Oakwood Apartments Yangzhou, the first international serviced apartment brand to open in Yizheng, Yangzhou, China, offers 144 keys.
The 17-storey building’s apartments range from studios to three-bedrooms, and includes fully-equipped kitchens, household appliances and complimentary Wi-Fi.
Guests will be able to enjoy a host of facilities such as a fitness centre, resident’s lounge, an F&B outlet, meeting rooms, and bilingual concierge support.
Conrad Hong Kong has appointed Stephane Roubin as hotel manager.
Born in France, Roubin joined Hilton around 15 years ago and he has worked in various establishments of the hotel chain across the globe.
His previous appointments include F&B director at DoubleTree by Hilton in Kuala Lumpur; and director of operations at Conrad Bali.
AccorHotels has announced two senior appointments to its development team.
Jeff Tisdall has been appointed senior vice president development residential and extended stay, while Andrew Langdon will take on the role of senior vice president development Asia, responsible for South-east Asia, Japan & Korea.
Both men come to these senior positions after joining AccorHotels through acquisitions. They will also be members of the Global Development Co-Dir.
Tisdall, whose current role is vice president residential development international, came from Fairmont Raffles Hotels International in 2016. In his new role, he will lead branded residential growth opportunities and oversee development in the extended stay segment.
Meanwhile, Langdon comes from Movenpick Hotels and Resorts, where he was global chief development officer.
Prior to joining Movenpick, Langdon was based in Jones Lang LaSalle’s Hotels & Hospitality Group Thailand office where he was executive vice president. He has over 27 years of diverse property experience in Australia and Asia, including CBRE and Savills and has spent over 21 years living in Asia.
In addition to his new responsibility, Langdon will continue to coordinate the development of the Movenpick brand for the coming months.
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Event brief
Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), Taiwan’s foremost trade promotion organisation, wanted to organise the first Taiwan Expo 2018 in New Delhi, India where it would showcase Taiwan’s latest technologies, eco-friendly products and industrial prowess through eight themed pavilions along with eight specialised industry exhibition areas focusing on green products, smart cities, healthcare, tourism, food processing machinery, textiles, automobiles, sports, agriculture, ICT products, Mandarin education and business service. Some 130 vendors from Taiwan were handpicked to exhibit at the event.
As the event was the first TAITRA venture of its kind in India and was meant to be a crucial catalyst for economic and trade cooperation between India and Taiwan, success of the event was a must.
India-based TIC Events Group was engaged as the event manager. It had to ensure high footfall of relevant business visitors at the event, as well as create awareness of Taiwan’s economy and trade potential for various business segments in India.
Challenges
The biggest challenge for TIC Events Group was the short lead time between the planning and delivery stages.
“Closure of the project happened very late, so we had only a month to make the expo a success. Numerous last minute changes and new requirements were a challenge,” recalled Ritika Sharma, brand custodian.
The second challenge was unforeseen – a storm alert in Delhi. Sharma said many attendees from other parts of India considered cancelling their travel to Delhi as a result, while the marketing team had to rethink its plans for the outdoor hoardings.
The third challenge was a last minute notification that some renowned cricket players would visit the expo as part of a promotional activity, and that required security detail that followed protocol.
Summing up, Sharma said: “TAITRA also has multiple divisions headed by different individuals and we had to service each of them individually to help make the event a success.”
Solution
To execute the event in a short span of time, multiple teams of skilled professionals were pulled into the project and additional staff was hired within a week. As a result, TIC Events Group formed a team of more than 100 people to work on the month-long project. Full-time and temporary staff worked in tandem day and night.
“We also had a meeting every end of the day to gauge the progress being made in the execution of the event,” said Sharma.
To achieve strong awareness of the event and the exhibitors, a PR agency was hired to focus on creating coverage that highlighted the diverse business verticals at Taiwan Expo 2018. That effort resulted in a number of interviews with a TAITRA’s spokesperson in trade journals and mainstream media during the run up to the event.
“We also focused on outdoor advertising at key locations like Indira Gandhi International Airport,” shared Sharma.
E-mailers on business opportunities available at the event were also sent to a database of Indian companies.
To assure participants worried about the storm, TIC Events Group shared regular weather updates with them and created extra hoardings as back-up for outdoor advertising materials. The team also shifted its marketing focus to the Delhi New Capital Region to ensure strong local participation.
“The event recorded more than 6,000 visitors,” she added.
To support the visiting celebrity cricket players, a security company was hired.
Lastly, to ensure attention was given to the multiple divisions at TAITRA and that the various division heads were kept abreast of progress, TIC Events Group assigned a team leader to manage communications with each division.
Key takeaways
According to Sharma, manpower investment and a comprehensive media plan were critical contributions to the success of Taiwan Expo 2018.
Event: Taiwan Expo 2018, New Delhi
Organiser: TAITRA
Event manager: TIC Events Group
Destination: New Delhi
Date: May 17 to 19, 2018
Number of participants: 30 exhibitors and more than 6,000 visitors
Take me quickly through your journey in this business please.
I’ve been in the travel industry for more than 35 years, and in business events for more than 20 years. I have watched it grow from its infancy to what it is today, with a federal CVB setting a clear direction to take the industry forward and state bureaus working in tandem with the federal bureau and industry players to attract more business events to Malaysia.
I love incentive events the most because there are so many things we can do to make them exciting for clients. And every incentive event is different. There are always new problems to solve. There is never a dull moment and work is never routine.
I enjoy being part of a team and doing stuff that is innovative. It gives me an adrenaline rush.
How has the landscape changed over the years?
I started my career with Destination East, the largest incentive operator in Malaysia at that time. We had top of the range clients such as Airbus and Standard Chartered. They demanded and received excellent service, products and innovative ideas.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Malaysia received huge incentive groups from Europe and the US, with sizes ranging from 1,000 people. Now these groups have dwindled to around 40 to 60 people. This is due to flight connectivity. In the past, we had better connections to Europe and the US.
The huge incentive groups today are coming from Asia, namely China and India. Both markets used to be mainly leisure, but their economies have strengthened and there are more small- and medium-sized enterprises and multinational companies based out of China and India that are incentivising their staff.
Malaysia benefits because it is a medium-haul destination and perceived as an affordable destination with diverse offerings.
When European and American incentives dominated the landscape, the focus was on local culture. Delegates were interested in sampling local food and watching local performances.
The requirements for Indian incentives are different. At the most, delegates will want to try one or two local dishes. Even when overseas, they stick to authentic Indian food. Most of them will bring their own chefs. For entertainment, they will bring their own performers and DJs.
In the 1980s and 1990s, RFPs were based on what you could offer. Creativity was critical. Now the fight is on budget, with creativity coming in at a far second. This change is due to more players in the market and more countries regionally vying for the business. Profit margins have shrunk from 30 per cent to eight to 10 per cent. Some make even less than this.
What do you dislike most about the business?
There are a huge number of half-baked agents claiming to be destination management companies. They provide inferior service and, as a result, are hurting the entire industry and giving the country a bad name.
There is also a lack of professionalism throughout the chain, from guides to the agents. For the industry to grow, there needs to be stricter enforcement of regulations, as well as more training programmes so that service in the industry can be improved.
What keeps you awake at night?
Strong regional competition. Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia are constantly being refreshed with new products that are suitable for business events, whereas Malaysia doesn’t have any new products of international standard for the past decade. Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia also deliver better service than Malaysia.
Bearing all of this in mind, I worry that we will lose out to regional destinations if we don’t buck up in terms of service delivery and invest in new tourism products.
What is the way forward for Luxury Tours?
We have developed new markets that are untapped by the mass majority of players in Malaysia.
For the current financial year ending March 31, 2019, we are focusing on the North African markets, namely Tanzania, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Egypt for incentive events. These are countries that are doing well economically, compared with the rest of Africa. A majority of the people in these countries are Muslims and Malaysia can easily cater to their Halal diet.
We are working on promotions with Air Mauritius to tap the North African market.
As well, India is our major market and we plan to do more sales calls to secondary and tertiary cities in India. We will also work on joint promotions with Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau to further tap the Indian market.
How did a Sydney boy end up with a business in China?
I came to China in March 2012 with the intention of starting a restaurant in Shanghai. I did my business plans and realised I would fail.
I then figured I love travel, so I should have a job in that area. So I sought employment with Shanghai Sideways (now called Insiders Experience), a motorcycle tour company in China. I invested in its Xi’an expansion, and I ran the China operations.
Eventually I desired broader experience, and moved to BI Worldwide China (as events business development director) in 2014. I left 3.5 years later, longing to stretch my wings further. Now I run my own events company.
Tell me about your company.
Travelevents.Asia seeks to fill the gap in high quality service in China’s business events industry. As a DMC we will offer an elite fleet of cars and experienced chauffeurs trained by me – first in Shanghai, then in Beijing. There is a big shortage of experienced drivers in China who are conversant in English.
I’m also looking to eventually train my own team of tour guides who will be able to tell an accurate ancient history of China.
Will Travelevents.Asia handle overseas meetings management too, which you specialise in?
I’ve been doing only outbound meetings in the last five years, taking Chinese corporate groups of 50 and 300 people overseas. My company handles both inbound and outbound meetings.
But I’m hoping to develop the inbound business more. I’m first targeting Australian companies keen on coming to China. I’m exhibiting at GetGlobal (in Sydney) this July, and will be telling Australians that if they want an Australian to plan their next business trip to China, come to me.
What events are coming up for you?
An incentive to Beijing at end–April, with participants from all over the world. The market in China gives very short notice, with bookings coming in two or three months to event date, so I expect to be getting more events in the coming months.
India’s US$40 billion business travel market is expected to remain unfazed even though there has been a steep depreciation of the Indian rupee.
“India is the fastest growing business travel market in the world. I think that the rupee depreciation offers an opportunity to Indian companies, as services and products from India will become cheaper and this can be an accelerator for businesses,” said Gaurav Sundaram, regional director of GBTA India, on the sidelines of the GBTA Conference 2018 in New Delhi that took place on September 14.
In 2018, the Indian rupee has performed the worst, with a depreciation of 13 per cent in value this year. It dropped more than a percentage point to 72.6 a dollar on September 17, in spite of India’s finance minister Arun Jaitley announcing a plan to lower the country’s current account deficit, stressing the falling rupee must be dealt with immediately.
However, Sundaram shared: “India is the seventh largest global business travel market and it will continue to be the fastest growing at 12 per cent year-on-year.”
Harvinder Singh, country manager, India, United Airlines & director, United Airlines Business Services, added: “The corporate travel business is growing year-on-year above 10 per cent which is excellent. We have not seen any impact of rupee depreciation at this point of time.”
“Overall the industry sentiment remains positive with business travel witnessing a double digit growth,” Arnab Mukherjee, vice president – sales, JTB India, remarked.
On their part, Indian corporates are looking at managing their travels within a budget instead of cutting down on the amount of travel. This is for companies where travel is an essential part of its growth strategy.
Geetha Arekal, head – mobility services supply chain management, Siemens, shared: “Indian corporates are now doing an analysis on how they should spend on travel. (For example), whether they should stay away from city hotels to save cost.”
She added that while previously managers had the freedom to decide on trips to go on, with the tightening of budgets they are taking a step back to see if the travel is required or not. However, as travel is part of business strategy and management plans, Geetha opined that “business travel will continue to grow strongly”.
Taiwan is pulling out all the stops to welcome more conferences, meetings and exhibitions to regions outside of Taipei, with vibrant and unique event highlights showcasing these secondary cities lined up for upcoming shows.
Among a colourful calendar of events was the Global Harbour Cities Forum on September 26 that promoted the waterfront Kaohsiung Exhibition Centre on the Asia’s New Bay Area, as well as the nearby offshore Penghu Island.
To draw even more business traffic to Penghu Island, MEET Taiwan is helping the destination to market the 2018 Most Beautiful Bays in the World World Congress, as well as participating in a business exhibition that features a carnival, concert and container-park show floor.
“For the rest of 2018, we will be promoting Taiwan’s business events following an ocean theme, encapsulating destinations like Kaohsiung’s bay and islands like Penghu,” explained Jessie Tseng, executive director of MEET Taiwan.
Also on the radar is Taichung, where the recently-concluded Asia MICE Forum 2018 was held. Next, the upcoming Taichung World Flora Exposition will be held from November this year to April 2019 in new facilities across Houli, Fengyuang, Waipu and Shuinan districts.
Complementing the developments of Taiwan’s “smart” cities, Tseng added that a majority of local PEOs have caught up with technological advancements with solutions such as event apps, use of VR and facial recognition systems.
Suhir Tuli, general manager – sales of New Delhi-based Southern Travels, told TTGmice: “Taiwan is full of nature and the night markets are pretty famous. The best thing is that visas are easily granted for Indians who hold a Schengen or US visa. What we need are direct flights, and I hope demand for Taiwan from India will pick up.”
Increased awareness of sustainable tourism and efforts by the Japanese government to promote the country’s regions are expected to stimulate nationwide growth of Japan’s incentive travel market, opined industry experts attending Visit Japan Travel and MICE Mart (VJTM) 2018 at Tokyo’s Big Sight last week.
In 2017, Japan welcomed a record 28.69 million tourists, up 19 per cent year-on-year. Most of them, including business events guests, visited Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima. However, the Japan National Tourism Organization is working towards a government target of 70 million nights by international visitors in rural Japan by 2020, nearly three times the number in 2015.
At the 2nd Tourism Expo Japan Ministerial Roundtable held alongside the VJTM on September 20, Hiroshi Tabata, commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, said “the regeneration of local regions is a key to sustainable tourism”.
Gloria Guevara Manzo, president and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council, added that the “community” should be at the centre of sustainable tourism.
In response to this movement, Keijiro Sawano, CEO and founder of ground operator Heartland Japan – when interviewed at VJTM – indicated that the company has just launched a 6D5N tour in rural Hiroshima Prefecture. The tour revolves around exploring natural landscapes, meeting local people and trying cultural activities. Recognising that attendees can be best targeted from large, well-known hubs, this tour departs from Hiroshima City rather than a rural area.
Sawano revealed he had been working with the locals last year to develop the itinerary, which he indicated will benefit both locals and visitors, as this tour provides a deeper immersion into Japanese culture and promotes interaction with locals.
The trade is also eyeing corporate hospitality groups that will attend the Rugby World Cup 2019, which will be held in 12 stadiums across Japan. Other events, such as the Women’s Handball World Championship in Kumamoto Prefecture in 2019, are also expected to provide a boost to the rural areas.
