Royal Paragon Hall’s Pantakamon Amatayakul (left) receiving an award from Thaneadpon Thanaboonyawat, secretary to the minister of natural resources and environment, Thailand, (right) at the Joining Forces Against Global Warming ceremony
Royal Paragon Hall, a venue in Bangkok, Thailand, has been awarded the Carbon Footprint for an Organization Certificate and the Carbon Neutral Certificate from the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization, joining its many accolades in recognition of its sustainable meeting management system.
This year, Royal Paragon Hall drew up its Carbon Footprint Assessment Plan which measures the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from various activities, and established management guidelines to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
According to managing director Talun Theng, the venue is committed to finding ways to offset for its emissions, such as by purchasing carbon credits. It has also joined the Stock Exchange of Thailand’s Care the Bear Program, which has enabled it to cut its carbon footprint by more than 20,000kg – equivalent to planting more than 3,000 large trees.
Its sustainability efforts, such as using recyclable decorative materials, reducing waste from events, and reducing electric power usage through LED lamps, have earned it the World Class ISO 20121: 2012 Event Sustainability Management System certification.
Rooms
My Superior room was bright and spacious, sporting Muji-inspired aesthetics that are rooted in minimalist lines and liberal use of wood accents.
The room let in abundant natural light, and was furnished with a circular work desk, a sofa placed near the window, and a comfortable bed which came with a pillow menu that allowed me to avoid the generally soft ones.
The bathroom followed a Japanese layout, with the toilet – a Toto Washlet, no less – independent from the glass-walled shower and bathtub, which I imagine will make morning routine convenient for colleagues or event delegates sharing a room. Toiletries were from Panpuri, a homegrown luxury lifestyle spa brand.
My one complaint was the noise from the shower from the next room every night.
MICE facilities
Hotel Nikko Bangkok features over 1,800m2 of space across 10 function rooms spread throughout the building. The largest room is the Fuji Grand Ballroom which can hold a maximum of 1,250 pax for a standing cocktail party; it can be divided into two 400m2 rooms.
Other facilities
There are four F&B options here; Hishou and Curve 55 on the ground floor, and The Oasis and Pool Bar on the sixth. For breakfast, guests can choose from an international buffet at The Oasis, or head to Hishou for a Japanese spread.
Having a traditional Japanese breakfast in Bangkok was a welcome change, as this is something that other hotels do not offer. Over the next two days, I slurped up warm bowls of udon, drank comforting cups of green tea, and chose from an extensive spread that comprised grilled saba and salmon chunks, fluffy tamagoyaki, and cold salads.
On the sixth floor there is a free-form swimming pool, gym and sauna.
The 22-storey hotel stands a few minutes’ walk from the BTS Skytrain Thonglor station and right in the heart of one of Bangkok’s trendiest neighbourhoods, packed with chic bars, upmarket restaurants like Supanniga Eating Room, designer shops and snazzy malls. Time-starved delegates will appreciate the convenience of being able to enjoy a bit of the city after their daily meetings.
Service
The property was at full occupancy that weekend, but Pleum May, my waitress at breakfast, remembered me when I visited Hishou the second morning. She even made me a soothing salmon ochazuke (a green tea soup with rice) to try when I mentioned how much I appreciated light Japanese breakfasts.
The doormen too, were all extremely helpful when it came to pointing us in the right direction, or when we needed help to translate our destinations in Thai to taxi drivers.
Verdict
The hotel scores with aesthetically-pleasing confines, a separate toilet with a bidet, traditional Japanese breakfast, and service that is a cut above the rest. Marrying omotenashi, the Japanese approach to hospitality, with Thai hospitality elevates the entire experience even further.
Number of rooms 301 Contact details
Tel: 66 (2) 080 2111
Email: info@nikkobangkok.com
Monaco offers serene, picturesque surroundings, not just glamour and glitter
Monaco offers serene, picturesque surroundings; not just glamour and glitter
Monaco changes her narrative for MICE
Determined to shed the image that Monaco is a playground for only the rich and famous, the Monaco Government Tourist Bureau has launched the For You campaign in Asia to raise awareness of other aspects of the destination that will appeal to corporate incentive groups and a wide range of travellers.
Speaking to TTGmice, Benoit Badufle, regional director of Monaco Government Tourist Bureau Asia Office, said: “What everyone knows about Monaco for the past 70 years has been around royalty, Formula One Grand Prix, superyachts and millionaires. Monaco is more than just these. The campaign intends to show that the destination is for all, with price ranges for a variety of travellers.”
The For You campaign will be deployed through media platforms, trade engagements and a MICE familiarisation trip that is slated for Spring 2020.
The Monaco Government Tourist Bureau Asia Office hopes to further raise awareness about the destination and attract more business events and leisure FIT tourists from the region.
Badufle said: “For incentive qualifiers, a trip to Monaco is seen as a prestigious destination which means they have “made it” in their field of expertise and that the company values their contribution. However, it is sometimes not easy to convince incentive organisers to have an event in Monaco due to the perception that it is too expensive and not for common people. We wish to dispel these notions and show that the destination is competitively priced.”
He shared that twin accommodation in winter is priced from 300 euros (US$334) and 250 euros in a five-star and four-star property, respectively. During the shoulder season from April to early July, rooms rates climb to 400 euros and 300 euros for the same. – S Puvaneswary
BMA House cuts delegate carbon footprint and water usage
As part of an ongoing drive to maximise sustainability, BMA House in London has reduced its delegate carbon footprint by 69 per cent over the last four years, while cutting water usage by 5.4 million litres per year.
Using Green Tourism to measure its carbon footprint on a per delegate basis, the conference and events venue has seen a reduction to 2.8kg per delegate from nine kilogrames per delegate in 2014.
In addition, surveys, recommendations and subsequent work by Thames Water have estimated savings of 5.4 million litres of water per year.
In a press statement, Kat Winfield, venue manager, BMA House, remarked that sustainability is at the heart of everything the venue does, despite “challenges presented by a Grade II listed building dating back to 1911”.
Some of the sustainability measures undertaken by the venue include: recycling and recovering all waste which led to a zero-to-landfill status as of February 2016; recycling 46,760kg of waste and saving 140 trees since January 2019; implementation of a crisp packet recycling scheme where empty packets are collected, taken to a TerraCycle location and processed into plastic pellets to make new recycled products; upgrading PIR and LED based lighting around the building to reduce energy usage; supporting fair trade tea and coffee growers by in-house caterers.
ESOT Congress 2023 picks Athens Athens, Greece has been chosen to host the Congress of the European Society for Organ Transplantation (ESOT) in September 2023, an event which gathers top medical doctors and scientists from all over the world.
The selection of the Greek capital as host for 2023 is a big win for the city’s convention industry and medical communities, and is the result of cooperation between the Hellenic Transplant Society and This is Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The Athens final bid presentation was made at the ESOT General Assembly last May.
“This is a great opportunity for Greece to become more active in organ donation and transplantation. In 2023, Athens will host more than 3,500 transplant experts from around the world, while an equal number of delegates are expected to attend the congress online,” said John Fouzas, president of the Hellenic Society of Transplantation.
Ben Schumacher has been appointed to Wyndham Hotels & Resort’s senior leadership team in the region in his new role as head of operations.
Based in Singapore, Schumacher will lead the hotel operations for both franchised and managed hotels across the region.
Having first joined Wyndham in 2016 as a franchise services manager, Schumacher has been directly responsible for the successful opening of more than 15 hotels in the past few years, including playing an instrumental role in supporting operations in South Korea over the past 12 months. Alongside his team, Schumacher currently services more than 130 franchised hotels within the South-east Asia and Pacific Rim region.
Before joining Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, he undertook several senior operational roles within the hotel industry, and was part of pre-opening teams across Australia and New Zealand for various Hilton Hotels.
Huashan 1914 Creative Park is a one-of-a-kind MICE venue
Earlier this March, the Taipei City Government established its first MICE office – a breakthrough after years of effort – in a bid to create a sound environment to further develop its MICE sector against the backdrop of an ultra-competitive Asia market.
And the city is smartly playing to its strengths, vividly highlighting unique locations where MICE events can be held such as the Huashan 1914 Creative Park and Taipei Expo Park; bettering its infrastructure with the recent launch of TaiNEX 2; and wearing its newly-minted Michelin-star status proudly.
Huashan 1914 Creative Park is a one-of-a-kind MICE venue
Pu Lin, director of arts, Taiwan Creative Industry Development (which oversees Huashan 1914 Creative Park), said: “There is only one Huashan. Foreign companies like Google like to come here, and make use of our unique indoor and outdoor spaces to present their products. TedX Taipei is also held here every year.”
In addition to being a function space, Huashan 1914 Creative Park also doubles up as lifestyle destination for delegates to explore in their free time, as there are quaint shops and hole-in-the-wall cafes that have set up homes here.
Similarly, the 14-hectare Taipei Expo Park also has a lifestyle component – the 9,900m2 Maji Square, filled with more than 80 lifestyle shops and F&B options. The park also has numerous indoor and outdoor spaces, three of which are dedicated for MICE groups: the Expo Dome, Eco Ark, and Expo Hall.
Rich Shen, director administration management of Taipei EXPO Foundation which manages Taipei Expo Park, shared: “We can hold tradeshows and gala dinners at the Eco Dome; while large-scale performances or speeches can head to the Expo Hall which can seat 1,200 comfortably. Our main target are exhibitions, mainly from the Asia-Pacific market.”
Elsewhere in Taipei, the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 2 (TaiNEX 2) began operations on March 4 this year, expanding the city’s MICE infrastructure. The US$240 million venue features 30,240m2 of exhibition space, a 6,100m2 Sky Garden (opening in November), and 14 conference rooms – where the largest can hold 3,600 guests.
Just across the road, TaiNEX 1 has 45,360m2 of exhibition space, a 22,680m2 column-free Sky Dome, and nine conference rooms. When combined, TaiNEX is the country’s largest exhibition venue.
“It is very convenient to hold events here, as within a five-minute-drive radius are six hotels, and in 2022, there will be an additional hotel and shopping centre nearby,” revealed Philip Huang, executive director of TaiNEX 2.
When asked how Taipei’s MICE business has fared over the years, project manager of ABLY Conference and Exhibition (part of Taiwan Tour DMC), Lilly Lee, shared that she has seen the city’s MICE sector grow year-on-year, since the company started handling MICE around a decade ago.
“But competition is pretty tough, versus other MICE destinations in Asia-Pacific like Thailand (Bangkok), Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan. While Taiwan may be cheaper than South Korea and Japan, we are more expensive than Bangkok,” she shared.
Hence, she stressed that during a pitch, they focus on Taiwan’s unique points and cultural attractions. For instance, one new way to sell Taipei was through gastronomic adventures, thanks to the inaugural Michelin Guide Taipei which launched in 2018, featuring a total of 110 dining establishments.
For instance, MICE groups can arrange to dine in a private room at three-Michelin-star Cantonese restaurant Le Palais, the only restaurant to be bestowed with three stars. Delegates can also go on a gastronomic hunt for the 10 street food vendors listed in the guide during the evenings after a long day of meetings.
To which, Lee Jerchin, deputy managing director, Taipei MICE Office, added: “Another of Taipei’s advantages is that you can get to the mountain, or to the seashore and ocean, within an hour from the city. Not many cities have such natural resources, is safe to walk about, and where the locals are friendly.”
The ultimate goal, he pointed out, was to “bring Taipei’s name to the international masses”, as “we want to be the top MICE city in Asia”, acknowledging that it is going to be a tough road ahead. Currently, Taipei sits at sixth position on ICCA’s 2018 city rankings, which he feels can be improved.
The contribution to economic benefit was the basis of a four-year plan (2019 to 2022) created by the Taipei City Government, where the first step was the establishment of the Taipei MICE Office. Next steps include the recruitment of ambassadors for the city; the recruitment of five international advisors to provide expertise; and outbound promotions through tradeshows and roadshows such as IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX America, and IT&CM Asia.
“We are also working closely with private stakeholders like PCOs, where together we work to identify the best chances of bringing in an international meeting. Aside from providing venue information, we also provide support letters from the government, as well as subventions,” he shared.
“MICE is important for Taipei City, and currently, the sector only makes up one per cent of the city’s GDP, hence there’s definitely lots of room for growth. Taipei – and Taiwan as a whole – is well developed in international trade in many industries, but not so much in the MICE sector,” Taipei’s MICE Office’s Lee concluded.
Hoi An Ancient Town is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-East Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century
After spending years attracting European MICE groups, the three Central Vietnamese provinces of Thua Thien Hue, Danang and Quang Nam have turned their attention towards markets closer to home.
Nguyen Van Phuc, deputy director, department of tourism Thua Thien Hue Province, shared with TTGmice: “Although there are direct flights to Danang (from various countries in Asia-Pacific), we want to leverage Singapore’s Changi Airport as an international hub to tap into markets like Australia and India, as well as strengthen inbound from South-east Asian region.”
Hoi An (pictured) is also a UNESO-listed site, and is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a South-east Asian trading port dating from the 15th to the 19th century
And until Danang obtains direct links between Australia and India, which Nguyen revealed they are “working hard at”, Singapore will be positioned as such.
That is partly why the three Central Vietnamese provinces banded together to organise a roadshow in Singapore for the second year running.
The first roadshow was held last year, and focused more on the leisure market, which Nguyen explained was a success. As such, they are back this year to “continue building the momentum, this time for the MICE market”. The provinces have also confirmed they will be back in town next year.
When asked if the provinces generally offered the same products, Nguyen stressed that each was different.
“Hue has a UNESCO-listed site and royal heritage, Quang Nam has Hoi An and is good for community-based tourism, while Danang is the gateway to Central Vietnam, and is the location for meetings (thanks to the Ariyana Tourism Complex),” he elaborated.
Hoi An-based Sabirama Cooking Tours & Restaurant’s owner, Quy, related a sample meeting and teambuilding itinerary that could be arranged for groups from 50 up to 400 people.
“From Danang to Hoi An it is only 30km, so half-day trips are possible. For example, I can arrange for a five-hour teambuilding session in Hoi An that incorporates a visit to the old town, a boat cruise down the Perfume River, a local cooking class, and even a ride in a water buffalo cart,” Quy said.
But Nguyen acknowledged that aside from Danang, Hue and Quang Nam were not publicised well enough, hence the collaborative push to paint a better picture of Central Vietnam – by showing its myriad tourism products to both the media and travel trade stakeholders – was necessary.
“We currently welcome more leisure tourists, but we want to attract more MICE groups to Vietnam as well. Over the next five years, we hope to grow the percentage of MICE visitors from 30 to 35,” Nguyen noted.
The OceanMedallion features the OceanNow service which allows guests to easily order food, drinks and more from their MedallionClass app or stateroom TV, and have the order delivered to wherever they are onboard the ship
Imagine speeding your corporate group through immigration, granting them hands-free access to their cabin, communicating with all attendees without dependence on onboard Internet, and knowing exactly where they all are along with the shortest route to get to them.
This “friction-free” cruise experience is not just a dream, as Princess Cruises moves to implement the OceanMedallion wearable device across its complete fleet by the end of 2021.
The OceanMedallion features the OceanNow service which allows guests to easily order food, drinks and more from their MedallionClass app or stateroom TV, and have the order delivered to wherever they are onboard the ship
The complimentary device is said to elevate the guest experience by enhancing guest-crew interactions, eliminate friction points, and enable interactive entertainment to deliver a high level of service and personalised attention on a large scale.
OceanMedallion will make its Asian debut onboard the Grand Princess, which will be homeported in Singapore for the first time for the 2020-2021 cruise season. Grand Princess is one of the MedallionClass ships in the Princess Cruises family.
“I like to think these are smart ships, like the smartphones that have changed the way we live today,” said Stuart Alison, senior vice president, Asia Pacific Commercial & Operations with Princess Cruises.
“The smartphone does everything and takes a lot of the friction points out of our life. Who goes to the bank anymore? Banking can be done on the smartphone now. We apply the same principle behind the OceanMedallion to make someone’s cruise experience friction-free. We want our customers to get on the ship and start enjoying themselves as much as possible.”
Overall, Alison believes that the expedited embarkation process, messaging capability and tracking function of the OceanMedallion will be especially beneficial for corporate groups.
“The Ocean Medallion was used at our internal marketing summit recently in the Caribbean. It allowed delegates to add fellow event attendees onto the device, and to see where they are. Participants were also able to access personalised service onboard,” he shared.
“This technology can revolutionise group travel,” he said, adding that his team is still discovering the full-scale of what the OceanMedallion is able to do for groups.
The Ocean Medallion is presently only available in English but work is underway to implement more languages.
Imaginatricks n uproarious fusion of acrobatics, dance and comedy in this latest action-packed show.
Malaysian integrated resort Resorts World Genting (RWG) is looking to expand its MICE earnings through curated corporate incentive programmes, which it believes will yield more revenue than the current majority of rewards that follow standard itineraries.
Rocky Too, senior vice president, sales and marketing at RWG, told TTGmice in an interview that the massive complex “has the tools” to deliver tailor-made experiences for corporate incentive programmes.
The Imaginatricks show is a fusion of acrobatics, dance and comedy; which could be an idea for event planners to make use of should they choose Resorts World Genting
Too pointed to RWG’s collection of over 10,000 guestrooms, a 4,000-seat ballroom, the 5,000-seat Arena of Stars that where numerous performances are presented, an indoor theme park, a soon-to-come outdoor theme park, two cable car systems, SkyAvenue shopping mall, Genting Highlands Premium Outlet, and more, as being lures for planners who desire unique programmes.
Too said: “We are targeting corporate groups that are looking to organise a different kind of convention – perhaps something that combines intensive meetings and fun activities.”
Too revealed that many corporate incentive programmes at RWG today follow a standard itinerary, where the main event is hosted in a hotel or restaurant. He hopes that RWG will be a trendsetter and change the way such events are held.
To inspire event planners, RWG has brought potential buyers from key Asian markets – China, India and South-east Asia – for fam trips last month, and will continue this effort into 2020.
Citing some examples of unique event ideas that can be produced at RWG, Too said: “We can have Imaginatricks performers featured as a headline act at a private welcome party or gala dinner; reserve a cable car line for a private group; host a cocktail party at Snow World where temperatures are minus six degrees Celcius; close off our theme parks exclusively for corporate groups. We can even fly in any foreign artistes that the organiser may want.”
Arokia Das Anthony, director, Luxury Tours Malaysia, believes that RWG’s latest direction may well succeed, as he is seeing a rise in corporate incentive buyers from Asia who are ready to increase their event budget to ensure a memorable experience for their top achievers.
Describing RWG’s decision to court the high-yield corporate incentive segment as a “step in the right direction”, Presanth Chandra, CEO, Apollo Asia Travel Group, hopes other destinations in the country will also follow suit.
“Malaysia, on the whole, is a value-for-money destination. We are reasonably priced as compared with neighbouring Singapore. Destinations here need to do more to profile their uniqueness offerings in order to stand out,” he urged.
The three-day long conference will be held at The Parisian Macao
This year’s PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association) Asia-Pacific Annual Conference will take place from November 6-8, with the overarching aim to support Asia-Pacific’s burgeoning MICE industry.
Held at The Parisian Macao, the conference will provide executive-level education, face-to-face networking, and business intelligence opportunities in addition to demonstrating how MICE events are the platform for global economic and social transformation.
The three-day long conference will be held at The Parisian Macao
“This year’s conference will deliver a tactical programme on event design, sustainability and inclusive event experiences and strategic sessions on leadership, collaboration, talent management and navigating geo-political shifts in the region,” said Antonio Codinach, PCMA’s regional business director in Asia-Pacific.
Keynote presenters include creativity expert and author Fredrik Haren, leadership and networking expert Janine Garner, and social entrepreneur Jimmy Pham. Additional speakers include leaders from KPMG LLP, Schneider Electric and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Meanwhile, educational sessions will explore how to design inclusive events experiences for Muslim participants, incorporating feng shui principles in venues, and what’s trending in the industry. There will also be invite-only roundtables, that will allow event delegates to build new business relationships in a more casual environment.
The Australian city of Melbourne will be hosting 2,000 international eye health professionals in two years time, as the city has won a bid for the World Congress of Optometry 2021 (WCO 2021).
To be held in September 2021, the three-day congress will bring the world’s best professionals in optometry to Australia and provide local optometrists exposure to global knowledge, experience and approaches to practice.
Melbourne will be the host for the next World Congress of Optometry
The event will also see leading manufacturers and equipment suppliers from all over the world converge at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre to share in the latest technological and patient care advances.
The bid, secured by the Melbourne Convention Bureau in partnership with Optometry Victoria South Australia and the Optical Distributors and Manufacturers Association with support from the Victorian State Government and Tourism Australia’s Business Events Bid Fund Program, is anticipated to generate almost A$12 million (US$8.1 million) in economic impact for the state of Victoria.
Federal tourism minister Simon Birmingham said this was a major win for Melbourne and reinforced the city’s standing as a business events destination of choice.
“Business events are extremely valuable to our economy, with the average business events visitor spending at least twice as much as a leisure visitor,” Birmingham said.
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.
