ConnecTechAsia goes fully virtual for 2H2020 event

June 3, 2020

Informa Markets will move ConnecTechAsia – an Infocomm Media and Technology event organised in partnership with Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority – onto a virtual platform during the same dates, September 29 to October 1, 2020.

Conference delegates can expect to engage at live keynote, Q&A and breakout sessions during the three-day event, while the virtual exhibition floor will enable companies to showcase their vertical-specific products to registered attendees.

A screenshot from the ConnecTech Asia website

ConnecTechAsia, incorporating BroadcastAsia, CommunicAsia, SatelliteAsia and co-located with TechXLR8 Asia, will thereafter turn into a 24/7, 365 days interactive marketplace.

Ivan Ferrari, event director, tech, media & entertainment Events, Informa Markets, said: “The permanent addition of a 365 days virtual platform to ConnecTechAsia’s offering will enable a seamless, powerful, continuous engagement within our industry and unlock additional, measurable value for audiences in the community we serve. I am convinced that this significant investment in virtual will bring about a fresh experience that they will appreciate and gain from.”

More details of the virtual format will be made available in coming weeks. This shift to a virtual event is in response to the dynamic situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, where travel and physical restrictions are still in effect globally.

ConnecTechAsia will resume its live event next year, from June 9-11, 2021, at the Singapore EXPO and MAX Atria.

Bangkok’s The Athenee Hotel maintains venue rates with new health and safety setup

By TTGmice

June 3, 2020

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Meetings and events taking place at The Athenee Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok, can expect to pay the standard venue rates even as layouts are set in accordance to new social distancing and stringent hygiene measures.

Under the new setup, each function space will only be able to accommodate approximately half the usual guest numbers.

The hotel’s Grand Hall sporting a social distancing set Up

New health and safety setups at the hotel includes temperature sensors, hygiene measures and crowd control designed for larger-scale events and groups, as well as enhanced hygiene considerations taken during F&B service such as the use of sanitary screens at the buffets and formalised arrangements for coffee breaks.

The Athenee Hotel has been recognised for all of the preventive measures and protocols undertaken during the pandemic, being the first hotel in Thailand to achieve the Safety & Health certification, which is endorsed by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The hotel has also been certified by the Ministry of Public Health for its approach to the care of its guests.

Operator Marriott International has recently announced its Commitment to Clean initiative and the formation of a Cleanliness Council to drive new innovations and protocols.

Aventri premiers industry’s first hybrid and virtual event solution

By TTGmice

June 3, 2020

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Event management software company Aventri has rolled out its Aventri Virtual Event Platform, aimed at helping its clients smoothly deliver hybrid events using a single platform solution.

The Aventri Virtual Event Platform is fully integrated with the end-to-end Avenrtri platform, enabling event and meeting organisers to add a virtual component to any event. The solution will provide planners with a seamless flow of data, delivers a consistent user experience and eliminates the need for multiple vendors or solutions.

A sample of a personalised agenda on the Aventri Virtual Event Platform

Features of the Aventri Virtual Event Platform include:

Multiple event formats – Single session, multi-level track events, and multi-day event programmes are just some of the formats the platform supports. With the ability to host live, utilise pre-recorded videos and record event sessions, the platform provides the flexibility to deliver content the way audiences choose to consume it.

Customisable session experiences – Planners can allow attendees to enable video. They can also create personalised welcome messages, incorporate slide annotations, arrange handout distribution, manage Q&A’s, and enable public and private chat.

Real-time insights – Having one solution to deliver all their events gives organisers the power to report on hybrid, virtual and in-person experiences. They can gather insights on what sessions are most popular, with metrics around session dwell time and engagement. In addition, they can run reports across registration data, session attendance, marketing data and more.

Security – As a 100 per cent browser-based tool, there is no need to download software to join sessions. Built as a native part of the Aventri platform, the Virtual Event Platform provides the same infrastructure and security standards as Aventri’s core platform, including local in-region data centres, full TLS encryption for attendees, and SSO.

The Aventri Virtual Event Platform was created in response to more than 80 per cent of planners believing that virtual components will be added to all future in-person events, according to research conducted by Aventri in April 2020.

It is currently in beta with general release coming this summer.

Beyond Asia: The Hague Convention Bureau; Talley Management Group; and Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan

By TTGmice

June 3, 2020

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From left: Jeanine_Dupigny-Nadir_Aboutaleb_640x400

From left: Jeanine Dupigny and Nadir Aboutaleb

New faces at The Hague Convention Bureau
The Hague Convention Bureau has employed two new international sales managers to focus on the city’s specialist markets; including new energy, impact economy, IT, technology and cybersecurity.

Jeanine Dupigny, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, will focus on business events acquisitions in the new energy and impact economy sectors. She brings a wealth of knowledge from the industrial development, petrochemical and tourism sectors, as well as experience working with voluntary and charitable organisations around the world.

Nadir Aboutaleb has more than nine years’ experience in the meetings and events industry, which has included time at leading venues such as the RAI Amsterdam. His new role will focus on the development of specialist events covering IT, technology and cybersecurity.

On these new appointments Bas Schot, head of The Hague Convention Bureau, commented: “Despite challenges facing our industry, there has never been a more important time to develop new relationships and promote destinations to key sectors in creative and personal ways.”

TMG adds virtual meeting expert to team
US-based association management company Talley Management Group (TMG) has added Derrick Johnson to its team as the director of event strategy and development, a newly-created position.

He has been tasked with helping clients adjust meeting formats in response to the impact of Covid-19, and will spearhead TMG virtual meeting initiatives as in-person meetings move to digital platforms.

Johnson joins TMG after serving as the executive director for the national behavioural intervention team located in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. Prior to that, he was the senior director of meetings for The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers.

He also holds the Digital Event Strategist credential from PCMA and is a Certified Meeting Professional. In 2019, Johnson joined the PCMA board of directors and is also on the executive board of the LGBT Meeting Professionals Association.

IHG adds a Crowne Plaza Resort in Saipan to portfolio
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) has signed a long-term agreement with Asia Pacific Hotels to take on the management of Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan, in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.

The 416-room hotel will be rebranded as Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan in 2022 following a refurbishment, before adding a 116-room extension by 2025. Facilities include six dining outlets and a club lounge, four meeting rooms, a 300-person ballroom, a gym, multiple swimming pools, retail area and a 500-metre beach frontage.

This adds to IHG’s previous announcement that it has also taken on the management of the 318-room Fiesta Resort Guam, a hotel that will rebrand as a Crowne Plaza in 2021. The combined 850 room count makes the biggest ever conversion signing for IHG’s Australasia, Japan and Pacific Islands region.

Luxury brand 1 Hotels opens first outpost in Sanya

By TTGmice

June 3, 2020

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The first Chinese resort from US-based luxury brand 1 Hotels has opened its doors on Hainan island’s shoreline in Sanya.

The property, 1 Hotel Haitang Bay, Sanya boasts 294 rooms, suites and villas, ranging from 62m²to 1,300m², all of which have been furnished with locally-sourced volcanic basalt stone and wood throughout.

1 Hotel Haitang Bay

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The sustainability theme is continued throughout the hotel, which features a solar water heating system, harvesting of greywater for back-of-house use and landscape irrigation, and collection and storing of rainwater for reuse.

Hotel facilities include seven F&B venues – all-day dining concept 1 Kitchen, Chinese fine-dining restaurant Green House, noodle restaurant Noodle House, lobby lounge Drift, rooftop lounge Sky Bar (opening soon), poolside bar The Sandbox, and The Juice Bar.

Other amenities are 630m² of meeting facilities, 4,000m² of garden venues, a Feature Pavilion, sunlit Sky Deck, an off-site farm, fitness centre, spa, and five swimming pools.

The property is located 40 minutes away from Sanya Phoenix International Airport, close to a number of leisure, recreation and entertainment attractions such as Haitang Bay Duty Free Shop, Fantasy Town, and Water Park.

Domestic events, business travel driving MICE recovery in China

By Caroline Boey

June 1, 2020

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Hunan-Auto8--AM-copy — The 2020 Hunan Auto Show

Domestic and local-international businesses have been driving China’s recovery in May, with an auto show in Changsha – the capital of Hunan province – notching up record sales.

Liu Ping, founder, China Star, shared that three large exhibitions were held in Changsha in May, including the auto show which took place from April 30 to May 5.

The 2020 Hunan Auto Show ensured visitors and exhibitors underwent a strict health and identity check prior to arriving at the venue

Liu said: “SOP (standard operation procedure) for hygiene protection was implemented for the first time for the auto show and a record 2,391 cars, valued at around US$737milion, were sold.”

She added that local meetings and exhibitions have made up the bulk of business events, with support coming from provincial travellers.

Kris Van Goethem, managing director MICE, leisure and sport, Thomas Cook China, added: “Like most people, we have turned our energy in the short-term to look for local-international opportunities.

“As part of Fosun Tourism Group, we believe in a strong return of business, as China will continue to play an ever important role in the global market.”

Meanwhile, attractive pricing is helping to shore up domestic business demand.

Cheryl Siow, vice president, global sales, Greater China, Preferred Hotels and Resorts, said its hotels in Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, which reopened in May, reported average occupancy rates ranging between 50 per cent and 70 per cent in Shanghai and up to 90 per cent in Chengdu.

She commented that the European Chamber of Commerce, especially Germany, is working with the Chinese government on incoming flights for foreigners, and pointed out that five-star hotel dining was now priced at lower-end establishment levels.

Apart from stricter hygiene and safety protocols, Siow pointed out that Preferred is adopting a flexible policy with free cancellation. Also, China Star’s Liu commented hotels were offering good discounted rates.

According to industry sources, China started allowing large-scale domestic events since April.

Liu commented: “Travel companies are still not allowed to organise trans-provincial travel, but individuals can travel everywhere in China, except for a couple of high-risk Covid-19 areas.”

She believes that the MICE industry will need time to recover, starting with a rebound in domestic business and followed by outbound and finally inbound.

“We believe it will take two to three years for the industry to return to normal,” she opined.

Place Borneo rolls out campaign to Meet Differently

By S Puvaneswary

June 1, 2020

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Sarawak-headquartered event management company and PCO, Place Borneo, recently launched its Meet Differently campaign, targeted at helping the events industry resume business in a safe format as soon as possible.

The campaign which runs up to 1Q2021, introduces six key ideas – Meet Outside the Box, Three’s a Crowd, Nature Calls, Go Virtual or Go Home, Be Picky, You Deserve it and Drink Responsibly.

These ideas range from choosing exclusive venue buyouts and the re-engineering of meeting formats to choosing more remote locations and increasing more virtual elements in a physical meeting. Regardless, they are in accordance with the new norm for the industry in the aftermath of Malaysia’s Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), currently scheduled to end on June 9.

Mona Abdul Manap, founder and CEO at Place Borneo, shared: “Our campaign serves to inform our existing and future customers that we are ready to serve with exciting new ways of organising events along with maintaining health and safety of all parties involved by having strict government-approved Standard Operating Procedures at all events.”

The campaign is marketed through Place Borneo’s website, social media channels, and email marketing. A campaign video will also be produced and distributed online. While the campaign is currently domestic-focused, it will also be applicable for international groups once borders reopen.

Commenting on the campaign, Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Sarawak, said: “Our government sees business events as an integral growth to our tourism development in Sarawak.

“It is important for industry players to play a proactive role to develop and attract events and conferences to Sarawak. Coming up with unique new ideas such as Meet Differently will set the benchmark, and differentiate us from other states or even countries.”

Among the events managed by Place Borneo that have been postponed to next year are the Borneo International Water and Waste Water Exhibition and Conference 2020 and the Miri Country Music Fest. The International Primatological Society Congress has also been postponed from 2022 to August 2023 because of the pandemic.

Social unrest, xenophobia among emerging security issues for corporate travellers: International SOS

By TTGmice

June 1, 2020

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Business-traveller — Several security challenges for corporate travellers have emerged in the wake of Covid-19

Against a backdrop of an exponential rise of Covid-19-related security cases, International SOS has raised three emerging security challenges that organisations must be aware of as lockdowns are relaxed.

These come alongside underlying security issues that the pandemic has and will continue to exacerbate.

Several security challenges for corporate travellers have emerged in the wake of Covid-19

International SOS identified social unrest and petty crime as among the issues to watch, a result of severe worldwide economic downturn caused by large-scale and prolonged restrictions on mobility, disruption to production and supply chains, and closure of businesses.

Anti-government sentiment follows next, driven by perceived poor governmental responses to the pandemic as well as high unemployment levels, potentially prompting unrest or challenges to leadership, particularly in locations with polarised societies or those with major political oppositions.

The third security challenge is xenophobia. International SOS noted that an increase in nationalistic trends has been accompanied by a rise in xenophobia in some locations, targeted at those who are falsely seen as spreading the virus or having privileged access to medicine and food supplies.

James Bird, security director, intelligence and operations at International SOS, commented in a statement: “Up to 75 per cent of our security cases have been Covid-19-related in recent months, with total cases rising to double the amount we’d normally expect to see each month. Locations previously considered low-security risk are experiencing new emerging risks. Many countries will also find that the pandemic environment exacerbates underlying or pre-existing security concerns. These are notably associated with economic inequality and political polarisation, which will fuel second-order security consequences.

“It is clear that security teams will play a critical role when transitioning to a ‘new normal’ workplace, as lockdown measures in many nations start to be relaxed. Visibility of the new security status in the current environment will be vital for the return to safe and sustainable operations.“

Creating a virtual world

By Lauren Arena

June 1, 2020

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Hot Idea
Take a user-experience approach when designing virtual events, especially if you’re working with multiple tech providers. A central hub will help attendees navigate the different platforms and learning opportunities on offer.

PlanetIMEX

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Brief
When this year’s IMEX Frankfurt was cancelled in March due to the coronavirus outbreak, show organisers IMEX Group received an outpouring of support from the international business events industry.

Shortly after the cancellation, IMEX announced it would launch PlanetIMEX, a new virtual hub for education and business, as a ‘gift’ to meeting, incentive and event professionals.

“Rather than switch to a one-off online event, we opted for innovation through transformation,” said IMEX CEO, Carina Bauer.

Together with local tech company, The Platform Group, IMEX created a 3D world with three distinct islands: A beach-themed Community Island; A forest-inspired Education Island, and a Networking Island featuring canyons, teepees and fireside chats.

Highlights
Reflecting the original dates of the tradeshow, PlanetIMEX kicked off with EduMonday (May 11) on the Education Island – a day of virtual learning with more than 40 speakers, four concurrent tracks and 32 live sessions.

Partnerships proved critical to the success of the event. Cvent provided the registration system; while a CrowdCompass mobile app provided interactive elements like Q&A; and Streamlined Communications supported speaker management.

The virtual education environment was delivered via 6Connex and designed to reflect the familiar setting of a convention centre, with a central lobby that featured a help desk, links to various meeting rooms, and a comprehensive agenda that was updated live.

Each session had a dedicated moderator and countdown clock with adjustable time zones, making scheduling easy for attendees globally.

EduMonday was swiftly followed by Community Day (May 12), where 19 association partners delivered a mixture of live and pre-recorded sessions; and virtual networking at the SITE’s Got Talent event (May 14), which helped raise funds for the SITE Foundation.

“The reaction online, during and after these live events, on social media has been extraordinary,” Bauer said. “In some ways, we felt that we’ve managed to capture some of the magic and excitement of people all around the world coming together.”

As PlanetIMEX continues, focus will be centred around the Networking Island. Free business matchmaking and peer-to-peer learning opportunities were introduced last week (May 28) via yet another tech partner, Conversations with Brella.

Challenges
In order to deliver the multiple different elements of PlanetIMEX at speed, Bauer said the team had to use different technology platforms for different elements of the programme.

“The island concept sought to bring these into one central location and drive people to the different platforms depending on their interest. I would say that this was successful in its first iteration, but we will be seeking to simplify the user journey over time,” she said.

Managing a live broadcast with speakers in remote locations also proved challenging, but an all-hands-on-deck approach allowed the team to come together. This involved reimagining existing structures and procedures used to deliver the live event in Frankfurt and encouraging the team to embrace a digital mindset.

“We’ve had to learn to work in a new way as we adopted an agile project management approach – an approach that’s new to the team, but worked well,” Bauer said.

“We’ve learnt a huge amount about what we should and should not do in terms of the management and delivery of online events, and will improve on this as PlanetIMEX evolves.”

Event PlanetIMEX
Organisers IMEX Group
Dates May 11-14, 2020
Attendance 5,000 delegates across Europe, US and Asia

UFI Asia-Pacific Conference heads Down Under in 2021

By TTGmice

June 1, 2020

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UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, will be bringing its Asia-Pacific Conference to Melbourne next year.

To be held at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC), this is the first-ever UFI event to be held in Australia. Dates will be confirmed in the coming weeks, but the UFI Asia-Pacific Conference is typically held in late February or early March.

Melbourne (pictured) will be the host for UFI’s APAC conference next year

Such a conference typically attracts 250 to 300 event organisers and venue operators from around the world, and UFI is expecting a similar turnout in 2021.

The conference will feature two days of networking and learning as well as co-located meetings such as that of UFI’s Marketing Committee or its Association Committee meetings. Other activities held onsite typically include a venue tour, a meeting of the members of UFI’s Asia-Pacific Chapter, a welcome reception for all delegates, city tours andmore.

The conference will also be supported by the Exhibition & Event Association of Australasia and the Melbourne Convention Bureau.

Peter King, CEO of MCEC, said in a statement: “This leading event couldn’t come at a more crucial time and whatever the world looks like on the other side of Covid-19, bringing our industry together to create connections and knowledge share, will help make sure the exhibition industry plays an important role in the global economic recovery.”

ConnecTechAsia goes fully virtual for 2H2020 event

Bangkok’s The Athenee Hotel maintains venue rates with new health and safety setup

Aventri premiers industry’s first hybrid and virtual event solution

Beyond Asia: The Hague Convention Bureau; Talley Management Group; and Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan

Luxury brand 1 Hotels opens first outpost in Sanya

Domestic events, business travel driving MICE recovery in China

Place Borneo rolls out campaign to Meet Differently

Social unrest, xenophobia among emerging security issues for corporate travellers: International SOS

Creating a virtual world

UFI Asia-Pacific Conference heads Down Under in 2021

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