selection:
What happens when people are made to function almost daily at home with far reduced social interactions over a long period of time?
Social support is key to many individuals. Social support can take many forms, such as having a heart-to-heart talk with a close friend over a meal or going hiking with friend. It is really about having someone to turn to or lean on. Social support makes getting through tough times and emotional difficulties a little easier.
But with implementation of Covid-19 safety measures, particularly social distancing, reduced visitation at home and working from home arrangements, it limits people’s access to social support. Naturally, with prolonged reduced social interaction, it will reduce one’s ability to manage emotional difficulties.
At work, reduced social interactions can impact the quality of work and relationship with colleagues. Cohesiveness and trust is built through face-to-face interaction, so without enough of that mistrust and miscommunications can set in and give rise to conflict.
And as employees continue to work in silos, they can lose focus on the purpose of the entire group and instead see only themselves. In the long term, this can affect work efficiencies and erode motivation to keep working.
I’ve seen more social media conversations about mental well-being throughout the pandemic. Is there really a growing awareness of mental well-being?
As we observe each of the 21st century pandemics, we see imprints of psychosocial impacts and varying degrees of psychological effects such as anxiety, which is often reported as distress, fear or panic, as well as anger, depression, insomnia, social isolation, loneliness and even post-traumatic stress disorder.
Being more informed of the psychosocial impacts of past pandemics has led more mental healthcare professionals to bring this conversation to the public and to encourage help-seeking behaviour.
It also seems there are more mental health conversations now because of increased used of social media.
Are you seeing more individuals recognising and speaking up about their own mental well-being?
I am. As awareness of mental health grows, employers are showing more care about their staff’s mental well-being, such as by establishing an Employee Assistance Programme to provide accessible avenues for employees to seek help from.
Sometimes, people may not realise they are under stress. They may encounter more body aches, fall sick more often, or suffer more frequent or lasting migraines. People may therefore not go to a psychologist for help. Instead, they will go to a GP. The good thing is, GPs are now aware of the physiological symptoms of mental stress, and will refer patients to the right channel for help.
What can employers do?
First and foremost, employers or people in leadership roles must acknowledge the difficulties of working in current situations.
Second, they will need to connect with individual staff or with the team regularly, not just for work updates but also to find out how they are feeling and coping at home. Doing this brings back human interaction and show that they are not alone in this new and difficult situation. Furthermore, this also serves as a reminder that everyone is working as a team, and not as individuals, and support is available.
Third, they need to provide a helping hand to staff in need.
This was first published on TTGmice July-August 2021, as part of the cover feature, Teams under challenge.
Adrian Toh is a clinical psychologist at Thrive Family in Singapore. He also holds the role of vice president (development) at the Singapore Psychological Society.
The Singapore government is looking into relaxing rules for the fully-vaccinated in August, and the possibility of quarantine-free travel in the near future, said co-chair of the multi-ministry task force Lawrence Wong who was delivering a ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday.
This comes as 80 per cent of Singapore’s 5.7 million population is expected to be fully vaccinated by September.
Singapore has started moving towards living with Covid-19, with most restrictions expected to be lifted soon
A review will be done in early August, and if the virus situation is stable, Wong shared that the government will look into reviewing restrictions for fully-vaccinated individuals, ahead of August 18 (the supposed end date of Phase 2 Heightened Alert).
This, however, depends on infection clusters being controlled and hospitalisation rates remaining low. As such, individuals who want to dine in at a restaurant or exercise in a gym will also have to be fully vaccinated. The same goes for those who want to attend a large event or religious service with more than 100 people.
There’s also a possibility that Singapore residents who have received two doses would not need to serve a 14-day hotel quarantine when they return from overseas. Eventually, people may also be allowed without masks outdoors.
Should travel corridors be established, it will be with countries or regions where Covid-19 is under control.
Health minister Ong Ye Kung further stated that once effective vaccination of the population has been reached, Covid-19 would be treated like the flu – without contract tracing and quarantine in dedicated facilities. Hospitalisation will only be for those seriously ill.
He added that there will be shifts in health protocols, and if Covid-19 was to be endemic, having 200 or more cases a day may not be unusual. During the influenza season, infection rates numbered around 1,000 a day.
Certain health protocols are already in effect, for instance, the city-state has been admitting more Covid-19 patients aged 17 to 45 directly to community care facilities instead of hospitals. This age bracket will be expanded to age 59.
It has also shortened the length of stays in hospitals and community care facilities from 21 days to 14 days for the fully-vaccinated, and lets those who are fully inoculated serve quarantine at home instead of at government facilities.
However, Wong warned that new variants may also emerge, and could be more transmissible or lethal, which may force the government to reintroduce restrictions from time to time.
Constellar Holdings has retrenched 21 employees, equivalent to 12 per cent of its employees in the Singapore office, citing the prolonged impact of Covid-19 as a reason.
This exercise was conducted in close consultation with the Singapore Industrial & Services Employees’ Union, and with the support of the Employment and Employability Institute, to assist affected employees with advice and counsel in their career transition.
Constellar reiterates retrenchment exercise was a difficult one
Affected and eligible employees will get a retrenchment package based on their length of service. Constellar will also continue to extend medical insurance coverage to them until March 31, 2022, or when they find employment, whichever is earlier.
This move is despite having implemented cost reduction and a freeze on wages and hiring, tapping on government support such as the Jobs Support Scheme, and implementing management pay cuts of up to 30 per cent.
Since the circuit breaker in Singapore was implemented in April 2020, the events industry has been severely upended. Events in Singapore were suspended and were only allowed within strict capacity limits and safe events protocol from October 2020 with travel and border restrictions effectively in place. As a result, the majority of events had to be postponed or cancelled, while others had to be significantly downsized, or go digital or hybrid. This has resulted in a 95 per cent drop in physical events held at its managed venue, the Singapore EXPO & MAX Atria.
With a skeletal pipeline of events and the Covid-19 situation still unpredictable, Constellar said in a press statement that it has had to undertake this exercise to preserve financial resources and get ready to rebuild as the economy recovers.
“Like the rest of the events industry, we’re facing the hard truths of huge uncertainty, cautious sentiment, low business volume and continued cost pressures. The rightsizing decision is a deeply difficult one, after considering all options and scenarios,” a spokesperson for Constellar Holdings said.
will be the best platform for the local team specifically and for the Asia region to learn about the latest developments in bleeding disorders treatment and care in the new normal
The World Federation of Hemophilia (WFH) World Congress will be making its way to Malaysia in 2024 after an uneventful 2020 cancellation due to the pandemic.
The congress will bring the world best’s professionals in hemophilia to Malaysia for the first time to provide local healthcare professionals with opportunities to network, collaborate, share best practices among industry experts and finding solutions to save human lives.
The conference will be the best platform to learn about the latest developments in bleeding disorders treatment and care in the new normal
WFH has a global network of patient organisations in 122 countries and has official recognition from the World Health Organisation.
According to Jeremias Rodriguez, director – congress & meetings for World Federation of Hemophilia, the congress is returning to South-east Asia after a 20-year gap.
The announcement of this event is the first step towards restoring confidence in the nation’s ability to hold in-person events.
According to Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau’s CEO Abdul Khani Daud: “Supporting a health-focused congress such as the World Federation of Hemophilia is especially crucial during the Covid-19 crisis whereby it has made life challenging for people with a bleeding disorder. Unlike many medical congresses, this Congress is unique because it is attended by patients as well as medical experts, researchers, scientist and regulators. It acts as a platform for patients with bleeding disorders to gain new information from the medical aspect and learn about latest developments that could assist them in their daily lives.”
On July 21, the Catalonia Tourism Board (CTB) – in collaboration with the Spain Tourism Board in Singapore and part of ILTM Singapore – managed to launch their first in-person event since the pandemic, one day before Singapore went into lockdown for the third time.
The Catalonia Workplace, held at Andaz Singapore, aimed to stimulate interest in travel to Barcelona and the region of Catalonia, and welcomed a full attendance of 14 MICE and luxury buyers based in Singapore. The event also sought to bring Singaporean tourism professionals together and meet face-to-face, amid new meeting regulations.
At the Catalonia Workplace, CTB also unveiled a new tourism product, The Grand Tour of Catalonia. The Grand Tour of Catalonia offers 2,000km of circular itineraries that link iconic natural and cultural sites in the region, ranging from the Pyrenees mountains to the 500km of Mediterranean coastline.
Attendees got to taste and experience a little bit of the Grand Tour of Catalonia through artisanal gifts, and also a real-time video call from leaders and suppliers of the region.
The tourism board strongly believes that Singaporeans would be the first segment of travellers from Asia Pacific to head to Spain once travel restrictions are lifted. Singapore is one of the 10 countries outside of the European Union that have permission to enter Spain without being vaccinated or undergo quarantine, since European borders reopened on June 7.
Preferred Hotels & Resorts has rolled out WHERE NEXT? Buyouts – the second phase of its global WHERE NEXT? campaign.
Corporate groups and bleisure travellers can now select buyout options inclusive of entire floors, wings, or even full property takeovers at more than 135 independent luxury properties around the world.
Borneo Eagle Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
The WHERE NEXT? Buyouts offer is available for stays through December 31, 2022, with highlights in Asia including the Alma Resort in Cam Ranh, Vietnam; Borneo Eagle Resort in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia; and The Capitol Hotel Tokyu (Tokyo, Japan).
“Our global sales team has fielded more requests over the last six months for partial or entire hotel buyouts than ever before, so we launched WHERE NEXT? Buyouts to fuel inspiration among travellers and our loyal I Prefer guests while providing them with information on each of the tailored hotel options available to them,” said Alison McDermott, executive director of global merchandising and marketing for Preferred Hotels & Resorts.
“This continuation of the WHERE NEXT? global campaign is designed to appeal to many travellers and caters to different budgets and group sizes to offer exclusive solutions to everyone ready to reconnect and create memories.”
WHERE NEXT? Buyouts follows the May launch of WHERE NEXT? Experiences – an offer for two nights’ accommodation or longer at the best available rate, which extends complimentary daily breakfast for two, a locally-inspired experience for two, and fast track to I Prefer Elite status.
SAP Concur has appointed Matthew Goss as senior vice president & general manager for Asia Pacific Japan and Greater China.
Goss, who has over two decades of experience in the IT industry, will take charge of SAP Concur overall business operations in the region, growing the company’s customer base and market share.
An 18-year SAP Concur veteran, Goss was until his latest appointment, the managing director for SAP Concur Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). In that role, he grew SAP Concur’s ANZ revenue significantly, and established the SMB (Small and Mid-market Business) in ANZ.
Prior to that, Goss was instrumental in the establishment of the Concur shared services centre in the Philippines. The industry veteran has also held regional level senior leadership positions in client delivery.
Hyatt Hotels has opened the Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay, a newly-renovated property in Urayasu city in the Chiba Prefecture.
The eighth Hyatt Regency-branded hotel offers 350 guestrooms including 10 suites and 40 club rooms located on the ninth floor and above.
Terrace King Guestroom
Along with the Garden Terrace best suited for outdoor gatherings, Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay offers two function rooms, each spanning 98m2 of event space. Equipped with projectors, audio equipment and soundproofing, the meeting spaces can be used for hosting virtual meetings and presentations.
Other on-site amenities include the Regency Club lounge, and a 24-hour fitness centre. Guests can also go for a run on the jogging paths along the seafront.
There are also four F&B options – the all-day dining restaurant The Garden Brasserie & Bar; a traditional Edomae sushi restaurant, Sushi Ema; Teppanyaki Fukitei for premium Matsusaka beef, seafood and seasonal vegetables; and a rooftop bar with a panoramic view of Tokyo Bay.
Hyatt Regency Tokyo Bay, 30 minutes by train or car from central Tokyo, stands close to attractions such as the Tokyo Disney Resort, and Makuhari Messe, one of Japan’s largest convention centres.
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.
Founder Raj Sandhu recalled how 2020 had started off strongly, with the whole year booked out with programmes all over the world, but spiraled into despair in February as the pandemic hit and clients either cancelled or paused their plans.
