Japan is preparing to gradually reopen its borders to business travellers from countries that have shown success in bringing Covid-19 transmission under control.
From October 2020, up to 1,000 travellers will be granted entry per day to stay in Japan for business or other non-tourism purposes for more than three months.
Business travellers will soon be allowed to stay in Japan for more than three months; Osaka’s Umeda district pictured
All entrants will be required to pass a polymerase chain reaction test before departing for Japan and again on arrival. They will also have to self-quarantine for two weeks and agree to abide by rules to prevent the spread of Covid-19, which include signing a “commitment form” and naming someone in Japan who can be their guarantor.
The move builds on steps Japan took in July to resume travel with 16 countries that have contained the spread of the virus. Japan now allows entry to expatriates and long-term residents of seven countries in Asia, including Cambodia and Malaysia, and launched its first green lane to welcome business travellers from Singapore from September 18.
For outbound travel, Japan is also set to ease its advisory in next month. The Foreign Ministry currently classifies 159 countries and regions with a travel advisory of Level 3, which warns against all travel, but is expected to lower the advisory for countries that have shown control over Covid-19 transmission. Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam might be among the first countries to be reduced to Level 2, meaning that non-essential travel should be avoided, according to a report in The Japan Times.
A lonely Merlion spews water at Merlion Park, a tourist attraction in better days
• International tourism recovery could take “three to five years”, says Singapore’s tourism chief
• Agility and creative innovation key enablers to drive tourism recovery
• Businesses that harmonise tech and human touch will be more prepared to play in the new normal of travel
A lonely Merlion spews water at Merlion Park, a tourist attraction in better days
Nine months into the Covid crisis, which has rewritten the playbook for Singapore’s tourism industry, local players have proven their agility in adapting to a new reality. In this changed landscape, brands have had to seek out new growth opportunities, retune their business plans, unlearn old habits and adopt new ones.
However, tackling the pandemic and its aftermath will be a marathon, not a sprint. And more needs to be done to ensure the long-term survival of the tourism sector as it braces itself for recovery.
Painting a gloomy forecast of the path forward, Singapore Tourism Board CEO Keith Tan said “there is a long road to recovery ahead” and “frankly, from where I stand, I am not sure I see any light at the end of the tunnel”.
He predicted that even if a vaccine was found by year-end or at the start of 2021, it would take “possibly three to five years” for international arrival numbers to return to 2019 levels.
“We must be prepared for a long winter,” he said, but stressed that in the interim, “we cannot simply be in hibernation”. Rather, Singapore needs to continue working to ensure that the destination remains top of mind for high-value business and leisure travellers.
Tan was speaking to industry stakeholders at the SG Tourism Roundtable: Navigating the Covid Storm webinar organised by PATA. The two-hour session saw players from the hotel, retail, travel agency and attractions sectors sharing how Covid-19 has disrupted their industry, and lessons learnt.
In his opening remarks, Tan urged tourism stakeholders to identify their existing capabilities that set Singapore apart from her competitors, and pledged the government’s support in sustaining those capabilities.
He also encouraged players to be creative in finding new revenue streams, such as pivoting to digital platforms, and called on businesses traditionally reliant on foreign visitors to reposition their business to target locals more effectively.
Tan warned stakeholders not to expect the tourism industry to return to pre-Covid normal, even after travel rebounds. “There will be permanent, lasting changes to the mindsets and expectations of travellers. So we must change, we must improve or else many of us will not survive,” he said.
Predicting that in the new normal where people will travel less and seek unique travel experiences, Tan said the industry needs to be prepared to meet that thirst for more exclusive and smaller-scale experiences.
Likewise, Kevin Cheong, chairman, Association of Singapore Attractions, urged local attraction operators to create unique, authentic and original experiences.
“Nobody came to Singapore to see more of China… For too long a time, we have been copying (from our foreign counterparts). We need to develop our own unique content (and) our own local stories (that) really pull the heartstrings of our guests,” he said.
Creating new revenue streams With sustained international border closures, the hotel industry remains in “critical financial crisis”, said Margaret Heng, executive director, Singapore Hotel Association (SHA).
However, she noted, nimble-minded hotels in Singapore have been quick to pivot to incremental revenue streams, such as creative takeaways, F&B delivery services, online gift shops, and most recently, ‘workations’ – a staycation for work – to boost weekday demand.
The pandemic has also forced brick-and-mortar brands to rethink their business model. In light of current capacity limits due to safe distancing measures, local cinema operators have struggled to break even, according to Terence Heng, vice president, Shaw Theatres.
This will still be the case when capacity limits at cinemas are raised from October 1. Large cinema halls with more than 300 seats will be allowed to admit up to 150 patrons in three zones of 50 patrons, while smaller cinema halls will be permitted to up their capacity to 50 per cent of their original operating capacity or stick to the current limit of up to 50 patrons per hall.
Adding on to the woes of cinema operators is the move by many studios to push back movie release dates, or air titles on streaming services.
To diversify its business, Shaw Theatres in July launched a virtual cinema, KinoLounge, streaming indie, arthouse flicks not screened in local theatres. Unlike its physical counterpart, the online platform can showcase Q&A sessions with the directors and filmmakers, offering “a new level of in-depth interaction”, Heng said.
He added that the company is on a constant hunt for alternative content for its physical cinemas. It also has plans to expand its F&B offerings, with the possibility of pivoting to home delivery, he said.
Stronger together
During times of crisis, it becomes all the more crucial for industry stakeholders to band together for a stronger fight.
Tan urged various establishments to come together to create meaningful and exclusive packages and bundles to appeal to more discerning travellers, including locals.
Collective synergies play a key role in recovery, said SHA’s Heng, noting that “without the government’s support, the private sector alone cannot survive the crisis”. She added that collaboration has helped Singapore “to emerge stronger in comparison to many other countries”.
Singing the same tune, Steven Ler, president, National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS), urged agents to be more open to sharing resources and working collaboratively. There is room for greater collaboration, even across sectors, he stressed.
Looking ahead, NATAS plans to create more collaborative platforms for agents to work together to explore new opportunities such as jointly developing back-end solutions, Ler shared.
In the retail sector, collaboration between landlords and tenants needs to be strengthened, opined Rose Tong, executive director, Singapore Retailers Association. “There should be more equal sharing of responsibilities in shopper traffic and sales acquisitions. We will be looking and expecting more flexible lease structures, shorter lease periods, and less onerous lease terms,” she said.
Marrying high-tech and high-touch
Technology has become a critical enabler for businesses across the tourism value chain to continue engaging with customers and generating revenue amid the pandemic.
This point was driven across by Tan, who urged the industry to step up to create more seamless and digitally-enabled experiences for visitors. “To survive and to thrive, all of us have to be armed with the right data, insights and the abilities to scale new products and experiences faster,” he said.
He urged stakeholders to leverage STB’s suite of smart services that allow businesses to tap into data to target customers more smartly and to guide their business decisions.
But while Covid has hastened the shift to contactless interactions, panellists stressed that high-touch still play a key role in a high-tech world.
“The relationship between offline and online retail is now more important than ever, and brands that cannot combine or marry the two will find it hard to sustain or even be profitable,” Tong said.
Stressing the importance of human touch, Ler said the role of travel agents has become “more relevant in this critical time” where uncertainty surrounding travel has thrown up a lot of questions for aspiring travellers. “We (agents) can be better prepared to have (relevant travel) information (on hand) to share with the customers as we guide them through the booking process,” he said.
At the end of the day, the sector must unite to push for growth, and accept that the new normal is here to stay.
The International Dental Exhibition and Meeting (IDEM) will call Marina Bay Sands its new home from 2022 onwards, as well as unveiled its new logo.
Due to the pandemic, the event went digital this year, but organisers have noted that “immersive and interactive nature of physical events cannot be replicated remotely”, and gone ahead to announce that the next edition will be held from April 8-10, 2022.
Singapore’s MBS will host IDEM 2022 and future editions
IDEM 2022 expects to welcome over 500 exhibiting companies and over 9,000 participants over the course of three days. Attendees can look forward to a compact event experience from the point of arrival, with registration counters and all exhibition halls located on a single level.
In keeping with the future forward philosophy and driven by the success and positive feedback received from the online edition of IDEM 2020, IDEM will debut an online platform in 2021. This new platform aims to continuously engage and connect with the community, commencing with the introduction of insightful content.
Organisers have also presented a refreshed visual identity for IDEM, symbolised by its logo, which will underscore the new vision, Bridging Business and the Future of Dentistry, at future editions of the event.
The dental exhibition and conference has been in session since 2020.
What inspired the creation of the Japan MICE Association?
Historically, Japan has been very good at doing conventions. Japanese newspapers often refer to MICE with the word “conventions” in parentheses so, to a Japanese, MICE is about big tradeshows, conventions or summits. There is still this miscommunication.
In the past few years, I’ve been running meetings and incentives with my company Luxurique, but I couldn’t get people to work with me for smaller meetings, incentives or tailored events. As there was this huge gap in understanding, I decided to set up the association, which focuses on the meetings and incentives aspects of MICE.
What other challenges does Japan face and how is the association helping to address them?
With a lack of experience and knowledge related to meetings and incentives, Japanese companies can have problems communicating with clients. Our goal is to help them speak the same language. We want Japanese companies to understand that a meeting or incentive needs to be on brand, managed to perfection and reflect the values of the company, from the moment the client touches down in Japan to the moment they leave. That’s the component that we’re trying to bring to the table, not a cookie-cutter offering.
What are the association’s goals?
Japan’s inbound market has grown so rapidly, but there is still room to grow and room for us to become better in what we do. We want members to grow the market together and ensure that Japan becomes a destination for meetings and incentives.
To achieve that, we are putting together study groups and educational seminars. We exist to educate everyone, encourage peer learning and offer mentorship for companies. Our goal is a community in which members work together rather than fight for market share. In five years, I envision every member to have grown profoundly, maybe even fivefold.
How is the association working with partners and stakeholders?
We are working very closely with PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) and hope to learn from our peers across the Asia Pacific. Lots of Asian countries have grown substantially in the meetings and incentives space in the past decade, but Japan has stayed put. I think a lot of companies in Asia Pacific want to send their meetings and incentives here, so we are in a strong position as long as we develop our knowledge and capability together.
In Japan, we are working with a lot of cities and prefectures because they believe their city is not big enough for a huge convention but can be a good place for a meeting or incentive. Osaka, Fukuoka and Kyoto are currently popular for meetings and incentives, but we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of demand. Third-tier cities will become popular, particularly in the next few years, as they are smaller and more isolated. We want to educate them to help them prepare for business groups.
How has the association been affected by Covid-19 and what does the future hold?
It’s made us take a step back a few years and has impacted business for members. We’re now holding online conferences because we want members to understand the full meaning and potential of MICE and be ready when people come back. Japan has been listed as a number one destination that people want to travel to once borders open.
Post-Covid-19, we may not have huge conferences coming in for a while, but we will see demand among smaller incentive groups of five, 10 or even 20 people. These groups will want deeper experiences, so members must ensure they offer value. In the next few months, we want to educate members on the value that meetings and incentives need to offer in order to appeal to inbound clients.
Destination Marketing Organisations’ (DMOs) traditional role has been to develop and promote the destination and attract visitors that generate direct and indirect expenditure in the local economy along with intangible social and economic benefits.
Attracting “visitor expenditure” is the underlying motivation for public sector investment in DMOs and convention centres. Expenditure in venues, hotels, dining, retail, attractions, etc.
Dubai is actively building its capacity to host hybrid events, which in turn will bring about visitor expenditure
As Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc, it is accelerating the shift of conference and meetings to virtual and hybrid formats. It is extremely difficult to predict when freedom to travel and confidence will return.
But it will not be any time soon.
Few DMOs are actively pursuing hybrid events. DMOs’ reluctance for virtual events is logical. But DMOs ignoring hybrid events will be a mistake.
Virtual only events are attractive right now due to regulatory barriers on travel and gatherings. The demand is expected to subside once the barriers to physical events are lifted and confidence returns. A small share of events will opt to remain in virtual only mode. An extended Covid period will favour this level of permanent shift due to a longer take-up period and rapid improvement in technology.
But virtual events have no physical attendance i.e. no visitor expenditure. They are not typically anchored to a destination.
DMOs cannot justify pursuit of virtual events that don’t directly lead to visitor expenditure or hotel taxes, except in instances that present a compelling destination profiling opportunity.
Hybrid events are different. These events are a mix of physical and virtual. They are anchored to a destination and lead to actual visitor expenditure.
Prior to Covid-19, hybrid events had a negligible market share. DMOs did not invest resources in this. After Covid-19, hybrid events will represent a market share that DMOs cannot ignore.
This will occur despite the aggressive response of governments, airlines, hotels, and DMOs to attract physical events that generate visitor expenditure.
DMOs don’t know specifically which events will choose this format but it will be many. They can’t afford to wait. Singapore and Dubai are examples of destinations actively building their capacity to host hybrid events.
DMOs need to prioritise resources on physical events that generate maximum expenditure and taxes. But they should also pursue hybrid events that meet set thresholds for expenditure and destination profile.
Planners need to know if the DMO will support hybrid events, and how. DMOs need to take inventory of their hybrid-ready venues, figure out how best to support hybrid events, how to leverage the vastly larger audience, and how to deal with multi-site hybrid events that involve competing destinations. They need to revise the incentives and sales tools focused on physical events to next-gen events.
Rod Kamleshwaran is a partner at GainingEdge, and leads the Convention & Exhibition Centre Development advisory team. His expertise is in the development and asset management of hospitality assets – convention & exhibition centres, hotels, and casino integrated resorts. A specialist in mixed-use developments, Kamleshwaran has advised government and private sector clients on projects with a completion value exceeding US$20 billion.
The Radisson Blu Resort Maldives, a private island retreat in the Alifu Dhaalu Atoll, is Radisson Hotel Group’s first property in the Maldives.
There are 128 beachfront and overwater villas ranging from 215m2 to 790m2, perfect for top winners in the company. All villas feature private pools, and come in one-, two- or three-bedroom configurations.
Facilities on the island include a water sports centre, an overwater spa and yoga pavilion, fitness centre, sports court, and a kids’ club and games room for winners who are travelling with families. There is also an event hall, should a quick meeting be required.
Restaurants and bars include all-day dining restaurant Raha; the Mediterranean and seafood grill Alifaan; Eats & Beats, the poolside bar; Crusoe’s, an adults-only area; Kabuki and its Nikkei cuisine; as well as Mahurab, an overwater wine and cigar bar.
The resort can be accessed via a direct 30-minute seaplane or a 20-minute domestic flight from Malé to Maamigili Airport followed by a 15-minute speedboat ride.
As the organiser of one of Singapore’s first two physical events in the Covid-19 world, Chab Events has been thrust to the fore of the hybrid event movement. Co-founder Alexis Lhoyer shares that while hybrid events are an unavoidable mainstay, the reality is that it entails a number of new challenges – including the requirement for panellists and speakers to be in masks.
In this new episode of TTG Conversations: Five Questions, Lhoyer reveals how organisers can negotiate the new “abnormal” and ensure their events remain engaging and profitable.
There are ongoing efforts by the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) to turn Phitsanulok province in Thailand’s northern central into a MICE city, and using business events as a way to stimulate economic growth and better the region’s wealth distribution.
The aim of turning it into a MICE city is, among others, to assist the population in the lower northern region to escape the middle-income trap by increasing revenue generated from business events travellers and value-added services. This move will also increase investment activities and distribution of wealth across Thailand’s lower northern provinces, shared Chuta Tarachai, senior manager at TCEB.
Walking through a rice field in Noen Maprang, Phitsanulok province, could be a post-event activitiy
The four strategies under the Phitsanulok MICE City Plan (2018 to 2021) involve promoting the city and marketing it as a value destination for business events; uplifting local business events activities to an international level; enhancing skills and competencies of local business event suppliers to support industry development; and upgrading infrastructure to support business event activities.
For instance, several ongoing developments include a new conference venue at Naresuan University, alongside a new Bangkok-Phitsanulok double-track rail transport.
To better the region’s connectivity, the government is looking into the feasibility of upgrading Phitsanulok Airport into an international airport, as well as land links with Indochina and other South-east Asian countries.
The government is also angling Phitsanulok to transform itself into a health and wellness destination, which would appeal to health-conscious groups that could consider such activities post-event.
Half of APEC’s (Asia Pacific excluding China) meeting planners surveyed by Marriott Bonvoy, Marriott International’s travel programme, are planning to continue with offline events as businesses adapt to the new normal.
However, there is a high percentage of planners who are concerned about government regulations (45%), and safety and hygiene standards of a venue (30%), alongside other SOPs and measures planners now have to consider.
Virtual meetings are the way forward now, but planners seem to be keen on face-to-face events resuming when possible
The survey also found that 70% of respondents prefer domestic destinations. Moreover, 36% of the respondents are planning to host more hybrid events – this means combining physical and livestreaming elements to maximise reach, across geographical restrictions.
The survey reached more than 500 respondents including event and meeting planners, administrative support staff and those in management roles across multiple industries in APEC.
To address some of these concerns, Marriott International is introducing new content via a digital platform for meetings and events, available on MarriottBonvoyEvents.com. Meeting planners will have access to a series of new materials including an informational video, customer stories and resources that provide additional context and information for designing events in the current environment.
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.
Rod Kamleshwaran is a partner at GainingEdge, and leads the Convention & Exhibition Centre Development advisory team. His expertise is in the development and asset management of hospitality assets – convention & exhibition centres, hotels, and casino integrated resorts. A specialist in mixed-use developments, Kamleshwaran has advised government and private sector clients on projects with a completion value exceeding US$20 billion.
