No less than 97% of Indian business travellers and 95% of Chinese business travellers surveyed by Airplus base their hotel booking decisions on reviews at least occasionally.
Overall, of the 2,180 business travellers from 24 countries surveyed by the provider of corporate travel management solutions, 28% choose their hotel based on guest reviews. A further 58% are guided by reviews at least some of the time.
Nearly 100 per cent of Chinese and Indian respondents based business booking decisions on reviews at least from time to time
Many travellers regard reviews as having a high degree of credibility, AirPlus observed. Some 27% by-and-large trust reviews, while 66% trust them at least sometimes.
However, the extent of that trust in reviews differs from country to country. While 57% of Indian business travellers always trust reviews, the figure for the Netherlands is only 10%.
“Companies ought to share their business travel experiences and make reviews about hotel bookings, for instance, available to employees,” Yael Klein, marketing director of AirPlus, advised.
Reviews by a company’s own employees provide an opportunity to back up internal travel perceptions. Employees trust reviews by colleagues and comply with corporate policy by booking hotels preferred by the company.
Addressing travel managers, Klein suggested: “Why don’t you check whether the provider of your hotel booking tool offers review opportunities? Should this not be the case, a corporate link to a public review platform could be set up.
“The feared migration has not occurred within the context of subsequent booking processes. Instead, employees obtain information from a very wide range of sources, but ultimately bookings are made in the companies’ own systems.”
The beachfront Amari Pattaya Hotel is rolling out an early bird offer for its new meeting and event spaces.Come mid-April, the hotel will launch a brand-new ballroom, events lawn, pool and meeting facilities.
The 620m2 ballroom is suitable for large-scale MICE events and weddings, with a capacity for up to 1,000 guests. The 1,000m2 event lawn is ideal for open-air film screenings, weddings, weekend farmer’s markets and pop-up events.
Bookings that are paid for before March 31 will be entitled to a 20 per cent discount.
Dubai: W Dubai – The Palm opens in Jumeirah
W Dubai – The Palm has opened on a man-made island in Dubai, the Palm Jumeirah. The 350-key hotel offers over 2,000m2 of events space, including a 1,215m2 Great Room with an oval shape and rotating walls that let in (or block out) the Arabian sun. The Green Room serves as a holding area for events and weddings.
A highlight at the hotel are the multiple pools that sit in a wave-like pattern in the centre of the Escape to form the W brand’s iconic Wet Deck experience directly facing a beach. Facilities include a spa – with 10 treatment rooms, a steam room, sauna, “experiential showers”, a hammam and a couples’ suite – and fitness centre. There are six F&B concepts at the hotel, including by renowned chefs Massimo Bottura and Akira Back. SoBe (short for South Beach) is an adults-only rooftop bar inspired by Miami vibes.”
Nairobi: First Africa Protected Areas Congress to take place in November
The first Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) was announced at Nairobi National Park’s historic Ivory Burning Site. Set to take place from November 18 to 23, APAC 2019 was conceived as a way to position Africa’s protected areas within the goals of economic and community well being as well as seek commitment from African governments to integrate protected areas in the African Union’s agenda 2063 strategic framework for the socio-economic transformation of the entire continent.
The congress is expected to attract more than 2,000 delegates who will deliberate on homegrown ways to secure a sustainable future for Africa’s protected areas, people and biodiversity while showcasing homegrown examples of practical, innovative, sustainable and replicable solutions that harmonise conservation and sustainable human development.
“Today we launch the Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC), the first ever continent-wide gathering of African leaders, citizens, and interest groups to discuss the role of protected areas in conserving nature and promoting sustainable development. This landmark forum organised by the World Commission on Protected Areas and the International Union for Conservation of Nature provides us with a platform for holding honest discussions on the future we want for our protected areas and seek solutions to the persistent and emerging problems” said tourism and wildlife principal secretary Margaret Mwakima.
Rome: First patisserie-themed boutique hotel opens
The First Roma Dolce – by The Pavilions Hotels & Resorts, a new patisserie-themed boutique hotel, is set to open its doors in March 2019. Situated on Via del Corso in Rome, the hotel is housed within a classic 19th-century building designed by Giuseppe Valadier, known for creating the elliptical design of Piazza del Popolo.
The boutique hotel will be home to 23 suites and guestrooms, with views of the bustling Via del Corso and amenities including in-room fitness equipment. Guests will be welcomed by homemade pastries in their room upon check in, to be enjoyed as they peruse the pastry-inspired books in their room.
A patisserie-style restaurant will serve sweet treats from the pasticceria during the summer, while offering gourmet experiences such as chocolate tastings in winter. The restaurant will also serve a classic English afternoon tea, alongside an all-day dining menu of light cuisine.
Other highlights include specialist services such as a personal shopping consultant who will be on hand to assist guests with purchases.
Kumamoto prefecture is bouncing back from a drop in inbound business events visitors following earthquakes that shook the southern Kyushu region in 2016. Tremors of 6.5 and 7.3 magnitude struck the area on April 14 and 16 respectively, causing damage to buildings, infrastructure and tourist sites in Kumamoto city and neighbouring areas.
The biggest blow to the prefecture was the damage sustained to the turrets, exterior buildings, roofs and walls of Kumamoto Castle, an icon of the prefecture. Also a designated Important Cultural Property, the structure has long been a draw for business event travellers eager to see what is ranked as Japan’s third most beautiful castle.
Post-quake repairs to Kumamoto Castle (pictured) are drawing the interest of specialised corporate groups
Although visitors stayed away in the immediate aftermath of the tremors, in 2018 they returned with vigour, thanks to a new tour option.
Today, the castle remains out of bounds but travellers can follow the path around its outskirts. A popular option for corporate groups is to be led by a professional guide who explains the restoration process to date and what is yet to be carried out until the castle is completely restored, in about 20 years.
Guides report welcoming a growing number of groups in the fields of architecture, history, design, craftsmanship and construction, who want to see the component parts of the historic building and the cutting-edge reconstruction techniques used.
Outside the city, Kumamoto is being promoted as a haven in which to enjoy nature and delicious cuisine. As 21 per cent of the prefecture was designated part of a national park on March 31, 2018, local efforts are being supported by an Environment Ministry target to welcome 10 million visitors annually to Japan’s national parks by the time Japan hosts the 2020 Olympics.
Approximately six million international visitors visited national parks across Japan in 2017, of which 926,000 entered Aso-Kuju, the national park that straddles Kumamoto and Oita prefectures. This marks a 37.2 per cent rise in visitors to the Kumamoto park year-on-year, including the more nature-hungry incentive groups from China and South-East Asia.
Aso-Kuju is one of only eight national parks in Japan that is being promoted by the new national government project as part of efforts to support tourism and business event recovery. According to a park representative, grassland-centred activities such as early morning yoga and horse riding have proved successful in attracting corporate groups seeking wellness programmes.
Such groups are also attracted to nearby Aso Farm Land, a resort in rural Kumamoto. Its sales increased by two to three times year-on-year in 2017. It offers 450 earthquake-resistant domed homes as accommodation for guests who can experience a vast range of wellness treatments, hot springs and sports as well as gourmet cuisine. With direct flights to South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan from Kumamoto Airport, Aso Farm Land has been successful in targeting these markets.
Yet officials note that inbound visitors to Aso still lag behind pre-earthquake levels. At the 2018 Visit Japan Travel and MICE Mart, Kumamoto representatives reminded attendees that the prefecture is ready to welcome corporate groups. City officials point out that although the traditional access road from Kumamoto City to Aso remains closed due to damage from the earthquakes, other routes are available, which add a mere 15 minutes onto travel times.
Local tourism bodies, in association with Japan Agriculture, are eying agri-tourism as part of efforts to boost arrivals, particularly from Taipei and Singapore. Delegates would visit orchards to pick various fruits and enjoy tastings on site or at farmers’ markets.
According to Sun Sun Ong, senior manager at Singapore-based EU MICE, event organisers could “leverage the area’s Instagrammable scenery” to increase the appeal of the tours.
Improving transportation to the sites, meanwhile, would “increase the area’s competitiveness with other Asian destinations” while greater promotion would raise awareness of Kumamoto’s capabilities in the agri-tourism sector.
Promotion has been recognised as vital by the Kumamoto International Convention and Tourism Bureau. According to spokesperson Hiroyasu Fukuoka, 2018 saw the bureau team up with the cities of Fukuoka, Sasebo and Kitakyushu to offer familiarisation tips for guests from China, South Korea and Taiwan to promote the three key pillars: nature, cuisine and culture.
“We will continue to focus on these markets (for incentive groups) but we aim to develop Europe, the US and Australia in the future,” he added.
Improvements planned for Kumamoto Airport are expected to give the prefecture a further boost. Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tourism are to privatise the airport by April 2020 in a bid to accelerate its post-quake reconstruction. The existing domestic terminal is scheduled to be demolished and replaced with a new terminal for both domestic and international flights by 2022.
"Ambitious plans" to provide local industry knowledge for APAC business events professionals, said Codinach. (Photo credit: Adelaine Ng)
The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) is looking at offering a new level of education for the business events industry to fill the current gap in Asia-Pacific.
PCMA Asia-Pacific is talking to convention bureaus, corporations and other partners in the region about developing a range of educational products, including official degrees on business events.
“Ambitious plans” to provide local industry knowledge for APAC business events professionals, said Codinach. (Photo credit: Adelaine Ng)
“We’re testing different business models, which is what we did here at the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) 2019,” PCMA’s Asia-Pacific regional business director Antonio Codinach told TTGmice in Melbourne. “We partnered and put together a solid knowledge programme for Monday, which participants can use for the (subsequent days of business),” he said.
Codinach said PCMA will be designing educational programmes for Asia-Pacific from the ground up by listening to the region’s industry professionals and focusing on cities rather than countries.
“What we’ve been doing historically in North America is not going to work in this part of the world…so working backwards through conversations and relationships will allow us to offer relevant products and services,” he said.
“We are in full transition of becoming a global platform for the business events industry but we know we need to provide a lot of local knowledge in what is an extremely diverse region.”
Codinach also said the organisation has “ambitious plans” for the region, with a calendar for up to 20 knowledge exchanges this year including in Singapore, Sydney, Hong Kong, India, Tokyo, China and Malaysia. “We’re also in conversation with second-tier destinations that might benefit,” he said.
PCMA announced a two-year collaboration with AIME in August last year that would see it produce the key educational components of the annual trade show. The industry organisation has also looked to involve its existing partners from outside Asia-Pacific, as it did with a hackathon event sponsored by LA Tourism at AIME, where the winner of a competition will fly to Los Angeles in June to attend the PCMA education conference.
“I think that is a good mix and we are working on increasing that participation with partners (for the region),” said Codinach.
Just as how Singapore has benefited from the immense global exposure as the host of the historic meeting between US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June 2018, Vietnam’s travel and tourism players are predicting a boom in business as all eyes turn to the Vietnamese capital for the second Trump-Kim summit on Wednesday and Thursday (February 27 and 28).
The Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi is a reflection of Vietnam’s ability to host large-scale events, say industry stakeholders
Jeff Redl, managing director of Diethelm Travel Vietnam, said: “Like APEC 2017 in Danang, it will prove to worldwide MICE and event specialists that Vietnam is able to organise important and large-scale events.”
Linh Le, group managing director of ASIA DMC, also welcomed the meeting, saying it will push Vietnam’s image on the international stage. Said Le: “(The meeting) shall position Hanoi as having the potential for important meetings and events in the future. Vietnam’s capital is becoming a wider-known destination for world events.”
Pham Ha, founder and CEO of Luxury Travel Vietnam, predicts a spike in US visitors following the historic event. And with Vietnamese carriers recently given the green light by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly to the US, non-stop connections are imminent.
Ha added: “If airlines fly direct to and from the US, we will receive more bookings from there. We expect more MICE and leisure visits to Vietnam after the meetings between the two presidents in our capital.”
Redl said the signing of an agreement would cement Hanoi at the centre of the ground-breaking moment. “I cannot imagine how positive it will be if both parties finalise and sign an agreement. It will be awesome for the entire world and historic for Hanoi.”
At the same time, Khiri Travel is using the summit as a tool to promote attractions in Hanoi. It has issued eight recommended Hanoi activities to help Trump and Kim unwind after their meeting, including a visit to the Bun Cha restaurant in Le Van Huu street where president Obama and Anthony Bourdain had noodles and beer.
Meanwhile, as the country gears up for the high-profile meeting, delays are being reported for receiving visa-on-arrivals at Hanoi Airport and are expected to continue until March 2.
Hilton has unveiled a new meetings-and-events-focused brand, Signia Hilton, a portfolio of hotels that it says will “transform the industry for meeting professionals and sophisticated business travellers by infusing state-of-the-art technology and design into every aspect of the guest experience”.
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The new global events and meetings brand will comprise a curated portfolio of hotels in top urban and resort locales, including Signia Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, Signia Hilton Atlanta and Signia Hilton Indianapolis.
With a minimum of 500 guest rooms and 7m2 per key of flexible meetings and events space, each Signia Hilton will place state-of-the-art technology, signature dining, design-forward guest rooms and premium wellness amenities at its focus.
Each hotel under the new brand will feature “impressive arrivals”, “unmatched lobby experiences”, modern guest rooms offering innovative technology, a destination bar, a signature restaurant and premium wellness experiences.
Meetings and events spaces are expected to be the signature showpiece of each Signia Hilton. Large ballrooms and pre-function areas will feature smart design paired with the newest technologies, while small to mid-size meeting rooms will feature unique design and technology to spark new ideas and optimise work and collaboration.
Commenting on the birth of the new brand, David Marr, senior vice president and global head, full service brands, Hilton, said: “Signia Hilton grew from feedback from top meeting professionals, owners, developers and guests. After countless hours of collaboration, together, we created Signia Hilton, a brand that will resonate with travellers, ‘wow’ meeting professionals and set a new, elevated standard for the meetings and events industry.”
Signia Hilton guests will enjoy benefits of Hilton Honors guest loyalty programme.
American Express Meetings & Events (Amex M&E), a division of American Express Global Business Travel, has expanded its attendee engagement portfolio through new partnerships with mobile event tool, Attendify, and the world’s first event marketing automation platform, Splash.
The new partnerships will enable clients to have access to a more robust suite of solutions to improve attendee engagement, said Linda McNairy, global vice president, Amex M&E.
The new partnerships are a boost to Amex M&E’s attendee engagement portfolio
Attendify offers technology solutions to Amex M&E customers with simpler meeting needs, including an intuitive app creator and a data analytics platform that enables meaningful engagement with attendees. Through these apps, attendees can access agendas and presentations, speaker and sponsor information, and more. These meeting apps are customisable, simple to build and easy to use.
Splash empowers event planners to seamlessly launch, promote, and scale sophisticated event programmes through consolidated attendee management and customised event marketing. They can maximise the ROI of their events by driving the right people to them easily with Splash’s smart guest lists, responsive event pages and emails, and on-site check-in functionality. Splash also enables planners to capture real-time data and translate it into actionable insights.
Both Attendify and Splash are available now and join DoubleDutch as key solutions within the Meetings Marketplace, a vetted collection of Amex M&E’s technology solutions.
Brisbane will welcome researchers from across the globe involved in the emerging science of peptides, considered an important field for future drugs for reasons of potency, safety and specificity.
Brisbane scientists Christina Schroeder and Johan Rosengren from the University of Queensland were the main drivers behind the successful bid to bring the International Peptide Symposium to Brisbane in 2021, working in collaboration with the team at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Brisbane Marketing and Tourism & Events Queensland.
The five-day peptides symposium is expected to deliver an economic boost of over US$1.4 million to Brisbane
A first-time event for Brisbane, the five-day symposium is expected to attract more than 600 delegates from the UK, Europe, America, Asia and Australia. Lord mayor Graham Quirk, added that the symposium will deliver an economic boost of over A$2 million (US$1.4 million) and showcase Brisbane’s local expertise and facilitate collaboration in the field.
Peptides are a key area of research growth in Australia, particularly with advances in research in drug design and agricultural applications, with the University of Queensland leading the way.
Co-chair of the Australian Bid Committee, University of Queensland scientist, Johan Rosengren, shred that the symposium will cover a range of topics in peptide science, attracting the world’s leading researchers and scientists in the field.
“The field of peptide science has rapidly matured in Australia with the sector outstripping other types of drug research, with scientists in Brisbane leading the way, focussing on the areas of bio pesticides and drug design.”
Rosengren said key factors in the selection of Brisbane to host the symposium include a combination of the city’s world leading science, the venue in the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, and an attractive and appealing destination with easy international access.
BCEC general manager, Bob O’Keeffe pointed out that the centre, located in the heart of Brisbane’s Knowledge Corridor, surrounded by universities, hospitals and research centres, has a strong reputation for hosting and attracting key sector scientific meetings.
The Queensland government supports the event through Tourism & Events Queensland’s Business Events Acquisition and Leveraging Fund.
“Using events as a platform to showcase our state’s unique tourism experiences is a clear strategy of the Queensland Government, and we are proud to support events like this which drive visitation, support local jobs and generate significant economic benefits,” commented Queensland tourism industry development minister Kate Jones.
Travelport has renewed its long-standing partnership with BCD Travel, which will see the duo continue to collaborate on the latter’s digital traveller engagement solution, TripSource.
Travelport and BCD Travel continue to collaborate on Tripsource, a digital traveller engagement solution
A key digital partner for BCD Travel since 2013, Travelport Digital has collaborated with the TMC to develop TripSource and expand upon the platform’s early iteration as an itinerary management app which allows corporate travellers to shop, book, manage policy guidance and stay organised.
The platform also uses real-time messaging capabilities to provide travel updates such as flight delays, gate changes, risk alerts and policy reminders as well as company specific information to offer seamless, well-informed experience for travellers.
TripSource has been downloaded almost 1.5 million times and has an average app store rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars.
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.
The beachfront Amari Pattaya Hotel is rolling out an early bird offer for its new meeting and event spaces.Come mid-April, the hotel will launch a brand-new ballroom, events lawn, pool and meeting facilities.
The 620m2 ballroom is suitable for large-scale MICE events and weddings, with a capacity for up to 1,000 guests. The 1,000m2 event lawn is ideal for open-air film screenings, weddings, weekend farmer’s markets and pop-up events.
Bookings that are paid for before March 31 will be entitled to a 20 per cent discount.