Dubai forms committee for MICE stakeholders

September 16, 2020

Dubai_Business_Events_Stakeholder_Committee — Helal Saeed Almarri chairs first meeting, with airlines, hotels, PCOs and DMCs among participants

Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has formed a new Business Events Stakeholders Committee, reinforcing its commitment to engage with the industry and re-establish its place at the heart of Dubai’s economic growth and development as a knowledge hub.

Helal Saeed Almarri, director general of Dubai Tourism, chaired the committee’s inaugural meeting on September 14 at Dubai World Trade Centre, updating members on the latest progress in reactivating the sector in the aftermath of the global Covid-19 pandemic and facilitating discussions around opportunities and challenges.

Dubai Tourism’s Helal Saeed Almarri (in white) chairs first meeting, with airlines, hotels, PCOs and DMCs among participants

Comprising key industry stakeholders, the committee, which will meet regularly throughout the year, provides a platform for two-way dialogue around the continuous strategic and operational development of Dubai’s competitive position as a host city for international business events.

Among the participants in the inaugural session were senior officials from airlines, venues, hotels, DMCs and PCOs. Organisations represented included Emirates, Dubai World Trade Centre, Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, Alpha Destination Management, MCI Middle East and Expo 2020 Dubai.

Enabled by guidelines from Dubai Tourism and an aligned approach taken by stakeholders across the public and private sectors, the industry is looking to rapidly and safely rescale, with local business events resuming this week and international business events set to return from October 1. Upcoming events include The Airport Show (October 26-28), Annual Radiology Meeting (November 1-3 ) and Cityscape’s 2020 Real Estate Summit (November 16-17).

Helal added: “The formation of this committee underlines the collaborative approach we have sought to take across all our activities and in relation to all the tourism sub-sectors, and reinforces our commitment to supporting our stakeholders and ensuring Dubai leads the global post-pandemic recovery.

“Business events play a critical role in driving economic development and knowledge growth in Dubai and, with the city’s status as the Middle East’s undisputed hub for conferences, exhibitions and meetings, the resumption of activity here will have an impact on the wider region.”

Underpinning the resumption of business events this month are guidelines for organisers and venues that prioritise the health and safety of all parties involved. These complement the measures already in place across other touchpoints across the city, including airports, hotels, attractions and dining establishments that have already paved the way for the resumption of tourism since July 7.

First five-star hotel in Belitung now open

By TTGmice

September 16, 2020

0

Sheraton Belitung Resort is the first five-star property to open on Belitung Island, part of the Bangka Belitung Islands Province, located off the eastern coast of Sumatra.

Located within a wildlife reserve, the 164-key property offers 695m² of event space good for intimate business events. There are three meeting rooms, as well as the Northern Light ballroom – that can host up to 200 theatre-style – to choose from.

Corporate guests will also be able to enjoy recreational facilities such as a 24-hour fitness centre, outdoor infinity pool, and Shine Spa. There are also three F&B venues on-site – the all-day dining Island Restaurant, a Seafood Market Restaurant, and the Blue Lagoon lounge and bar.

The hotel is 45-minutes away from H.A.S. Hanandjoeddin International Airport and a short drive away from the Black Rocks Golf Course, and the coast of Tanjung Kelayang – known as the heart of Belitung.

Photo of the day: MITEC delivers first major business event for Malaysia

By S Puvaneswary

September 16, 2020

0

The Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) successfully hosted the country’s first major business event during the Covid-19 Recovery Movement Control Order, in a highly-controlled, carefully-managed environment with stringent safety and security protocols in place.

The National Congress Unite for Malaysia, a half-day event held on August 22, brought more than 4,500 people together to discuss and debate efforts on developing the nation and the economy.

Event takes place in a highly-controlled, carefully managed environment with stringent safety and security protocols in place

Malaysian Prime Minister, Muhyiddin Yassin, senior ministers, dignitaries and participants non-governmental organisations were in attendance.

The large-scale event complied with the approved Malaysian National Security Council standard operating procedures including mandatory mask-wearing in public areas, and social distancing measures. Ready-to-eat packed meals were served to each attendee at their respective seats during lunch and coffee breaks with pre-wrapped cutlery sets.

Gunther Beissel, CEO of MITEC, shared: “The successful hosting of such a mass gathering signals a start to rebuilding public confidence in the meetings and events industry. We are proud to have delivered the event seamlessly within a safe and structured manner.”

Chinatown Murders game tour

By Pamela Chow

September 16, 2020

0

1600137410444 — Peering over a puzzle while on the tour

Concept
As Singapore welcomes the revival of small group tours, operators are evolving their tourism products to cater to a domestic clientele. That greater demand for something beyond the cookie-cutter experience among locals exploring their own backyard has prompted travel agencies to push out a raft of immersive, value-added experiences.

What
Local agency Tribe Tours has gamified the tour experience in what it touts is the first-of-its-kind product in the local market. Chinatown Murders is a walking tour – with a whodunit murder mystery twist. Participants put on their imaginary Sherlock Holmes caps and work together to solve challenging puzzles in one of Singapore’s richest heritage districts.

While there is no overall time limit, each puzzle has a 10-minute countdown to beat. Our tour took two-and-a-half hours.

MICE application
In keeping with safe management measures, this game tour can be played in teams of two to five persons, capped at 10 participants. Our 10-person outfit was spilt into two teams of five, led by a group of game masters and a guide-slash-storyteller.

Our Chinatown Murders journey started out with a pre-tour briefing, before each participant was handed sanitised mini-intercom units, earpieces, and hand sanitiser. Each team was also supplied a game kit, comprising material needed for our mystery jaunt, such as a puzzle book, a map and markers.

We kept our eyes peeled for clues hidden in our surroundings, and ears open for possible hints dropped by our storyteller. Each puzzle we solved helped unlock a new clue that narrowed down our suspect list, and brought us a step closer to nabbing the killer.

In between solving puzzles, our storyteller role-playing a character which has lived in Chinatown for 48 years regales us with tales about growing up in the district. Though a work of fiction, the stories were inspired by real people, we are told.

For a walking tour, the mini-intercom units worked excellently as all of us could hear the guide well, even from the back of the group. It also helped the guide summon some of us back to the meeting point whenever needed.

Service
Overall, the experience was a fun and interactive spin on the traditional walking tour. Already, the concept has piqued the interest of some local audiences, with Tribe Tours co-founder Jason Loe reporting bookings coming in from interest and corporate groups.

It’s easy to see why – the game tour makes for a refreshing alternative to typical icebreaker activities and team-bonding games. Throughout the tour, our game masters repeatedly emphasised teamwork. Indeed, we found that splitting up the puzzle-cracking between the members helped speed things up, while fostering greater discussion and collaboration.

I personally felt that the tour could have struck a finer balance between historical commentary and fictional storytelling. As much of the guide’s narration was fictional retellings, I did not learn as many new facts about Chinatown as I’d hoped. An even more immersive experience could be achieved if the commentary incorporated lesser-known tidbits about Chinatown or non-fictional accounts about its previous occupants.

Although we were told from the get-go that this game tour wasn’t a contest, it was hard for our competitive instincts not to kick in. Since safe distancing rules have taken inter-team collaboration off the table, the tour experience could have been enhanced with the introduction of a solid competitive element. – Additional reporting by Cheryl Ong

Rate: S$50 (US$37) per person
Frequency: Every Friday/Saturday/Sunday from 10.00 to 12.00
Contact
Email: bookings@tribe-tours.com
Website: https://singaporediscovers.tribe-tours.com/niu-che-shui-murder-mystery-game-tour/

Australia’s first Fairmont to open in 2023

By TTGmice

September 16, 2020

0

08_Aerial_South_West_-_mid_level — Fairmont Port Douglas will bring a new level of sustainable luxury to Australia’s Far North

Accor will bring the luxury Fairmont brand to Australia for the first time, with the Fairmont Port Douglas set to open in Far North Queensland come 2023.

Set on the edge of two UNESCO World Heritage sites – the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest – the hotel in the coastal town of Port Douglas will boast 253 rooms. On-site amenities include several restaurants and bars, a spa, treetop walk and conference facilities, designed around resort-style pools.

Fairmont Port Douglas will bring a new level of sustainable luxury to Australia’s Far North

The hotel is also planning to work with the local Kuku Yalanji community, traditional owners of the land, to provide Indigenous Welcome to Culture and Smoking Ceremonies for special events.

As the first hotel in the region to achieve Ecotourism Australia’s Eco Destination Certificate, Fairmont Port Douglas has been recognised for its strong environmental credentials, winning the Communities & Culture Award at the Sustainable Destinations Awards in March 2020.

Onyx unveils new GM appointments across Thailand

By TTGmice

September 15, 2020

0

Christoph,_Sukamal,_Thomas,_Paul,_Richard — From left:

Onyx Hospitality Group has made five key hotel leadership appointments across Thailand.

Rejoining the group as the new general manager of Oriental Residence Bangkok, Christoph Leonhard will be leading the city-centre hotel, which will soon be reintroduced as part of the newly-unveiled Saffron Collection.

From left: Christoph Leonhard; Sukamal Mondal; Thomas Hain; Paul Halford; and Richard Margo

Having held rooms division and general manager roles with Onyx Hospitality Group’s Amari brand for close to a decade in Hua Hin, Koh Samui and the Maldives, Leonhard also gained experience from leading companies and brands like The Peninsula, St Regis and Accor.

Meanwhile, Sukamal Mondal has been promoted to cluster general manager for the Shama Serviced Apartments portfolio of four properties in Bangkok, and will continue to lead as general manager of Shama Lakeview Asoke Bangkok. An Onyx veteran with over 14 years of experience in China and Thailand, Sukamal also served as general manager of Oriental Residence Bangkok.

In the south of Thailand, Thomas Hain will move from Onyx Hospitality Group properties in Koh Samui to Krabi to take on the role of general manager at the newly-renovated Amari Vogue Krabi.

With over 20 years of hospitality experience in a variety of rooms division roles in Europe, the US and Asia for companies like Marriott, Hyatt, Accor and IHG, Hain joined Onyx in 2018 as the resident manager of Amari Koh Samui and was subsequently appointed general manager for the group’s two hotels on the island.

Next, Paul Halford will be appointed cluster general manager for Amari Koh Samui and Ozo Chaweng Samui, after two years as opening general manager for Ozo Phuket. Halford joined Onyx in mid-2018 from Radisson Hotel Group where he held senior roles in Australia, Fiji and Thailand.

Lastly, Richard Margo has been appointed general manager of Ozo Phuket, from his current role as hotel manager of the group’s Amari Phuket which he has held since 2014. Joining Onyx eight years ago as resident manager of Amari Pattaya, Margo’s career in hotels started from the F&B side of the business. He has held roles with Le Meridien in Belgium, Ireland, Portugal and Jordan, as well as with Hilton in Malaysia and Thailand.

TTG Conversations: Five questions with Fransiska Handoko, government & organisation relations, Bali Hotels Association

By Mimi Hudoyo

September 14, 2020

0

The public’s growing expectation for health and safety protection promised by the travel community could lead to suppliers going overboard and becoming too sterile, warns Fransiska Handoko, government & organisation relations with the Bali Hotels Association.

In this new episode of TTG Conversations: Five questions video series, Fransiska speaks about the fine balance between safety and hospitality, challenges of implementing health and safety protocol by smaller, resource-restricted hotels, and long-term compliance controls.

STO initiates virtual fam for business events media

By Karen Yue

September 14, 2020

0

Virtual-Seoul-Map_0728(F) — MICE journalists will be brought to Seoul through this virtual fam programme

Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) will host its first virtual media familiarisation programme for the journalists specialising in business events on September 17 and 18, coinciding the activity with the UIA Associations Round Table Asia-Pacific, also to be held online for the associations community.

The virtual fam will comprise five ‘venues’, each representing the varied charms of Seoul – a conference hall where journalists can access educational sessions; a virtual Seoul promotional booth; a lounge area for network opportunities; workshop; and a virtual theatre to watch business events-related city showcases.

MICE journalists will be brought to Seoul through this virtual fam programme

Jihyun Kim, director of Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB), a division of STO, told TTGmice in an interview that the virtual fam marks the start of the bureau’s online destination marketing efforts amid the ongoing travel, tourism and business events crisis.

“Although (face-to-face) business events are facing difficulties from many angles, as a convention bureau we need to think of various ways to keep stimulating and supporting the industry. We believe there are many opportunities for future business events, whether they are done online or onsite,” said Kim, adding that the desire for business gatherings remains and organisers will eventually find a way to meet despite the obstacles.

As such, SCB wants to prepare its stakeholders and local industry for the resumption of business events.

Building the UIA Associations Round Table Asia-Pacific into the virtual fam allows Seoul to demonstrate her ability to maintain the presence of such conferences during these unusual times, explained Kim.

Similarly, the other aspects of the programme will reflect an online translation of actual physical activities in the city.

Kim regards the Seoul promotional booth and virtual theatre as “differentiators” from other virtual business events platforms. The virtual theatre will feature 360° virtual reality (VR) videos displaying famous landmarks, unique venues and teambuilding activities from a first-person point-of-view to allow participants “to feel like they’re on a real tour,” shared Kim, adding that the complete programme would provide as comprehensive a support as a personal “MICE destination marketing agent” could.

SCB staff will supplement the online exposure with their presence, providing answers and information on the city and PLUS SEOUL support scheme to enquiring journalists.

Kim said there are precious business opportunities from taking the virtual route. One of them is the rare access to protected venues that are usually closed to the public, such as the 600-year-old Changdeokgung palace, via a VR site inspection. Other advantages include the ability to demonstrate Seoul’s advance information and communications technology, and the convenience of conducting certain engagement activities, such as a stamp tour and MICE membership card-making activity.

Aventri release solution to manage virtual and hybrid events

By TTGmice

September 14, 2020

0

AventriVirtualEventPlatform-Polling — Aventri's solution aims to simplify pivot to virtual and hybrid events

Event management software (EMS) company Aventri today has launched the Aventri Virtual Event Platform, enabling event and marketing professionals to now manage virtual and hybrid events, in addition to in-person events, on a single platform.

Aventri’s solution aims to simplify pivot to virtual and hybrid events

The Aventri Virtual Event Platform is fully integrated within the Aventri Event Management Solution. It offers the latest engagement and monetisation features, as well as the following first-to-market capabilities:

Agility: With one solution, organisers can switch at a moment’s notice from in-person to virtual or hybrid events.
Ease of use: Event and marketing professionals can get their virtual events up and running quickly with a streamlined process to run and manage their virtual events on their own at scale after initial training.
Scalability: Event organisers can save time and effort using the same platform for their entire portfolio of events, from small internal meetings to complex gatherings reaching more than 5,000 attendees worldwide.
Multiple formats: The solution supports single session, multi-track and multi-day programmes. Planners can choose from small interactive breakouts to large-scale, live-streamed sessions reaching thousands of attendees, all with one tool. The ability to share pre-recorded and on-demand content helps tailor sessions to satisfy different audiences.
Consistency: The technology makes it easy to deliver a seamless, branded experience. Attendees move smoothly from the website and registration pages to the virtual event lobby and interactive sessions.
Industry-leading security: The fully browser-based solution eliminates the need to download additional software to join sessions. Planners can use the company’s proprietary streaming technology or connect to a third-party virtual supplier for their virtual and hybrid needs. Aventri’s in-region data centres further enhance data privacy.
Real-time insights: Metrics on attendance levels, engagement scores and overall event success are standard in the Aventri Virtual Event Platform. This allows planners to demonstrate the ROI of their virtual events to stakeholders easily by combining virtual metrics with additional registration, marketing and website insights gathered from the Aventri core product.

The Aventri Virtual Event Platform has been in beta since early June. During this time, Aventri has worked with select clients to deliver digital internal and external events of all types, sizes and levels of complexity.

Beta customers have reported strong results. For example, one financial services firm doubled the number of registrants at its annual July meeting compared to the firm’s previous in-person conference. This year’s multi-day, multi-track virtual event achieved an 80 per cent registrant-to-attendee conversion rate. It also drew attendees from 76 countries for a 20 per cent gain in geographic reach.

Jim Sharpe, CEO at Aventri, said in a statement: “Our seamless solution is designed with ease of use-in-mind, as we’ve seen how enterprises struggle to launch their first virtual events. Our professional services team is working closely with clients to ensure they have the knowledge and tools to navigate this new world and become self-sufficient. Our goal is to educate the market and maximise success with virtual, and later hybrid, events.”

Marriott opens dual-branded hotel next to convention centre in Yinchuan

By TTGmice

September 14, 2020

0

会议室客厅-Meeting_Rooms-LIVING_ROOM — One of the meeting rooms within the dual-branded property

Marriott has opened a dual-branded hotel, the JW Marriott Hotel Yinchuan and Courtyard by Marriott Yinchuan in north-west China.

Located in the cultural centre of Yinchuan, the 513-key hotel stands adjacent to Yinchuan International Convention and Exhibition Center, Ningxia Museum and Ningxia Grand Theater.

One of the meeting foyers available within the dual-branded property

JW Marriott Hotel Yinchuan offers 247 guestrooms and 32 suites featuring floor-to-ceiling windows with views of Yinchuan skyline. The largest event space here is the 1,400m² JW Grand Ballroom equipped with a 90m² LED screen that can accommodate 1,300 guests. More intimate events can choose to use the 500m² JW Ballroom, or one of the 10 multifunction rooms.

Other amenities include signature Cantonese restaurant Ning Xin Ge, all-day diner JW Kitchen, an executive lounge, lobby bar, indoor swimming pool, and 24-hour fitness centre. Business travellers with their families in tow may avail the brand programme, Family by JW which provides experiences for children such as cooking classes.

Meanwhile, the Courtyard by Marriott Yinchuan features 234 rooms, a lobby lounge, and an all-day dining restaurant.

Dubai forms committee for MICE stakeholders

First five-star hotel in Belitung now open

Photo of the day: MITEC delivers first major business event for Malaysia

Chinatown Murders game tour

Australia’s first Fairmont to open in 2023

Onyx unveils new GM appointments across Thailand

TTG Conversations: Five questions with Fransiska Handoko, government & organisation relations, Bali Hotels Association

STO initiates virtual fam for business events media

Aventri release solution to manage virtual and hybrid events

Marriott opens dual-branded hotel next to convention centre in Yinchuan

Reviews

Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown

A versatile powerhouse

Amari Bangkok