There are several types of virtual events in the market
Correctly classifying an online event is crucial in allocating the best resources to design it, said speakers on the Virtual Congresses: What Works And What Does Not panel during IT&CM Asia & CTW 2020 virtual conference on Tuesday.
Nicole Walker, CEO of Australia-based PCO Arinex, suggested that planners first help clients differentiate between the types of online events.
There are several types of virtual events in the market
“We have clients confusing a standard webinar with hybrid and satellite (or hub and spoke) events,” she noted. Offerings on the platforms in the market also differ, so it is important that planners pick the correct one.
Digital event planners also need to avoid a one-speaker show or back-to-back sessions, with Walker warning that “Zoom fatigue” is a critical obstacle.
She suggested having polls and gamification to keep the audience engaged, inject alternating content such as videos, and reduce presentations from an hour to 45 minutes.
Professionally-delivered and high-quality content from expert speakers remain top of the checklist regardless of the event format. Martin Boyle, CEO of the International Association of Professional Congress Organisers, said: “Delegates are willing to pay (for a registration fee) if the content is high-value. Don’t assume content has to be free.”
In utilising hybrid and satellite event formats, Jason Yeh, CEO of Taiwan-based GIS Group, warned that different strategies and additional resources are required.
Yeh, who was instrumental in the delivery of the recently concluded 59th ICCA Congress in Kaohsiung, which utilised a hub-and-spoke format, said planners would need a team staffed by people with IT experience in the backend as well as a camera crew familiar with TV programming to “make (content) more attractive for online viewers”.
In creating spoke events to support the main hub, Yeh said PCOs might even have to act as content producers to develop localised programmes.
Providing further technical advice, Walker said planners would have to take into consideration the unique lighting requirements for virtual telecasts, as well as other details such as screen backgrounds.
Incentives of the future are predicted to sport more luxury experiences alongside wellness programmes
While incentive travel professionals from Asia-Pacific suffered more than their global counterparts, the sector has shown resilience and is on track to recover rapidly over the next few years.
This is according to the preliminary results of the 2020 edition of Incentive Travel Industry Index (ITII), shared Pádraic Giligan, chief marketing officer at Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE), during the virtual IT&CM Asia & CTW 2020 session entitled Our Roadmap for Recovery: What incentive travel professionals can learn from ITII.
Incentives of the future are predicted to sport more luxury experiences alongside wellness programmes
Other findings revealed that while although the Asia-Pacific region saw 10 per cent of incentive businesses closing down due to the pandemic, the entrepreneurial spirit in Asia was strong, with many looking at new revenue streams.
Asia is also expected to have a rapid recovery from 2021 to 2023, due to “the resilience and the ability of professionals to get back on their feet and start again”, opined Giligan.
What should be of concern to Asian suppliers, DMCs and DMOs intending to attract the longhaul European and North American markets, is that Asia is no longer in the top 10 destination choices for this year.
Analysing the results, Giligan shared: “Due to Covid-19, there was a greater focus on staying closer to home, as well as a focus on going to places that are perceived to be safe. There was also a move away from urban destinations, from crowds to places where there are lots of spaces.”
As such, he pointed out that Asian CVBs and suppliers have their work cut out for them in terms of providing reassurances and information on safety protocols in place at the destination.
Overall, Giligan said that the impact of Covid-19 on the global incentive travel industry was temporary.
And while the sector is currently “focused on cost-cutting”, on the flipside it is also focused on “developing new skills, new revenue streams and achieving a better work-life balance”.
“When we think of the pandemic, we usually think of the negative impacts, but there are a lot of underlying positive things happening, and that is a good thing.”
On how incentive travel will look like in the future, the survey revealed that luxury experiences took top spot, followed by cultural experiences, CSR programmes and wellness. This is because the focus will be on the intrinsic joy of travel. And while corporate objectives will be present, it will be presented in a different way.
He elaborated: “Companies now, in designing travel experiences for the future want their qualifiers to have incredible experiences and to travel with no strings attached. But (they also want them) to travel with a purpose, which is why CSR comes in third, while wellness programmes are to reward them for all the hard work.”
The complete 2020 ITII will be released in early December. There were 2,882 responses from 91 destinations from around the world.
ITII is a joint annual research effort from SITE, the Incentive Research Foundation and Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals in association with Oxford Economics.
Engagement with customers and colleagues is fundamental for businesses to grow
According to the 2021 Global Meetings and Events Forecast from American Express Meetings & Events, a division of American Express Global Business Travel (GBT), hybrid meetings are the first step in the return of in-person meetings, and Asia Pacific professionals are embracing new platforms and technology to enhance meetings experiences and networking opportunities.
Despite a steep learning curve, meeting planners have learned to implement new safety and security protocols and accelerated the use of existing technologies across virtual, hybrid and in-person formats. Web conference platforms have revealed both their benefits and limitations, as planners seek out engagement strategies to combat virtual meeting fatigue.
Regular engagement – now through virtual means – is fundamental for businesses to grow
But everything comes at a cost: survey respondents indicated that 35% of virtual and hybrid events would require the services of a full-service agency. With the recovery of travel volumes expected to vary by geography in 2021, hybrid meetings will be a stepping stone towards meeting in-person.
Looking ahead to 2021, planners must reconcile pent-up demand for in-person events with tightening and shifting budgets. As airfares and hotel rates still somewhat in flux, there is still hesitancy around advance booking. To combat this uncertainty, suppliers are shifting to more lenient cancellation or change policies, often at no cost.
Across the globe, planners expect small and simple meetings, taking place closer to home at local or regional destinations to return faster than other meeting types at 21% globally, followed by internal meetings at 18%.
For Asia Pacific respondents, positive sentiment around the remainder of 2020 exists nearly half, or 47%, expect to resume operating at least some in-person meetings and events before the end of 2020, while 16% of respondents say they have already resumed in-person meetings. Overall, 60% of Asia Pacific respondents indicated that they have in-person events booked or contracted for 2020.
Respondents in China and Hong Kong expect to see increases across the board of every type of meeting. Four in 10 meetings and events planners in Asia Pacific, or 43%, expect to see an increase in client/customer advisory board meetings, and nearly half, or 49%, anticipate that there will be an increase in internal team meetings in 2021.
American Express Meetings & Events client meeting data from the Meetings Insight platform was also used to identify the top five meeting destinations in APAC:
1. Tokyo, Japan
2. Singapore
3. Sydney, Australia
4. Shanghai, China
5. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The 2021 Forecast is based on a survey of more than 560 meetings and events professionals and interviews with 16 industry experts. The survey and interviews took place in August and September of 2020. Respondents represent corporations, associations, buyers, and suppliers on five continents and in 37 countries.
To download the full report and access more content about the 2021 Global Meetings and Events Forecast, click here.
New Zealand’s business events sector has a new name for its peak body, Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA), reflecting its distinct role within tourism and events.
Formerly Conventions and Incentives New Zealand (CINZ), Business Events Industry Aotearoa represents 460 members across New Zealand who work within the meetings, incentives, conferences and conventions, and exhibitions sector.
The new brand was announced on November 18 at the association’s Annual General Meeting and will go live on December 1 to coincide with New Zealand’s only business events industry exhibition for 2020, BE Reconnected in Auckland.
BEIA chief executive, Lisa Hopkins, said in a press release the new name gives its members the mandate to own the industry.
“We are using a globally-acknowledged term, and there is no ambiguity about who we represent and what we do.”
The new branding also maintains the body’s connection to Aotearoa New Zealand, with the palette reflecting the colours of our ocean, alps and native birds,
She stressed the sector will continue to be a “proactive and energetic partner with government in the vital work needed for New Zealand’s economic and social recovery”.
focus now on recovery, operations and changes to the organisation, then use technology deliver new services and improve the way of doing things, you’ll set the foundations for success beyond Covid.
How will your travel business emerge from Covid-19 ready to meet the opportunities of the next normal, the challenges that come your way and thrive? TMCs who ramp up their game now will be more ready when travel is back in business than those who do not.
There are four key areas to focus on as we navigate our way through this period: revenue, organisation, operations and technology.
Focus now on recovery, operations and changes to the organisation, then use technology to deliver new services and improve the way of doing things, will ensure success beyond Covid-19
As the crisis subsides, TMCs will need to rethink their operating model, revenue profile, position themselves for the long term and to get ahead of the competition.
According to McKinsey survey, businesses from a variety of industries said that their new remote sales models were as much or more effective than traditional channels. Agents should move now before the recovery fully starts, launch targeted campaigns to win back loyal customers; focus on health and safety; adjust pricing, reskill the sales force to support remote selling; and use technology to streamline and automate processes that free up sales representatives to sell.
Agents should understand clients’ priorities and what businesses value most, post-Covid-19, then develop services based on those insights. Health and safety will be a key driver and influence when and where businesses travel to. Connected trips with up-to-date personalised information will play a big part in the recovery.
TMCs are already installing the latest permission-based applications such as Travel Radar that enable them to configure and manage client’s policies and ensure that the travel consultant can access the correct information and booking capability. These new applications close the entire loop of sufficient information and immediate decision making and will drive the next duty of care level for TMCs when the “return to travel” policies and processes are in place.
Businesses will also be adopting new processes, rules and changes to travel procedures. Travel companies will need to act fast and changes to processes implemented quickly to give them the edge. Businesses will be ready to get back to travelling and you may need to respond quickly to recover that client base before the competition. Develop an operating model that’s agile and urgent.
Rebuild operations TMCs are prioritising their tech needs. Agents are looking to improve the services they supply and how they manage their budgets.
Businesses will want to track staff expenses more efficiently. The Aberdeen Group, which analysed data on buyer behaviour, found that up to 70 per cent of companies want to find new ways to manage their travel-related corporate expenses.
These operational changes are crucial but should be sustainable. Agents will need to protect against a wide range of potential shocks and act quickly, including increased use of external suppliers and partners.
Creating a new level of business resilience is expensive but there is a wave of new digital and analytics tools which significantly reduce the cost of flexibility.
Concur Compleat automates and manages everyday processes – searching low fares, securing seats, and ticketing – to streamline work processes. Unlocked Data launched a Covid forecaster looking at spending and risk to predict future spend and Travel Operations has solutions to support travel agents in their daily tasks. Tools like these increase productivity and create flexibility.
Many TMCs were already digitising their operations before Covid. Accelerating these efforts now will likely see significant benefits in productivity, flexibility and quality of service.
There is an increased demand to manage the commercials, suppliers, back-office, while corporates are able to configure the travel policies, approvals, and reporting. TMCs are looking for new systems that provide New Distribution Capability with direct airline connects and hotel consolidators and aggregators.
These platforms enable bookings outside of many global distribution system processes and related fees and compress months of effort into weeks or days. Looking beyond Covid, TMCs can build their next-normal operations around a revamped approach to spending. These new technology-enabled methodologies are accelerating cost transparency.
The new way of working, with more automation and technology, has been coming for a long time. This pandemic has just sped up the pace.
The new culture of doing things As we come through the crisis, TMCs will have to address growth and scalability. This will depend mostly on the ability to embed data and analytics in decision making, learning to support clients and a culture that fosters value with other partners. What matters is a deep understanding of the customer.
There has been a transformation in the way we interact with each other, make purchases and do business. These changes have accelerated the adoption of digital technologies across every sector.
Technology plays a critical role in the recovery of the travel industry and new deals being struck and partnerships happening.
Earlier this year, Flight Centre Travel Group acquired tech company WhereTo for its AI platform that recommends hotels, flights and transportation to employees. Sabre integrated Mindsay technology enabling automated customer service for TMCs and airlines. At Element, we partnered with tech company Zenmer to supply an end-to-end platform for TMCs and their clients.
Businesses will need to set an ambitious digital agenda – but one that they can deliver quickly. In the post-pandemic world, business as usual will not be enough because too many things have changed.
Gavin Smith is the director of Element, a travel technology company that helps TMCs gain access to cutting-edge travel technology. A former manager at SAP Concur, Smith has vast experience across various functions within TMCs. He has worked with TMCs of all sizes supporting their goals to deliver technology and payments to their clients.
Oakwood has opened the Oakwood Suites Yokohama, the first international serviced apartment brand in the Japanese port city, and its 12th property in Japan.
The 175-unit property is the second serviced apartment asset owned by Mapletree in Japan. Occupying the 46th to 51st floors of The Kitanaka Yokohama Tower, studios to three-bedroom residences are on offer, where each unit is fully-equipped with a kitchenette, washer and dryer.
Other facilities include a residents’ lounge, 24-hour fitness centre and restaurant.
Oakwood Suites Yokohama is located above the Bashamichi Station on the Minato-Mirai Subway line. Attractions such as Yamashita Park, Chinatown and Yokohama Red Brick Warehouses are within walking distance.
Hyatt has appointed Herman Kemp as general manager of Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh, which will become the first Hyatt Regency hotel in Cambodia when it opens in 1Q2021.
A Dutch national with extensive experience in South-east Asia, Kemp will also oversee the pre-opening of the 247-room property.
With more than 20 years of hospitality experience, Kemp’s career has taken him to hotels and resorts in The Netherlands, Indonesia and Cambodia. Most recently, he was general manager of Park Hyatt Siem Reap from 2016 to 2019, before relocating last year to lead the new Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh.
Kemp commenced his hospitality career as a marine hotel operations controller with the Seattle-based cruise company Holland America Line. Over the next 12 years, he held various F&B and management roles at Le Meridien, Sofitel and Carlton hotels, all in The Hague. In 2012, Herman was appointed general manager of Aryaduta Medan in North Sumatra, Indonesia before moving in the same role to The Edge Bali in 2014.
Chinese airlines allowed to set price on significantly more routes now
South-east Asian leaders have agreed to take steps towards the establishment of an ASEAN travel corridor arrangement framework to facilitate essential business travel within the region.
Such an arrangement would necessitate the development of a common set of safety measures to safeguard public health in the face of Covid-19, noted the leaders in a joint statement issued at the 37th ASEAN Summit, which took place on November 12 and was hosted virtually by Vietnam.
South-east Asian leaders working towards an ASEAN travel corridor for essential business travel
Travellers will also be required to strictly abide by the prevailing public health regulations stipulated by the authorities of the receiving countries.
The ASEAN Coordinating Council, supported by the ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group on Public Health Emergencies, has been tasked to coordinate and oversee the development of an ASEAN travel corridor arrangement framework.
This plan will build upon existing bilateral travel corridors set up between individual ASEAN member states, as well as those established with partners outside the region, said the regional grouping in a statement.
For instance, Singapore has already established green lanes with ten countries, including ASEAN members Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Vietnam.
The leaders further added that they do not preclude the application of the framework to other categories of travel in the future.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo is pushing for the regional travel bubble to come into effect by early 2021, according to Bloomberg.
Earlier in June, Indonesia had proposed the move, which was backed by Thailand and Malaysia, but other countries have not signalled their support for the arrangement, said the report.
Indonesia is battling the largest coronavirus outbreak in South-east Asia, having recorded 463,007 infections and 15,148 deaths as of Saturday. This month, the country entered its first recession since the 1998 Asian financial crisis, after two successive quarters of economic shrinkage.
With business events disrupted for almost a full year, country governments are now realising the deep and wide implications on their economy and society, from GDP impact and job losses to tremors through the many supply chains that travel and events touch.
In this new episode of TTG Conversations: Five questions video series, Geoff Donaghy, CEO of the International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney as well as director of convention centres, ASM Global – Asia Pacific, discusses how the MICE crisis has emphasised the industry’s role in economic contributions and community advancement, what venue operators can do to contribute to business events recovery, and how ICC Sydney is supporting local and regional communities despite business challenges.
Fifteen Asia-Pacific ministers signed a massive free trade deal on November 15, as part of the four-day ASEAN summit, held virtually.
The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), first proposed in 2012, brings together the 10 ASEAN economies, as well as China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and Australia.
Country leaders and ministers at the RCEP virtual signing; Photo: Ministry of Communications and Information
RCEP builds on existing free trade deals among member countries. It will broaden and deepen economic links across the Asia-Pacific, ease trade in goods and services, facilitate the flow of foreign investments, and enhance protections in areas such as e-commerce and intellectual property.
The agreement will also eliminate tariffs for at least 92 per cent of goods, with additional preferential market access for exports. The flow of goods will also be faster.
More companies will be able to provide services in the region, with foreign shareholding limits raised for at least 50 subsectors including professional services, telecommunications and financial services. Businesses will also find it easier to navigate and integrate into regional value chains.
The RCEP will come into force when six ASEAN countries and three non-ASEAN countries have ratified it.
Terms of the deal were agreed upon by the 15 RCEP countries last year. However, this resulted in India’s pullout, who was worried that the elimination of tariffs would open its markets to a flood of imports that could harm local producers. Other countries have reiterated the door remains open to India.
According to The Straits Times, Singapore’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, said: “The RCEP is a major step forward for the world, at a time when multilateralism is losing ground and global growth is slowing.”
“It signals our collective commitment to maintaining open and connected supply chains, and to promoting freer trade and closer interdependence especially in the face of Covid-19 when countries are turning inwards and are under protectionist pressures,” he said.
In the same article, Asean secretary-general Lim Jock Hoi told The Straits Times that the RCEP will ensure markets are kept open, and provide much-needed certainty and stability for businesses as they cope with the Covid-19 crisis.
“The signing of the RCEP agreement at this time… is a demonstration of the region’s strong commitment to open, inclusive, and rules-based multilateralism and confidence of the contribution of trade to post-pandemic recovery efforts,” he said.
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.
South-east Asian leaders have agreed to take steps towards the establishment of an ASEAN travel corridor arrangement framework to facilitate essential business travel within the region.
Such an arrangement would necessitate the development of a common set of safety measures to safeguard public health in the face of Covid-19, noted the leaders in a joint statement issued at the 37th ASEAN Summit, which took place on November 12 and was hosted virtually by Vietnam.
Travellers will also be required to strictly abide by the prevailing public health regulations stipulated by the authorities of the receiving countries.
The ASEAN Coordinating Council, supported by the ASEAN Coordinating Council Working Group on Public Health Emergencies, has been tasked to coordinate and oversee the development of an ASEAN travel corridor arrangement framework.
This plan will build upon existing bilateral travel corridors set up between individual ASEAN member states, as well as those established with partners outside the region, said the regional grouping in a statement.
For instance, Singapore has already established green lanes with ten countries, including ASEAN members Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Vietnam.
The leaders further added that they do not preclude the application of the framework to other categories of travel in the future.
Indonesian president Joko Widodo is pushing for the regional travel bubble to come into effect by early 2021, according to Bloomberg.
Earlier in June, Indonesia had proposed the move, which was backed by Thailand and Malaysia, but other countries have not signalled their support for the arrangement, said the report.
Indonesia is battling the largest coronavirus outbreak in South-east Asia, having recorded 463,007 infections and 15,148 deaths as of Saturday. This month, the country entered its first recession since the 1998 Asian financial crisis, after two successive quarters of economic shrinkage.