Macau is affirming its appeal as a MICE destination with the latest unveiling of the upcoming Galaxy International Convention Center (GICC) and 16,000-seat Galaxy Arena, set for an opening in 1H2021.
Operated by the Galaxy Entertainment Group, GICC will bring a total of 40,000m2 of event space, including a 10,000m2 pillarless exhibition hall, an auditorium for 650 guests, a banquet hall for up to 2,400 guests, a 4,000m2 conference hall comprising three dividable spaces, and a ballroom catering to more than 1,000 guests.
The Galaxy Arena
There will also be a luxury lifestyle hotel with more than 700 keys, teased to be a brand that has “strong emphasis on taking its local surroundings and weaving it into the hotel product”, revealed Galaxy Entertainment Group’s director, operations development, new resort, Scott Kreeger.
“What MICE delegates want, is the opportunity to culturally immerse themselves in the destination. We wanted a hotel brand that could help us bring these local flavours into the MICE experience,” Kreeger explained.
These new developments will be connected to Galaxy Macau, the destination’s largest collection of luxury hotel brands under one roof comprising The Ritz-Carlton, Macau; Banyan Tree Macau; JW Marriott Hotel Macau; Hotel Okura Macau; Galaxy Hotel and Broadway Hotel.
GICC is also touted to be able to elevate MICE planning capabilities by introducing Event Studio – a team of event professionals who can collaborate with organisers on venue selection, theme, décor, entertainment, as well as visual and lighting effects.
For instance, one of the most innovative features planners can look forward to is the interactive capability of wall displays around GICC. These digital screens can be synced to mobile devices, allowing attendees to interact with their smartphones.
Organisers can also choose to customise the sweeping 75m LED façade wall, a capability which will have huge potential in “creating excitement for the event even before (attendees) enter the building”, said Kreeger.
He added that in the lead-up to GICC’s opening in 2021, Galaxy will be working with local MICE stakeholders to hoist up the destination, with a focus on raising awareness of the destination’s offerings.
This includes participating in more regional and international shows – namely Tourism Expo Japan and IBTM World in Barcelona – where Galaxy will unveil GICC.
International art collective, teamLab, and Sands Resorts Macao are jointly constructing a yet-untitled permanent digital art museum at The Venetian Macao, slated to open in January 2020.
The museum seeks to blur the boundaries between the human body and art
Described as a “monumental” attraction in a press release, the museum will be housed in The Venetian Macao’s Cotai Expo Hall F, spanning 5,000m2 of floor space. It will be “an extremely complex, three-dimensional world with varying elevations, featuring constantly changing, immersive artworks”.
The “body immersive” museum will feature artworks that blur the boundaries between the human body and art, challenging the conventional notion of the “physical”, according to teamLab. Visitors will immerse themselves in the art with others, allowing them to explore new, continuous relationships that transcend the boundaries between themselves and the world.
Brilliant innovations often come from unlikely sources, and this power duo may have just created the business events industry’s next big thing.
National University of Singapore (NUS) undergraduate Vien Le and alumnus Aaron Khoo have launched Avenevv, a platform where venues can showcase their event spaces, qualify leads, automate quotations, manage bookings, generate e-invoices, as well as receive payments and post-event feedback.
Despite having no formal MICE training, Aaron Khoo (left) and Vien Le (right) have created a product that will help with industry’s pain points
Avenevv, which includes the extension Avenaire for freelance suppliers, currently lists some 100 spaces from more than 30 venue partners. These include InterContinental Singapore, Robertson Quay, City Serviced Offices, Zouk and Arcc Spaces. The platform has since bagged an award under Singapore Tourism Board’s Tourism Innovation Challenge for MICE.
“Event planners face the issue of visualising venues and their possibility for event usage, and physical visits could be a bigger pain point for overseas event planners. We also observed that the process of communicating with many different venue owners is often manually done and time-consuming,” noted Le and Khoo.
With this platform, booking processes – from quote collation to invoicing across various venues and their different policies – can be streamlined. The ecosystem also casts a spotlight on unique spaces that may have fallen off the radar.
They explained: “In recent years, we have seen (strong potential in) alternative uses for under-utilised venues such as restaurants, offices, retail stores, co-working spaces or sports centres. However, being non-conventional event venues, they may not be event-ready.”
With Avenevv, such venue providers are now equipped with a one-stop-shop that merges enquiries, bookings, payment and even refunds.
An outsider perspective
Rolling out this product was no mean feat.
Although Le and Khoo had prior experience in organising academic events in junior college for more than 1,000 attendees, they and their team members from NUS had no prior experience in the hospitality sector.
It was a “chance meeting with a veteran in the hospitality sector” that spurred them to develop Avenevv. Aside from functioning as an events booking platform, it can also collect event data that will inform on trends and consumer behaviours to benchmark the events industry.
To create a solution to address the pain points of the MICE industry, the team conducted rigorous testing with close to 50 corporate and professional event planners.
“They enabled us to better appreciate the intricate process of how decisions are made for B2B planners. There are many factors beyond price: the event theme, objectives, an event planner’s personality and their organisation workflow, the venue operations and so on,” they expressed.
The next challenge – and one of the biggest, confessed the duo – was introducing the concept of automating venue reservations to event planners, “who would always aspire to customise and add a personal touch”.
The pair added: “We also understand that there are certain reasons why most companies stop at listing, as bypassing is a common problem that could arise. The interaction between event planners and venue managers could get very complicated – beyond what a platform can cater for. Most of the time, event planners and venues may interact directly because that is what they are used to doing.”
However, they asserted that the benefits outweigh the concerns of integrating digital booking in the planning process. “When we break down the things that an event planner actually does, manual tasks take up a large amount of time and effort. Instead of focusing on developing great content for the event, event planners are now doing jobs that could be automated with technology,” they stressed.
The team is slowly making progress in converting more planners to the digital side. To entice them, the team is offering the management software for free while working on keeping it as user-friendly as possible.
Not resting on their laurels
Avenevv is off to a good start, but the team is hard at work to bring in more industry partners. Aside from proactively reaching out to organisations and event planners, they also organised the Event Tech Show Asia Pacific earlier this year to raise more awareness about automating event processes and Avenevv.
Meanwhile, community site Avellage – which offers promotional deals to planners and suggestions on new event ideas – was also recently launched. Currently, the platform is undergoing testing and enhancement, backed by feedback from both event planners and venue partners who provide business context and updates on other challenges faced by the industry.
“Given heightening event expectations, what we hope to challenge is the perception that certain events can only take place at certain venues.
“The use of venues has changed over time and that seeing different event possibilities is crucial in sparking new event ideas and concepts for better attendee experience. We hope to drive innovations in the industry with this mindset,” the pair concluded.
After a wide-ranging recruitment process led by Fisher Leadership that saw 130 individuals considered and submissions of 76 formal expressions of interest, the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) has appointed Julia Swanson to the position of CEO.
Swanson was acting CEO of MCB since April 2019 when former CEO Karen Bolinger departed from the organisation.
Julia Swanson
Chris Barlow, board chair of the Melbourne Convention Bureau, made the appointment announcement yesterday, and described Swanson as a “passionate and driven tourism and business events professional with over 20 years of experience”.
“In her nine years with MCB, Julia has contributed strongly to the growth and success of the organisation in the global business events market”, he said.
“In her time as acting CEO, Julia has driven stronger strategic alignment with Visit Victoria through her role on the Visit Victoria Leadership Team for the overall benefit of the visitor economy.”
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 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.
