The International Congress and Conferences on Computational Design and Engineering (I3CDE) will leave its home base in South Korea for Malaysia’s Penang this year.
To be held from July 7-10, 2019 at ParkRoyal Penang Resort, I3CDE is by the Society for Computational Design and Engineering in South Korea and co-hosted by buildingSMART Korea, Asian Conference on Design and Digital Engineering (ACDDE), The Korea Contents Association, Korea Smart Factory Foundation and Korea Smart Manufacturing Industry Association.
Organising chair of I3CDE 2019 Inhan Kim (second from left) Penang State’s Yeoh Soon Hin (centre) and PCEB CEO Ashwin Gunasekeran (second from right)
It is also supported by the Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB).
I3CDE 2019 will focus on computational design and engineering, where international experts in various fields will gather and discuss major issues and find solutions. Themes span from traditional computational design in all industrial areas to the new fourth industry issues such as big data and deep learning.
Participants are expected from Asia, Europe, North America and other regions.
“We are proud to welcome the upcoming I3CDE congress to Penang as the state is known as the Silicon Valley of the East for its industries, and is one of Malaysia’s most vital economic powerhouses,” said Ashwin Gunasekeran, PCEB’s CEO in a press statement.
“We are always looking to expand and improve on the Information Technology industry, as well as the Electric & Electronic and Manufacturing industry as they are recorded in the annual review published by PCEB as one of the main contributors to Penang’s economy,” he added.
Businesses and associations are increasingly incorporating a corporate social responsibility (CSR) element in their meetings and events programmes.
One of my favourite examples is by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), which has for years substituted speakers’ gifts at its annual congress and General Assembly with a financial donation to a charitable organisation selected by the Local Host Committee.
The ICCA Charity Run’N’Walk took place along the Arabian Gulf coastline at La Mer in Dubai
At its last two congresses in Prague and Dubai, a Fun Walk N Run was also organised for delegates who wanted to explore the city in a quick and fun way while taking the opportunity to offer a small financial donation to a local NGO. It was a great way to connect with other like-minded ICCA delegates and to start the day on an energetic note.
It is amazing how fast friendships can form this way.
Simultaneously, a grassroots project, ICCA Members Gift of Love (ICCA Members GOL), encourages delegates to bring a small gift with them to the congress. Since 2013, ICCA delegates have contributed wheelchairs, books, puzzles, children’s shoes, toys and spectacle frames to various NGOs around the world.
Past ICCA Members GOL partners include Local Host Committees and their selected charities – the Shanghai International Communication Center for The Disabled, China (2013); Losev Foundation for Children with Leukemia, Turkey (2014); Haciendo Camino, Argentina (2015); Malaysian Librarians Association Sarawak Chapter, Malaysia (2016); SOS Children’s Village, Czech Republic (2017); and Noor Dubai Foundation, the UAE (2018).
While everyone enjoys receiving gifts, even more people enjoy giving. I have seen how enthusiastically and carefully my fellow ICCA delegates have selected their gifts. Co-workers, mothers and neighbours have been recruited to expand the gift collection network as much as last-minute purchases at airports; with some even lovingly packed with a gift card and the warmest wishes.
Recently I participated in MICECON 2018, organised by the Tourism Promotions Board Philippines (TPB) in the city of Bacolod. Participants at this biennial national conference on business events – the sixth edition in 2018 – were encouraged to bring with them a small essential item in their suitcase. It could be a towel, blanket, children’s book or notebook with pen. These items were for the Holy Infant Nursery Foundation and the Bacolod Girls’ Home Foundation.
In addition, TPB worked with city officials – mayor Evelio “Bing” Leonardia and his team – and two food manufacturers which produce Bacolod’s famous delicacy, piaya (an unleavened flatbread). Tapping into the Philippines’ pasalubong culture or the practice of bringing home a food gift, the two food manufacturers Merczi and BongBong’s offered a percentage of their sales to the above-mentioned charities when any MICECON delegate produced his/her badge during purchase.
This was done not only at the factory outlets which were part of the pre-conference tour, but also at selected outlets around the city.
I was struck by the simple ingenuity of the organiser and its partners, and had no doubt that the two charities enjoyed a small boost in funding with the help of MICECON delegates who brought back their pasalubong to their families and work colleagues.
We do not need to try to save the whole world. If our conscious actions as an events organiser or a delegate can make a difference to just one individual, this is as good a start as any.
As part of the business events industry, we are a privileged community. Our work includes travel to exotic locations for learning, networking and business or partnership opportunities, and where the host communities welcome us so warmly and with such great hospitality. Doing good and giving back to the locals are just small ways of saying thank you and paying it forward.
We can make a difference.
Jane Vong Holmes is senior manager – Asia of GainingEdge, a consultancy specialising in the business events industry. She has co-authored two UNWTO publications on the Asian meetings industry and various destination market studies. She is an ardent advocate for giving back to communities through conventions and events. Most recently, she recently released a joint-report on universal accessibility in the meetings industry.
Experience creation is the top priority for event planners in Asia Pacific, according to IACC’s inaugural APAC edition of its Meeting Room of the Future report.
The report revealed that 66 per cent of the region’s meeting planners claim delegates now seek more engagement, personalisation and interactive technologies at business events than at any time in the past five years.
Having a dedicated Asia Pacific survey will help the industry understand regional differences in terms of delivery of meetings today
The trend is being driven by incoming generations with younger delegates looking for greater integration of new technology and mobile connectivity in business events, more opportunities for networking, collaboration and simulation, as well as shorter, more creative sessions.
The increasing appetite for memorable experiences means that planners are required to do more with less while being constrained by tighter budgets. The report, created in partnership with Biz Events Asia, shows that more planners are open to sharing their roles and responsibilities with venues and other third parties, with 59 per cent of respondents willing to outsource the off-site activity arrangements for delegates, and 56 per cent willing to outsource local services.
The importance of financial ROI has remained steady over the past five years in the region, illustrating the possibility that the importance of ROI in this market has always been high, and other elements critical to creating memorable experiences for delegates are shown a greater emphasis.
Meeting planners in the region consider in the following order of importance the venue elements to help create meeting environments that foster the greatest delegate productivity, collaboration, and generate the greatest ROI: interactive technology, venue flexibility, varied food and beverage offering, and event location and accessibility. In line with the 2017 global IACC study, access to interactive technology and the flexibility of meeting space are among the most important venue elements and will continue to be as important over the next five years.
Over the next five years, APAC planners are looking to incorporate more interactive technology that promotes delegate interaction and engagement. Audience polling and Q&A, although popular tools to generate engagement as per the global study (91 per cent), they have not proven as popular among Asia Pacific planners (63 per cent).
The report showcases the need for reliable and high-quality Internet infrastructure, with 50 per cent of respondents indicating that they would not consider a venue unless it had the guaranteed Internet capacity to support the needs of their event, such as video streaming; 61 per cent of respondents report that affordable or free high-speed Wi-Fi will be the most critical need for meetings in the next five years, versus 72 per cent in the global study. As a result, more venues are looking to include Internet costs in the venue hire fee or offer this as a complementary service.
F&B offerings have a powerful impact on delegate experience creation. More Asia Pacific planners report they are presented with dietary restrictions or custom dietary requests, in comparison the global study, with the highest number of dietary requests being vegetarian options at events.
In terms of meeting room design, respondents reported that flexibility in rooms such as the ability to move furniture, and the presence of alternative spaces for networking are the leading differences in the meeting spaces they need today versus five years ago.
The full Asia Pacific report is available for download here.
Macau remains a popular incentive destination thanks to a slew of old and new integrated resort (IR) developments that have kept business traffic coming back over time. And to remain at the forefront, the IR market has been constantly evolving and innovating to meet the increasing demands of luxe corporate incentives.
For instance, in addition to the ultra-luxury, Zaha Hadid’s Morpheus hotel (opened in June 2018), Macau welcomed MGM Cotai’s (opened in February 2018) striking jewellery box-design which houses dynamic theatre and entertainment facilities.
MGM Theater
The MGM Theater at MGM Cotai comes with a 900m2 4K LED screen – said to be the world’s largest of its kind. The theatre layout can be transformed to suit a group’s needs, be it for a gala dinner or a concert where 10 different seating configurations for up to 2,000 pax are possible.
“After our roadshows, we realised that a significant number of corporate groups are interested in using our theatre for a mix of events,” said Victoria Fuh, MGM’s vice president of resort sales.
Aside from the latest hardware, MGM Cotai is also running several promotions, such as a meeting experience which allows one to book a meeting space as well as accommodation at a special rate. The IR also offers art tours.
Other players have also developed new ways to add value to events hosted on their premises.
At Sands Resorts Macau, for instance, an on-site activity could include sunrise yoga or traditional Chinese taichi, held in one of the hotel gardens. Breakfast is taken care off as well. Other experiences that can be arranged include a Michelin-star street food experience in downtown Macau, and Portuguese cooking classes that incorporate a visit to the local market.
According to Sands China’s vice president of sales, Stephanie Tanpure, high-end incentive groups are mostly from longhaul markets such as Australia, the US and Europe.
She said: “While we capture medium- and large-scale incentive groups from across China and Asia-Pacific, it is the longhaul markets that are particularly drawn to the historical and cultural uniqueness of Macau.
“These international markets are very important to our growth strategy, as Macau and Sands Resorts Macau continue to evolve as a leading incentive destination within Asia. Personalisation is everything.”
That is why the Sands Resorts Macau team works closely with event organisers to ensure multiple touch points are created throughout the incentive journey.
“Incentive groups are an important segment of our business. Understanding what our customers want to achieve by hosting an incentive for their delegates is just as important as delivering on our integrated resort offerings. Once we understand what the objectives are, we encourage our team to personalise, anticipate and deliver,” Tanpure shared.
Over the next two years, Sands China will transform the Sands Cotai Central complex into The Londoner Macao. Like its other properties, the Italian-themed Venetian Macao, and the French-themed Parisian Macao, this property will be English-themed, and feature new entertainment and dining attractions.
By doing this, Tanpure believes that it will “offer huge potential for luxe incentives as we bring some of London’s most recognisable landmarks to Macau”.
As for the 400-key St Regis Macau, a venue popular with high-end corporate incentives, its spokesman said demand is expected to grow, thanks to the large proportion of return customers from neighbouring cities.
“With the opening of the Hong Kong-Macau-Zhuhai Bridge, we expect that to grow even more. Importantly, our efforts to push into markets including South Korea, Japan and India are beginning to show results, and we expect that growth to continue in the year ahead,” he said.
MCI Group’s director of live communications, Olinto Oliveira, told TTGmice that luxury incentives is “definitely on the rise”, as more groups are willing to invest in an event if it means delivering a unique experience for their guests.
He said: “Luxury groups want something that hasn’t been done before, or isn’t easily accessible. Such groups tend to be around 150 to 250 pax, and require extreme customisation.”
This is where the IRs come in perfectly, Oliveira opined, as they possess a robust in-house entertainment team and are able to create special touches such as a private viewing of a show, or integrating a specific entertainment act into a lunch or cocktail event. All these touches allow for unique experiences available only at specific venues.
He concluded: “Two concepts our clients are looking for are personalised and authentic. Groups look for elements and experiences that will resonate personally with each individual, yet still maintain an authenticity to the central theme of the experience.”
The International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) has appointed Martin Boyle as its new CEO, with effect from April 1, 2019.
He will take over from current executive director, Sarah Storie-Pugh, who will be stepping back into a part-time role within the association.
Boyle comes to IAPCO with a wealth of experience and a strategic vision that has been shaped over more than 20 years of working across a number of countries in the events and meetings industry. He has launched start-ups in Canada, driven sales at an international convention centre, worked with international associations while at a PCO in the UK and has, for the past six years, been the director of Europe for BESydney.
Lanson Place Hospitality Management, the hospitality arm of Wing Tai Properties, has appointed Michael Hobson as CEO.
Prior to joining Lanson Place, Hobson was chief marketing officer of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and has played a pivotal role in their global development and brand efforts over a career spanning 25 years.
Hotel Nikko Bangkok at BTS Thonglor will be opening its doors at 27 Sukhumvit Soi 55 in Thailand next month.
Located within walking distance from the BTS Skytrain Thonglor station, the Japanese luxury hotel boasts 301 guestrooms and suites, including 10 extended stay rooms featuring a kitchenette. Japanese bathrooms are a feature of the guestrooms.
The hotel will have four F&B outlets – Hishou Japanese restaurant, The Oasis all-day dining restaurant, Curve 55 lobby lounge and The Pool Bar. Breakfast choices include an international breakfast at The Oasis, or a full Japanese breakfast at Hishou.
As the group traditionally serves a mostly Japanese clientele with around 90 per cent of the guest profile from the corporate sector, meetings and events will be a major component of Hotel Nikko Bangkok.
Aside from the Fuji Grand Ballroom that can host 1,250 persons cocktail-style, there will also be eight small- and medium-sized function rooms together with an outdoor terrace and balcony which takes the total meeting space to over 1,800m2.
Located in the Seaside Momochi area, the Hilton Fukuoka Sea Hawk is only three minutes’ walk from the ocean, set in one of Japan’s 100 most beautiful cityscapes. It is also a short walk from Fukuoka’s main sights.
Rooms
There are 670 Hilton Rooms comprising double and twin options, Deluxe Rooms (250), Executive Rooms (64), Panoramic Suites (20) and Other Suites (49).
Hilton Fukuoka lobby
All guestrooms across the 26th and 29th floors, as well as common spaces on all floors, were renovated in April 2018. The resulting new colour palette of grey and turquoise was chosen to convey the sea surrounding the hotel, while white and green convey the sand and pines that line the local coastline.
My 20m2 Hilton Room (double) boasted a stunning sea view while black-out curtains prevented any light disturbance from the twinkling city lights below. The welcome gift of a Japanese-style two-tier box filled with traditional, seasonal confections was a delightful surprise.
MICE facilities
There are 37 function rooms of various sizes, many of which offer views of the ocean or the cityscape at night.
At 2,440m2, the hotel’s largest conventional hall, Argos, can accommodate 3,500 people. It is equipped with audiovisual equipment and simultaneous interpretation systems, making it popular for international events or mega-sized conferences. Argos can be divided into six smaller spaces.
The Penthouse, on the 34th floor, is home to four function rooms. The Ocean Lounge, Tower Penthouse and Bay Penthouse can each accommodate 40–100 guests for dinner and 30–200 guests in theatre-style. Meanwhile, the exclusive Ocean Penthouse offers an intimate space for small group discussions or dinner while enjoying a 320-degree view of the ocean.
On the first, third and fourth floors, there are 19 banquet rooms.
Other facilities
There are seven F&B options across the hotel: Seala Brasserie & Lounge, Boukairou Chinese Restaurant, Tomozuna Sushi-Kappo, Kinyohtei Teppanyaki, Clouds Bar & Dining, Kawataro Ikizukuri and Matsukoh Ryotei.
Leisure facilities include a fitness centre, pools, a Japanese stone bath and the newly redesigned shopping arcade Seahawk Galleria. Japanese cultural experiences such as kimono dressing and tea ceremony are available.
Service
Staff are knowledgeable about Fukuoka and enthusiastic about getting me to explore more of the city.
Number of rooms 1,053 Contact Email: fukuoka.reservations@hilton.com Website: www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/japan/hilton-fukuoka-sea-hawk-FUKHIHI/index.html
Edouard Demptos has joined Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok as general manager.
Prior to his move to Thailand, Demptos was hotel manager at Grand Hyatt Singapore, where he has been since June 2016.
The Frenchman first joined Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in 2004 and has since worked in Morocco, Spain, the Philippines, China and Singapore. He first arrived in Asia in May 2009 as director of F&B at the Hyatt Hotel & Casino Manila, and subsequently joined Hyatt on the Bund in April 2011 in the same capacity, before he was later promoted to executive assistant manager F&B and hotel manager.
Fukuoka’s position as a cruise port of call, start-up hub and one of only five global MICE strategic cities in Japan is helping the development of her corporate meeting and incentive offerings.
A total of 326 cruise ships called at Fukuoka in 2017, six times more than that of 2011 and the highest for any port in Japan, according to Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The rapid rise in international visitors through cruises has facilitated the development of new dining venues, activities and experiences that are also attractive to culture-hungry incentive groups.
Kushida Shrine is located in Hakata, Fukuoka
The popular waterfront area, incorporating Chuo and Hakata wharves, is undergoing extensive redevelopment as part of the 9th Fukuoka City Master Plan.
Highlights include a MICE vibrancy zone that will be home to new venues. Existing facilities and services will be revitalised. The goal is to have all event venues, lodgings, restaurants and other services “within walking distance,” detailed the plan.
Meanwhile, Fukuoka’s reputation as a city for entrepreneurs and business innovators is boosting its appeal for corporate groups seeking learning opportunities. The city is Japan’s only special economic zone, which has fuelled innovation, attracted entrepreneurs and stimulated new business opportunities.
Understanding the value of this, Fukuoka Convention and Visitors Bureau (FCVB) provides information on the city’s industries and universities, and connects innovators with business event attendees.
Companies utilising these connections want their incentive winners to learn about Japanese business practices, be inspired about entrepreneurship, or gain an understanding of Japanese culture.
An agent with a nationwide Japanese travel firm told TTGmice that recent years have brought increased bookings from foreign companies with branch offices in Japan, particularly in the areas of finance, automotive and video game development.
The FCVB is taking an increasingly tailored approach, working to connect corporate groups with the people it needs to make business events successful in the city. It also supports teambuilding activities created by local organisations.
“We have our set menu of incentive activities, which include experiences such as fruit picking, taiko drum lessons, sushi making classes, and Hakata doll painting. However, we try to meet each incentive group’s needs,” explained Kenny Macphie of the FCVB.
This year, the bureau connected an incentive group seeking kendo classes with Kyushu University’s kendo club, and arranged a visit to a local elementary school for an incentive group eager to learn about the Japanese school system.
There has also been demand for sports matches with local baseball and rugby teams, which is expected to increase in the lead up to Japan’s hosting of the Rugby World Cup in 2019. Fukuoka will host the training camps of Italy and the US, as well as tournament matches.
The travel agent also noted a growing demand for events and experiences at unique venues such as museums and shopping centres – requests that the FCVB is working to fulfil.
In November, a 200-pax incentive group visited the city’s retro shopping street Nakasukawabata Shotengai for a new teambuilding activity facilitated by the FCVB.
Participants were challenged to complete tasks such as hanging up a wooden wishing card at a shrine, making an origami figure, and finding a shop whose staff could dress them in yukata.
Macphie noted that 2017 brought 8,000 registered incentive pax to the city, with the largest proportion from Singapore and Taiwan.
As the North Asian markets of China, Taiwan and South Korea are mature for Fukuoka, industry players agree that South-east Asia is the next big market to watch.
Toshihiro Suzuki of Kinki Nippon Tourist expects a boom in incentive bookings from both South-east Asia.
According to Macphie, the FCBV is receiving more enquiries from Vietnam and the Philippines.
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.
