Dusit International has expanded its presence in the Philippines with the opening of two properties in Mactan and Davao.
The five-star Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu is located beachside on the scenic Punta Engaño peninsula of Mactan island, approximately 10km from Cebu City in the Central Visayas region. The resort will feature 272 guestrooms with views of the Magellan Sea, alongside facilities such as a 100m-long infinity pool, spa, fitness centre, and several dining venues.
dusitd2 Davao
Event planners may avail the largest ballroom in Mactan, the 1,200m2 Dusit Ballroom, and four meeting rooms, as well as an outdoor Sky Garden for teambuilding activities or cocktail receptions.
Meanwhile, dusitD2 Davao has opened with an initial 60 rooms and suites, with another 60 slated to open later this year. Hotel facilities include a courtyard swimming pool, the Madayaw Café all-day dining restaurant, Siam Lounge, a fitness centre and the Namm Spa.
Guests can also arrange for day trips to The Beach Club at Lubi Plantation Island, Managed by Dusit, a private island retreat a 30-minute boat ride off the coast of the Davao Gulf.
Besides Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu and dusitD2 Davao, other Dusit-branded hotels set to open this year include Dusit Thani Residence Davao hotel (2Q), which will open adjacent to dusitD2 Davao; and dusitD2 The Fort Manila, which will open as part of the Dusit Hospitality Management College in August.
With two properties currently in operation (namely Dusit Thani Manila and The Beach Club at Lubi Plantation Island, Managed by Dusit), 12 signed and another seven in the pipeline, the Philippines promises to become Dusit’s largest cluster country by 2021. This also puts Dusit on course to become one of the largest international hotel operators in the Philippines.
A historic tourist attraction in Nagasaki, Japan, is undergoing massive restoration to be returned to its original condition in 1897.
Built on an artificial island in Nagasaki Bay, Dejima was Japan’s only direct trading point with Europe between 1641 and 1853. It was the landing point of goods such as coffee and beer as well as Western teachings on medicine and navigation, becoming Japan’s gateway to the West.
Dejima is an artificial island to which Dutch workers were restricted during Japan’s era of isolation
But after the trading post closed, the 9,000m2 site went into decline and was later joined to the mainland to improve the harbour.
In 1951, the Dejima Restoration Project was launched as part of Nagasaki’s town development. To date, 16 buildings, the embankment and the main gate bridge have been restored. This year, the project enters its most challenging phase: making Dejima an island again. Private land will be purchased, a river and highway will be diverted, and a moat will be dug. Completion is expected to take more than 30 years.
Megumi Kawaguchi of the Dejima Restoration Office expects a boost in visitors following the works as Dejima “will provide visitors with an experience as if they travelled back in history”.
Dejima has long proved popular with incentive groups for providing a window on Japan’s modernisation and historic interactions with the West.
After nine months of renovations, the historic Caravelle Saigon hotel in Ho Chi Minh City circa 1959 has reopened with fresh guestrooms and function spaces.
The new rooms in the Opera Wing on floors 8 to 12 start at approximately 38m2, with soundproof windows, a 49-inch Samsung flatscreen TV, walk-in vanities and marble-clad bathrooms.
Caravelle Saigon
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The 10 function spaces on the second and third floor have also received a makeover complete with state-of-the-art AV equipment supporting up to 4K and Ultra HD. After the upgrade, the hotel’s four Opera Rooms also boast floor-to-ceiling windows which allows natural light to flood in.
The centrepiece of Caravelle Saigon’s event floor upgrade is the 4.7m-high Caravelle Ballroom comprising 300m2 of floor space. The ballroom can cater up to a maximum of 400, and can also be divided into two separate event spaces where required.
In addition, separating the Caravelle Ballroom and the Opera Rooms is a newly-updated 180m2 pre-function area that when added to the mix, increases the combined floor space of the ballroom and event rooms substantially. The area can also be used as a convenient breakout space during conventions or for attendees to catch-up or network over canapés and drinks.
In celebration of the refurbishment, Caravelle Saigon has unveiled a special meeting offer that is valid for bookings until September 30, 2019, for a minimum of 20 guests.
Benefits include:
For every 20 paying guests, the 21st guest is complimentary, up to a
maximum of 3 complimentary guests per event).
Five per cent discount on meeting package rates if payment is made three days before the event date.
For gala dinners, with a minimum of 150 guests, bookers will receive one complimentary buffet dinner voucher including unlimited of non-alcoholic cocktails, soft drinks and juices for two guests at Nineteen Buffet Restaurant. Two complimentary pre-dinner canapé items will also be included.
Terms and conditions apply. Email lethi.tran@caravellehotel.com for more information.
An estimated 90 per cent of business events bookings in Sri Lanka have either been postponed, cancelled or put on hold for the next two months of May and June due to the Easter Sunday bombings, informed the country’s MICE officials.
Sunil Dissanayake, director and CEO at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) – the country’s largest conference and exhibition centre – said that there were postponements of events after April 22, a day after the bomb explosions.
Sri Lankan tourism officials estimate cancellations could be as high as 50 per cent in coming months; Colombo pictured
Dissanayake added that the 18th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which was originally scheduled from May 23 to June 3 and would had drawn 4,500 delegates from some 180 countries, is another major event that has postponed. The conference has been tentatively moved to September this year, but a final decision will be made by the organisers next week.
Due to the postponements, Dissanayake noted there had been a drop of 12 million rupees (US$69,000) in revenue, despite a pickup in bookings from May onwards. Further ahead, the World HR Congress with the participation of 2,000 people from 40 countries is also confirmed for July 2020.
Meanwhile, for Aasim Mukthar, CEO at Lanka Exhibition & Conference Services (LECS), said that most meetings in May and June for LECS have been postponed or cancelled.
“We have events in July which we are going ahead with,” he shared, adding that it’s too early to talk about future cancellations.
“We have been informed of several postponements, cancellations or events (that have been) placed on hold,” said a worried senior official, who declined to be named, at the Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB). For instance, a 1,000-pax event by a local operator due to be held in July has been postponed.
The bureau official added that while the security situation has improved, foreign tour operators were not taking chances due to heightened travel warnings by several countries – such as UK, US, India, China and Canada – urging their nationals to avoid non-essential travel to Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan tourism officials estimate cancellations could be as high as 50 per cent in coming months as the country limps towards normalcy. Officials added that the ambitious target of three million arrivals this year, against 2.3 million in 2018, would have to be sharply revised due to the crisis.
At least 250 people including 40 tourists were killed in Easter Sunday attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels across the island. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Saudi Arabia has set its sights high on becoming a major tourism hub that connects Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
At the Arabian Travel Market, the kingdom laid out its ambitious Vision 2030 masterplan, which aims to reposition the country on the global tourism stage.
The Red Sea Project is an upcoming tourism development in Saudi Arabia
John Davis, CEO of Colliers International MENA, said: “Saudi Arabia wants to be the heart of the Arabian Islamic world; a global powerhouse and a hub that connects Europe, Asia and Africa.”
In the next 11 years, the Kingdom plans to pump US$36 billion into the country’s roads, airports, railways and sea ports.
Several multi-billion-dollar projects are also in the pipeline, including a US$500 billion mega leisure and business development, NEOM. This will comprise 12 small cities, with lifestyle and tourist products, luxury hotels and villas on a 460km stretch of the Red Sea. It will operate solely on wind and solar power and leverage robotics to perform functions such as logistics and security. The first phase is slated for completion by 2020.
The Red Sea project is set to be the Middle East’s first fully-integrated luxury mixed use destination. It will comprise 50 islands dotted in the water, with the first phase of 14 luxury hotels boasting 3,000 hotel keys set to open by 2022.
Badr Al Badr, CEO of Dur Hospitality, said: “We have been in the industry for 42 years and we’ve never seen anything like this, the tourism sector is being totally revamped. The country is opening up to visitors, whether religious or general tourism. There are a lot of investment opportunities to be taken advantage of.”
Visa restrictions have been loosened, with an e-visa scheme set to launch in the coming months, and airport expansions and the construction of new terminals are ongoing. The easing of leisure and entertainment laws have seen a target set of having 2,500 movie screens spread across 350 theatres by 2030.
However, Badr predicts it will be the country’s business events market that shines in the near future. By 2020, Saudi Arabia will invest US$1.6 billion into facilities, with a swathe of shows already planned, including hosting G20.
Said Badr: “The biggest growth will be the MICE sector. That will really pick up in Saudi Arabia in the next few years, followed by general tourism.”
Gurugram-headquartered Corporate Alliance Group, a corporate business travel company, announced that it has acquired an 80 per cent stake in Meet 2 Travel (M2T) for an undisclosed amount.
As a result of this acquisition, Corporate Alliance Group has now entered the B2B and B2C exhibition and show space. M2T is now now a part of a newly created entity – YESPIRED – which will be headed by industry veteran and its original founder Vineet Gopal as CEO.
Kumria: the exhibition sector is new ground for Corporate Alliance Group
Gopal will continue to hold a 20 per cent stake in M2T. As per the acquisition, Gopal’s other two companies Representation World and Venuvi have also been merged with YESPIRED.
“We are now entering a new domain of representation and exhibition businesses with the formation of YESPIRED. We will begin with our maiden M2T consumer-focused show in September. It will be held at the Pacific Mall Tagore Garden in New Delhi, and we are expecting participation from travel consultants, tourism boards, airlines and consumer companies,” said Kapil Kumria, chief managing director, Corporate Alliance Group.
“We are looking at vertical representation, by leveraging our association with different hotels and destinations. We want to introduce some new destinations to the Indian market. As far as our exhibitions are concerned, we will be looking at offering customised solutions as per the need of different cities,” added Kumria.
Gopal added that the aim will be to organise about 10 to 12 B2B and B2C exhibitions pan India within a year.
“Under the aegis of Venuevi, we have also tied up with a two-hectare farmhouse which will be converted in an event venue. We are also partnering with other independent spaces to offer venues for corporate events,” shared Gopal.
Barun Gupta, vice president, sales strategy, business development & partnerships, India, Corporate Alliance Group, concluded: “This acquisition is start of new phase at Corporate Alliance Group, and we are planning and shortlisting other acquisitions in South Asia and South-east Asia in the near future.”
Tourism Australia has announced that its managing director, John O’Sullivan, is leaving the organisation to take up a new role as CEO and executive director of the ASX-listed company, Experience Co.
He will leave the organisation in June, handing the baton over to Tourism Australia’s executive general manager international, Phillipa Harrison, who will act as interim managing director until a permanent replacement is found. A search to find O’Sullivan’s successor is underway.
John O’Sullivan makes decision to leave Tourism Australia
O’Sullivan, who joined Tourism Australia in March 2014, said the time was right to step down after five years in a leadership role of promoting Australia to the world.
“It’s with mixed emotions that I now move on, but I feel I’m leaving the organisation in a really good position. Australian tourism is performing well, with international arrivals and spending both at record levels. We’ve reshaped our marketing narrative. Our Tourism 2020 journey is nearly complete, with the A$115 billion target set back in 2009 already achieved, and I firmly believe Tourism Australia is driving the right strategy to take the industry to new levels,” he said.
Tourism Australia chairman, Bob East commented: “Tourism Australia and the Australian tourism industry have gone from strength to strength under John’s stewardship. From the beginning, John has set a clear direction for Tourism Australia – value over volume – and has systematically set about executing that strategy.
“Targeting high yielding travellers who stay longer, do more and spend more when they come Down Under has become a mantra for the tourism industry, helping deliver record spending and tangible results for thousands of Australian tourism businesses,” he added.
Tourism Australia has also confirmed that it will be promoting Susan Coghill into the role of chief marketing officer, replacing Lisa Ronson who left the organisation in March.
Coghill is currently general manager creative, content and campaigns, where she has helped develop Tourism Australia’s recent Dundee, Undiscover Australia and Australia Inc campaigns, as well as oversee the appointment of new global creative agency, M&C Saatchi.
In a study collaboratively commissioned by Hilton, NYC & Company and PCMA Foundation, it was found that half of all delegates attending large-scale, urban conventions are circumventing the established room-reservation process and booking accommodations on their own.
The Room Block of the Future study came about as the three organisations sought to better understand room booking behaviours within the business events industry, with the hope of developing a delivery system that better suits planner and attendee needs in an ever-evolving meetings landscape.
PCMA Convening Leaders in Pittsburgh
Kalibri Labs and Prism Advisory Group were lead research consultants on the project and identified the behaviours and motivations that are driving this decision-making. They jointly analysed more than two million anonymous hotel and Airbnb guest records from conventions held in Houston, New York City and San Diego between 2015 and 2018, in addition to surveying a sample of US business travellers who have attended a city-wide convention.
According to partner at Kalibri Labs, Mark Lomanno: “One of the more surprising findings from the research was the fact that almost 25% of attendees at large city-wide conventions actually booked their accommodations at the hotels specified in the room block, but did not go through the traditional room reservation process resulting in them not being recognised in the room block. Clearly, this segment of attendees room booking priorities were not being met by the existing process.”
Elaine Hendricks, partner at Prism Advisory Group, added: “It was very unexpected to learn from the survey of city-wide attendees just how much it bothers them to lose control of their hotel-booking process — being generally unable to do the things they normally do in hotel bookings, such as accessing their loyalty benefits. It’s this desire for control that creates frustration and prompts a quarter of them to make transient bookings in convention hotels to get what they want.”
“Partnering with PCMA Foundation and NYC & Company on this project was a natural collaboration as we are all committed to innovating within the room block space and know true innovation will only occur after understanding the buying behaviours and needs of the guest or conference attendee. We all recognise the meetings industry is rapidly evolving and that it’s crucial to adapt to changing customer preferences to maintain relevance,” said Frank Passanante, senior vice president, Hilton Worldwide sales, Americas.
Research findings could profoundly shift how cities, hospitality organisations and business events professionals organise meetings and conferences.
“The results of ‘Room Block of the Future’ reflect a shift in the industry that CVB’s must adapt to,” said Jerry Cito, executive vice president, convention development at NYC & Company. “The findings will help NYC & Company educate planners and suppliers on the need for flexibility, pricing transparency and potential development of a cross-loyalty programme.”
In addition, hospitality loyalty programmes, cost, room preferences and age are significant factors in booking behaviours and consumer trends, the study found.
A common attendee misperception — affecting booking patterns across different sizes and types of conferences — is that hotel rooms within the block are more expensive. However, the research proves that in a majority of cases (66%), rooms within the block are more affordable.
Room variety, or lack thereof, is another factor affecting booking patterns. Among many business travellers, a perceived rigidness and the inability to choose a preferred room type played a role.
Overall, younger attendees (59%) are more likely to use alternative accommodations.
The Room Block of the Future study is just one of the many research projects supported by PCMA Foundation, which is committed to empowering individuals and advancing innovations that fuel the future of business events.
“Through the generous support of PCMA members and partners, the Foundation has provided more than US$800,000 over the past four years to fund education and research projects to help advance the business events industry,” said Meredith Rollins, PCMA Foundation’s executive director.
“Part of our mission is to collaborate with industry partners, thought leaders, and academics to challenge current thinking and models; and all of the organisations that aligned to fund and execute this Room Block project is a great example of the value that can be created when we work together.
CWT Meetings & Events (CWT M&E) has appointed Petrina Goh as its new director for Singapore.
Goh is responsible for growing CWT M&E’s business in this market, and create highly participative, digital and data-driven M&E experiences for clients.
Goh has over a decade of experience in the meeting & events and hospitality industries. She joined CWT M&E in 2015 as a business development executive, and in 2017 was promoted to the role of senior business development manager.
Pullman has opened its first property in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, located within a mixed-use complex in Baotou’s CBD.
Each of its 263 Mongolian-inspired guestrooms and suites proffer views of either the Saihantala Ecological Park, or garden, while leisure facilities include a gym, indoor swimming pool, and spa.
Pullman Baotou
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Steakhouse
There are several F&B options on-site – the Les Champs-Elysées Lobby Bar; Bordeaux House with its sharing dishes; Silk Pavilion with its Huaiyang and fusion cuisine; and the all-day-diner Le Fontainebleau restaurant.
Event planners may choose from Pullman Baotou’s nine meeting spaces, which include the 1,400m2 grand ballroom for 1,200 pax theatre-style or 720 in a banquet setting. Adjacent to the grand ballroom is an outdoor terrace suitable for evening cocktails, or pre/post-function mingles.
In addition, Silk Pavilion restaurant has 10 private rooms that can cater to business luncheons.
Pullman Baotou stands adjacent to Baotou Municipal Government, International Convention and Exhibition Center, and Olympic Sports Centre Stadium. It is a 20-minute drive to the airport and the city’s train station, as well as Baotou’s historic downtown.
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.
