TTGmice will be taking a break on Thursday, May 13, for the Hari Raya celebrations in Singapore. News will resume on Tuesday, May 18.
Here’s wishing all our readers a Selamat Hari Raya!
Adelaide Oval welcomes a boutique hotel
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.
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.
Noor Ahmad Hamid to exit ICCA
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.
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.
Expedia sells Egencia to AMEX GBT
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.
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.
EEAA calls for immediate extension of Business Events Grants Program
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.
“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 tightens movement restrictions, stops short of 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.
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.
PCMA rolls out APAC-focused Digital Event Strategist Course
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.
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.”
FCM on track for 50% business recovery by year-end
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.
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.
Photo of the day: Seoul creates a new meeting point for tourism professionals
The capital of South Korea recently opened the Seoul Tourism Plaza, which is to serve as a new hub and meeting point for stakeholders in the tourism sector.
Thie one-stop plaza was built around four key points – communication, governance, incubating and innovation – with the aim of establishing a robust ecosystem for the local tourism industry.
On the first floor will be a tourism information centre and a souvenir shop, and there will be broadcasting studios, as well as numerous meeting rooms and lounges dotted throughout the building. These spaces will be open for classes and workshops to exchange information and knowledge.
The Seoul Tourism Organization will also be located in this building, while another two plaza floors will be dedicated to startups and professionals working on various tourism projects. Another government agency that will call Seoul Tourism Plaza home is the Seoul Tourism and MICE Center, which will offer professional consulting and counselling services for MICE stakeholders.
TTG Conversations: Innovator Chat with Aloysius Arlando, SingEx-Sphere Holdings
The launch of Connect@Changi – the first bubble facility dedicated to business travel – made waves when it was announced in Singapore in February 2021. Featuring a closed ventilation system, airtight meeting rooms split by glass walls and hotel room modules, the facility is set to shape the way Asian corporates travel for work in the new world.
Aloysius Arlando, chief executive, venues, SingEx-Sphere Holdings, shares how Singapore’s pioneering business travel bubble facility will help revive MICE traffic in Asia and position the country as a meeting point for the region’s corporates, as well as serve as a “living laboratory” for global Covid-19 management strategies.
Kicking off the May 2021 season of TTG Conversations: Innovator Chat, Arlando speaks with TTGmice to share how Connect@Changi is jumpstarting business travel.
Reviews
The Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok
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Mama Shelter Zurich
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
Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown
A polished urban retreat designed for business travellers, Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown combines thoughtful design, seamless service, and exceptional facilities.
