Volkert Geertsen and Jitti Sukee have been tapped to head up Sala Bang Pa-In, Sala Boutique’s soon-to-open hotel in Thailand.
Volkert Geertsen will oversee sala bang pa-in as cluster general manager of Sala Boutique, alongside his current responsibilities for Sala Rattanakosin Bangkok, Sala Lanna Chiang Mai, Sala Ayutthaya and sala Khaoyai. The Dutch has over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry, where 15 of which were spent in Thailand and South-east Asia.
From left: Volkert Geertse; and Jitti Sukee
Joining Geertsen as cluster hotel manager is Jitti Sukee, currently the hotel manager at Sala Rattanakosin Bangkok. The Thai national is a seasoned industry professional with over two decades of experience, and specialises in F&B.
The 24-key Sala Bang Pa-In is scheduled to start welcoming guests in March 2021.
Boosting spending in cities and regional communities through events will help kickstart a positive economic cycle by offsetting the losses suffered by many businesses during the pandemic
Tourism Australia launched the latest iteration of its domestic-focused business events campaign, Event Here This Year, to encourage more event planners and decision-makers to host an event in the country this year.
First launched in the wake of the 2019/20 summer bushfires, the recovery campaign seeks to drive increased demand across the sector by promoting the value of face-to-face events and showcasing the breadth and quality of Australia’s business events offering.
Boosting spending domestically through events will help kickstart a positive economic cycle by offsetting the losses suffered by many businesses during the pandemic
Tourism Australia’s managing director Phillipa Harrison said with some restrictions easing across the country, now is the perfect time to launch this latest marketing push.
“This critical part of our visitor economy directly contributed A$35.7 billion (US$28.1 billion) last financial year and provided employment to 229,000 people across the country, so it is important that we continue to provide support to this valuable sector.
“With international borders likely to remain closed for the foreseeable future, the recovery of Australia’s business events industry will undoubtedly be driven by Australian businesses and associations choosing to hold events here.
Led by Business Events Australia (BEA), the six-month-long Event Here This Year campaign is supported by BEA’s domestic partnership programme, the Business Events Boost Program, which provides funding for industry-led marketing and distribution projects to encourage business events activity in Australia.
As part of the nation-wide initiative, Tourism Australia is also encouraging the industry to adopt the campaign and messaging across their own marketing activities, with an Event Here This Year campaign toolkit available to download via the BEA website.
Separately, Tourism Australia has also launched its first WeChat Mini Program specifically dedicated to raising awareness and preference for Australia as a business events destination among event planners in Greater China.
The programme builds on the organisation’s existing digital presence in China including its WeChat channel and dedicated Chinese website.
The BEA WeChat Mini Program will act as an information hub featuring content on key Australian business events destinations, experiences, products, programme suggestions and success stories. It’ll also provide business event customers with useful research and planning tools, and facilitate information sharing and conversations between Chinese event planners and the BEA team.
“Prior to the pandemic, Greater China was the largest business events market for Australia by spend, injecting around A$470 million in 2019 alone. Keeping connected with the Chinese events industry is a key part of Business Events Australia’s COVID-19 recovery strategy,” said Penny Lion, executive general manager events at Tourism Australia.
Francis Teo (pictured) provides more details on the hybrid studio at Setia City Convention Centre
Although some business economic sectors have been allowed to reopen in Red Zone states under Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO), physical face-to-face business events are still not allowed.
As such, venue operators have been making preparations for the return of events, albeit in hybrid and virtual formats.
Francis Teo (pictured) reveals more details about the hybrid studio at Setia City Convention Centre in Penang
For instance, Setia City Convention Centre in Setia Alam, Selangor, has partnered with DOREMi Services & Rental to develop virtual and hybrid studios which it rolled out at the end of January.
The difference between the two is the hybrid studio allows for both onsite and online participation, whereas the virtual studio is more geared towards online business presentations and training.
Similarly over in Penang, head of convention centres of Setia City and Setia SPICE, Francis Teo, shared that its hybrid and virtual studios will be rolled out within this first quarter.
Teo added that as they don’t know when the ban on face-to-face meetings will be lifted, the studio recordings and virtual events that will take place will be a “new revenue stream” for them.
Both Setia convention centres have also recently boosted their bandwidth capability to 10GB to better serve hybrid and virtual events.
Meanwhile in the capital, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre’s general manager, Alan Pryor, shared that the Centre now offers brand new studios fitted with production-grade audio and visual equipment combined with 400 Mbps of Internet bandwidth, two separate power supplies, a dedicated network, and a qualified team of technical experts to help out.
Pryor noted that event organisers are now looking for venues that have pivoted to virtual and hybrid, and can offer expertise and guidance on the execution of such events.
He added that hybrid and virtual events will continue gaining traction this year and “remain a primary choice”, due to the uncertainties related to surrounding regional and international travel and the reopening of borders.
Business travel spending is forecast to grow 21% this year worldwide, helped by the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines
The latest Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Business Travel Index (BTI) Outlook for 2020 to 2024 forecasts business travel spending growth of 21.2 per cent this year after a drop of 51.5 per cent in 2020.
The 12th Annual Global Report & Forecast Prospects for Global Business Travel 2020-2024 study, conducted in partnership with Rockport Analytics, also forecasts business travel spending growth of 37.6 per cent, 11.4 per cent and 8.6 per cent in 2022, 2023 and 2024 respectively.
Business travel spending is forecast to grow this year worldwide, buoyed by the rollout of vaccines
The research – which covered 73 countries across 44 industries, published in January and released in early February – revealed that most of the gains are likely to come towards the end of the year with the ramping up of global vaccination against Covid-19.
The authors said: “These gains will accelerate in 2022 as the world enters the mid-to-late stages of recovery. This includes a significant pickup in group meeting activity and international business travel.
“We expect annual spending growth to slow in 2023 and 2024, but to remain well above the historical average growth with annual business travel spending eclipsing US$1.4 trillion by the end of 2024 just below its pre-pandemic peak of US$1.4 trillion.”
The economic outlook for China and other Asian economies is brighter, they added, as the economic shock came early and the region has been largely successful in combatting the spread of the virus.
“For countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Japan and Australia, trade links to China should boost their 2021 recoveries,” the report noted.
The Summary of Spending Growth by Country to 2024 show Vietnam increasing by 10.5 per cent followed by China at 6.4 per cent and Bangladesh at 5.5 per cent. In contrast, spending growth in Hong Kong is forecast to shrink 21.8 per cent, Singapore by 18.7 per cent and Thailand 16.7 per cent.
Findings from GBTA’s December 2020 member polling on the change in the allocation of budget show conferences, tradeshows and industry events expected to see the largest downward adjustment in budgets from 2019 to 2021 at minus five per cent; followed by internal company meetings with colleagues, at minus six per cent, as many will likely be moved online.
On the other hand, sales and service/support trips will both take on a larger share of travel budgets in 2021, at six per cent and five per cent respectively.
Given the extreme uncertainties surrounding the global recovery, the report also provides two global forecast scenarios – one optimistic and one pessimistic.
In the optimistic scenario, global inoculation occurs much faster than anticipated, corporate travel policy allows employees to get back on the road sooner than expected, countries open up their borders to inbound travellers and pent-up demand from missing over a year of critical business interactions sends business travel activity soaring back.
In this scenario, global business travel spending is expected to reach nearly US$1.6 trillion in 2024, 11 per cent higher than the pre-pandemic peak.
In the pessimistic scenario, the vaccine rollout is slower than expected and firms remain reticent to send workers back on the road. The rapid adoption of online meeting technology leads firms to be more cautious in sending employees out and less critical business trips are substituted for virtual meetings. In this scenario, global business travel spending is expected to reach only US$1.2 trillion by 2024.
Shifts in business travel activity by industries also show the most heavily impacted sector has been accommodations and food services activities with business travel in the sector plummeting an estimated 65 per cent globally in 2020.
Other heavily impacted sectors include administrative and support services, transportation and warehousing, and finance and insurance. Sectors that have fared better through the pandemic include real estate services, education, manufacturing and information and technology.
Chiruit: the objective of this virtual expo is to maintain Thailand's global competitiveness in MICE
The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) will be holding a Thailand MICE Virtual Expo from February 24-25, themed The River of New Era.
The full-fledged trade event will comprise a virtual exhibition of 30 booths by Thai exhibitors, two online panel discussions and six webinars featuring thought leaders from MICE and other strategic industries of Thailand. There will also be eight online workshops on Thai culture, ranging from a Thai Food demonstration to painting Thai puppets and facemasks.
Chiruit: the objective of this virtual expo is to maintain Thailand’s global competitiveness in MICE
Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, TCEB’s president, said that the industry cannot stand still even international flights are currently suspended. Instead, they must find new ways for Thai MICE entrepreneurs to connect with their overseas counterparts, showcase new products, and prepare for the future.
Thailand MICE Virtual Expo is expected to attract some 3,000 participants from around the world: 80 per cent from Asia-Pacific and 20 per cent from Europe and the US. It is also expected to help Thailand achieve the target of THB 64,000 million (US$2.1 million) in MICE revenue this year.
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Chiruit: the objective of this virtual expo is to maintain Thailand’s global competitiveness in MICE
Travel managers are in a unique position to provide insight to their organization about the impact of business travel on employee wellbeing – but many do not have the KPIs that they could use to measure and monitor traveller wellbeing
American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has published a report for travel managers that sets out a five-step framework for understanding and managing the impact of business travel on employees.
Developed by GBT’s Global Business Consulting team, On the road to wellbeing offers insights into duty of care as part of a safe return to business travel. The report further explains how travel managers can combine travel data with HR data, such as job codes or tenure, to gain a deeper understanding of how travel impacts individuals’ mental and physical health.
Travel managers will now have tools and KPIs they could use to measure and monitor traveller wellbeing
The report also sets out a five-step framework for greater visibility over traveller wellbeing, with advice on how travel managers can share insights on employee wellbeing with peers across their organisations.
The five steps are:
Impact: agree which aspects of business travel have the most impact on employees
Identify: develop traveller risk profiles to understand how travel impacts individual employees
Review: check that the company’s travel policy is updated with measures that support wellbeing such in-travel assistance and traveller-friendly expense allowances for food and drink
KPIs: introduce Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the performance of wellbeing initiatives and communicate on them across the organisation
Measure: make sure the travel satisfaction survey captures employee wellbeing
Equipped with insights into traveller wellbeing, travel managers would be in a better position to identify travellers at risk of fatigue or burnout, and introduce measures to support them, such as improvements in travel comfort or ‘time-for-time’ compensation for longhaul night flights.
The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) has hired Suzanne Neufang as its next executive director, leading the combined GBTA and the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE).
Neufang, whose diverse executive career has included senior leadership roles with several high-profile travel and technology companies, most recently served as senior vice president-Americas for HRS Global Hotel Solutions.
Before HRS, Neufang worked for 10 years as an executive leader with Sabre Travel Network, GetThere and Travelocity and later as a divisional chief marketing officer for Fortune 500 software giant Intuit. An active member of GBTA since 2005, Neufang led ACTE as board president from 2012 to 2014 and as a board member from 2014 to 2018. She also served as ACTE’s interim executive director during summer 2012.
“It’s not a secret that business travel is at an historic low point as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, but in crises we find opportunities to be bold and to excel,” said Neufang in a press statement.
“Business travel has been down before and we have recovered – always coming back more technologically savvy, data-focused, and globally connected. The key questions for me are when we as an industry will recover, and how we as GBTA can drive economic and industry recovery to be even faster.
“We need to emerge from this pandemic as a healthier, more transparent association, one with the strongest possible, globally-focused foundation.”
Neufang will take over on February 24 from Dave Hilfman, who since July 2020 has served as GBTA’s interim executive director. Hilfman will remain with GBTA in a temporary consulting role to smoothen the transition.
Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA) has appointed two new board members – David Perks from WellingtonNZ, and independent board director, David Downs.
David Perks is general manager, regional development, destination and attraction at WellingtonNZ, the capital’s economic development agency. He is also the chair of Regional Tourism NZ, is a board member of Tourism Industry Aotearoa, and has held several other appointed governance roles in tourism sector organisations.
From left: David Perks; and David Downs
David Downs is an industry veteran, and a chartered member of the Institute of Directors. Among his many roles, he leads the NZ Government’s Agritech taskforce. Previously, he was a general manager at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) in the technology sector, and for 13 years he was regional director for Microsoft in South-east Asia.
The other current board members are Prue Daly from New Zealand International Convention Centre, who is also the deputy chair; Georgina Grey from Accor New Zealand; Tracey Thomas from Conference Innovators; and Jake Downing from Weta Workshop.
The board also includes two co-opted non-voting members Lisa Gardiner from Tourism New Zealand, and Blair Catton, Air New Zealand, plus chief executive, Lisa Hopkins. Bjoern Spreitzer from Tourism New Zealand has been nominated to take over Lisa Gardiner’s seat when she takes parental leave in March.
The Standard, Huruvalhi Maldives, has appointed Jesper Soerensen to general manager for the property.
The Danish national with over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry moved to The Standard, Huruvalhi Maldives from his role as general manager at the Six Senses Hotels and Resorts in Singapore.
Prior to that, Soerensen was general manager at the Shore Club beachside resort under the Morgans Hotel Group in Miami Beach.
Before moving to Miami, Soerensen served as the director of rooms for St Martins Lane, a Morgans Hotel Group property in London. He was recruited as front office manager and promoted to be responsible for the performance of the room division.
South-east Asia has in recent years become an increasingly important market for Switzerland, with Asia as a whole delivering a growing number of tourists and corporate groups before the pandemic.
These figures are set to rise in coming years, especially as more companies recognise the country’s appeal as an incentive destination.
Paragliding in Interlaken
Picturesque meeting locations
The alpine country offers a long list of picturesque locations able to fit varying budgets and are suitable for a variety of events, from gala dinners to corporate meetings.
For example, located between Lausanne and Geneva, Portes des Iris offers six rooms that can host up to 700 guests for a sit-down dinner. Two terraces, which can accommodate up to 1,600 people, opens out to vast fields of green.
Over in Zurich, Bächlihof Jona on the banks of Lake Zürich offers both indoor and outdoor spaces for groups. Delegates can take part in a Farmer’s Tournament teambuilding activity that involves tractor-driving, wood-sawing and crossbow-shooting, before rounding the day off with a gala dinner complete with Swiss traditional music.
Despite its success with business events, Switzerland does not rest on its laurels. The country has continuously invested in new event facilities as well as refurbishment of existing ones to ensure they remain top notch.
Notable openings in the pipeline include The Circle Convention Center at Zurich Airport which will have over 2,800m2 of space across 18 venues. Providing accommodation support are two Hyatt hotels – a 255-key Hyatt Regency and a 299-key Hyatt Place. Over in Lausanne, the Millennium Center will offer a 500-seater theatre, a 450m2 ballroom, and 13 meeting rooms.
A plethora of activities
One of Switzerland’s unique selling points is the wide variety of social, cultural, urban and natural experiences all year-round.
Top winners in an incentive programme, for instance, can start their day with a tandem paragliding flight that soars high above the lakes and mountains of the Bernese Oberland.
They can then meet up with the rest of the group in Grindelwald for a spot of sledge building, an interesting activity not found in other parts of the world. Teams have to build a sledge out of materials such as old skis, car tyres, cushions, wire or cardboard.
A more sedate activity would involve taking the group to Bern, where delegates get to attend a half-day perfume-making workshop and take home a 50ml bottle of their own creation.
Similar activities include a three-hour-long watchmaking initiation workshop in Geneva; or learning about gin and creating one’s own concoction at the Turicum Gin Lab in Zurich.
During their free time, delegates can choose to visit the FIFA World Football Museum and explore over 3,000 exhibits; go on a guided tour of Lindt Home of Chocolate, which boasts the largest Lindt shop in the world; or hit one of the hiking trails in Grindelwald.
Pillar of support
Backing the country’s myriad offerings are Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau’s (SCIB) varying support policies.
For example, groups of 300 pax will be given access to an additional counter for tax refunds at the airport, while a 500-strong group will be provided with an award ceremony complete with a welcome speech by a local authority or a folklore music group as entertainment.
SCIB works with 20 other regional partners, such as in Lake Lucerne and Lake Geneva, who are happy to throw in other sweeteners. For example, Lake Lucerne Navigation Company offers a 10 per cent discount on charter cruises excluding F&B and additional services; while in Lake Geneva, Glacier 3000 offers a free Snowbus ride on the glacier.
Dominique Oi, M.I.C.E. manager Southeast Asia with SCIB, stated: “Switzerland is like no other country in the world. Already famous for its beauty and uniqueness of its landscapes, the country is also known to be safe, clean, dynamic and efficient. Put together, this makes Switzerland a compelling choice for your next business event.”
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