Tourism Australia and China Southern Airlines have deepened their partnership
Tourism Australia and China Southern Airlines have signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to develop the business event travel sector in China.
This is the first of such an agreement signed between the two organisations. Both organisations will work together to develop marketing campaigns and promotional activities targeting MICE agents and corporate buyers in China, which is now Australia largest source of visitors at 1.4 million (spending worth A$10.9 billion; US$7.8 billion) as of the end of May 2018.
Tourism Australia and China Southern Airlines have deepened their partnership
“Since 2011, China has been the most valuable inbound tourism market and continues to be highly significant to Australia. Our new partnership with China Southern Airlines will enable us to dedicate more efforts to tap into the Chinese business event sector which has great potential for Australia,” said John O’Sullivan, managing director of Tourism Australia.
There were 100,000 business events visitors to Australia from China in the year ending March 2018, an increase of 11 per cent, with a total spend of A$586 million, up 12 per cent on the same period in 2017.
“China Southern highly values Australia as a market offering boundless attractions to entice even the savviest of Chinese travellers which is why we continue to invest significantly in our Australia flights network and in promoting Australia as the must-go destination. The business event sector offers new opportunities for the airlines to expand its operations,” said Tan Wangeng, president & CEO of China Southern Airlines.
China Southern Airlines has about 50 direct flights to Australia weekly.
In an age of collaborative consumption, the booming sharing economy is spurring car rental giant Avis Budget Group to navigate creative ways to grow the size and share of the travel pie through the inking of partnerships with multiple peer-to-peer car sharing players.
The latest to sign a multi-year deal with Avis is ride-hailing company Lyft. Under this partnership, Avis will contribute thousands of vehicles from its fleet of 600,000 to the Lyft Express Drive programme in cities across North America.
An Avis rental car branch in Manhattan, New York
In Asia-Pacific, Avis has launched various strategic initiatives with popular local ride-sharing players, including China’s Didi Chuxing and Singapore’s Grab. Avis Philippines – together with Avis Global and Metro Davao Taxi Association – also developed Hirna, a taxi-hailing app that aims to improve taxi services in key cities outside Manila.
Angeline Tang, Avis’ regional director – leisure travel & partnerships, Asia, told TTGmice: “Ride-hailing companies are our allies, not competitors. The more opportunities consumers have for mobility that do not involve owning their own car, the more we benefit.
“As this decline in ownership continues, the future holds a greater need for more, and more flexible mobility options, which explains why the pie is getting bigger, not shrinking or just being divided up differently.”
On average, Avis reports mileage of some 724km over four rental days, or 177km per rental day. In comparison, on shorter-length rentals – lasting over one to two days – the mileage per day increases, described Tang. Such cases, for which ride-hailing are not economical, are where car rentals come in, she said.
Avis also works with Luxury Retreats, acquired by Airbnb in February 2017, as the official mobility partner of the full-service premium villa rental company.
Further, in 2013, Avis acquired car-sharing network Zipcar, which has more than one million members across the world. This movement is poised to give Avis “a foothold in the rapidly growing world of collaborative consumption”, explained Tang.
She added: “By working with ride-hailing players, we can address the growing demand for transportation in key markets, and further leverage our assets.”
In a new study published by Routes, organiser of aviation network development conferences and events, the Asia-Pacific dominates the top 100 busiest routes by passenger numbers, accounting for more than 70% of the world’s total.
Asia-Pacific region will be the biggest driver of passenger demand in the future
Hong Kong – Taiwan Taoyuan is the busiest international route and features as the eighth most popular overall, with 6.7 million passengers flying the 802km journey in 2017. Hong Kong features in six of the top 10 international routes.
With more than 13.4 million people travelling on the shorthaul domestic service, the 450km journey from Seoul’s Gimpo Airport to the island of Jeju off the coast of the Korean Peninsula has once again claimed the title as the most in-demand air route in the world. The route has an average of 180 scheduled flights per day – one every eight minutes.
As well, a total of 13.5 million passengers flew between Seoul and Jeju in 2017, an increase of 9.4% on the previous 12 months when the route was also ranked as the busiest in the world. It carried a staggering 4.4 million more people than the second busiest, Melbourne – Sydney Kingsford Smith.
The study also found that the Thai domestic route of Bangkok Suvarnabhumi – Chiang Mai is the fastest-growing route in the top 100. Two-way passenger numbers grew by 36% year-on-year to almost 2.4 million.
Steven Small, brand director of Routes, said: “This research backs up forecasts that the Asia-Pacific region will be the biggest driver of passenger demand over the next 20 years.”
Operated by Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts, the first Dhawa hotel in China has opened in Jinshanling, a two-hour-drive from Beijing.
Dhawa Jinshanling’s 200 rooms and suites are equipped with modern amenities such as Wi-Fi, widescreen TV, floor heating, and infused with cultural elements.
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Valley Rooms are inspired by traditional Chinese architecture and overlook mountainous scenery, while Courtyard Rooms are set around a large communal courtyard with outdoor seating for groups of family and friends. Heritage Rooms occupy classically styled buildings and come with semi-private courtyards or unblocked views of the Great Wall.
Amenities on-site include a lobby lounge, a snack and drink area equipped with a launderette, an all-day restaurant with three private dining rooms, a spa with seven treatment rooms, a fitness centre and a 400m2 ballroom.
A range of activities for those wanting to learn more about the Ming and Qing dynasties can also be arranged. For a more hands-on experience, guests can sign up for various craft workshops or try noodle and jam making classes.
At the PATA Travel Mart 2018 in Langkawi, The Technology Experience article by Karen Yue was recognised with the PATA Gold Award for Travel Journalism – Industry Business Article award.
This marked another achievement for a TTG publication at the annual awards of PATA, following TTG Asia Luxury’s win two years ago.
Celebrating the award in Langkawi last week were TTG Asia Media managing director Darren Ng and publisher Pierre Quek, accompanied by team members and PATA’s Mario Hardy and Macao Government Tourism Office’s Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes
Radisson Blu Resort Phu Quoc, has opened its doors on Vietnam’s Bai Dai beach, as part of an integrated resort.
Standing on Phu Quoc’s north-west coast, the property offers 514 villas, rooms and suites. Rooms start from 45m2 and goes up to the villas at 635m2.
An immense tropical lagoon pool anchors the Radisson Blu Resort Phu Quoc
The villas, along with the executive rooms, executive suites, one bedroom suites and two bedroom suite, offer access to the ALUMI executive lounge.
Aside from the lounge, other F&B establishments on-site include all-day dining restaurant Avenue which can seat 300 indoors and 100 on the poolside terrace. There is also a poolside bar and a lobby lounge.
Executive Suite
Guests will also have direct access to an adjacent complex, where facilities include a 26 treatment-room spa and wellness centre, gym, water park, convention centre, shopping centre, restaurants, theatre and Vietnam’s first casino to permit domestic entry. An amusement park, 18-hole golf course and safari conservation park are also on the resort’s doorstep.
The Radisson Blu Resort Phu Quoc is located 30km from Phu Quoc International Airport.
Gold Coast is moving forward after an unprecedented year of challenges and we’re buoyed by the continued interest and confidence from associations choosing the Gold Coast for future conferences.
With a name synonymous with white-sand beaches, stunning sunsets and turquoise oceans, the Gold Coast has long been a natural tourism magnet.
Gold Coast Cultural Precinct Stage
But the tide for corporates is clearly changing in the direction of an upswell with new products making their way to the Gold Coast, an even greater focus on meeting the needs of business travellers, and Asian incentive groups now waking up to that offering.
Definitely 2018 is a big year for incentives (for us),” said director of Gold Coast Business Events, Anna Case, reflecting on the momentum brought by the hosting of direct selling company Infinitus China in April, which saw 6,100 delegates visit. It was the Gold Coast’s biggest group ever.
“I know we’ve already got some great groups like NuSkin Korea with 550 delegates literally (confirmed) two days after hosting the Commonwealth Games (in March). And there’s another 1,100 coming from Japan in October, and a group of 1,500 from China in August. And I think (things are) just going to start surging from here.”
As Case will say, identifying incentive bookings can sometimes be a tricky business. But she believes incentive numbers have increased by a whopping 40 per cent over the previous year, their highest growth rate ever.
It tallies with the rising number of international conferences held in the Gold Coast, recognised in the latest ICCA Country and City Rankings report putting the Gold Coast at 148 globally in 2017, up from 279 the year before.
The twin achievements of gaining a 99.8 per cent satisfaction rating from Infinitus delegates and the city’s successful hosting of the Games have played no small part in putting the Gold Coast firmly on the corporate radar in the region.
Thanks to the hosting of the Games, the Gold Coast now enjoys A$320 million (US$235 million) in new sporting infrastructure, plus upgrades to arterial roads, the light rail network, new accommodation and shopping centres.
All this has helped position this destination for sports, health and wellness events. Case confirms they’ve won over 50 events now to the city, leading from 2016 to 2020, with another 19 events in pursuit.
Echoing that success is the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC), which is lobbying the government to expand its facilities by up to 50 per cent.
General manager of GCCEC, Adrienne Readings, told TTGmice that the ability to provide the right infrastructure will help arrest the lost business they are experiencing, made more with the increasing popularity of the Gold Coast.
“Enquiry rates from Asia have increased by about 200 to 300 per cent, especially from mainland China, thanks to Infinitus China,” shared Readings.
New hotel developments are also in full swing, with The Star’s A$850 million transformation into an integrated resort; Swissotel and Rydges brands to make their mark in 2019; and also a A$1 billion redevelopment of beachfront complex Jewel, which will offer five-star accommodation and a ballroom for 800.
Even Village Roadshow Theme Parks, which runs six entertainment venues, has introduced a conference centre, which Kelly She, its international sales manager, tells TTGmice has more than doubled their corporate bookings since it opened two years ago.
“We’ve seen a 10 per cent increase in bookings year-on-year for incentive groups. And Asian groups especially appreciate the exclusive experiences we can offer, like exclusive shows or exclusive time to meet our movie characters,” she continued.
Teambuilding is also proving popular although the style of activity has evolved significantly, according to Simon Piltz, Gold Coast-based account director for teambuilding company Be Challenged.
“Our growth over the last 12 months is around 57 per cent. Traditional teambuilding has definitely changed over the last 15 years and there’s a need for fresh, new ideas. The old school of thought needing three or four hours for a programme is gone,” Piltz elaborated.
“Everything today has to be jammed into a conference agenda and the one- to two-hour product is really where we’re headed. Our number one conference energiser Boomtime, which helps delegates get moving and shifts their mindset from one session to the next – without any disruption to the conference agenda – is 20 minutes and it’s flying off the shelves.”
But having the right products and infrastructure is only half the battle won, as Case will attest, and hence requires an unexpected approach to winning incentive groups.
“I just came back from China and I know they’re being courted by every destination around the world,” Case remarked.
“(But) people buy people they like, and they want to feel welcomed and part of a destination and they want to be like a local. So when we go up, we entertain, and we get everyone dancing.
“It’s a little bit out of the comfort zone but we do it with such genuine love of what we do, and I want them to feel that this is part of what they’re going to get when they come down to the Gold Coast… you’ve just got to be different and show your passion,” concluded Case.
Located in Bonifacio Global City within the tallest skyscraper in the Philippines, this is the newest luxury hotel and the first-ever Grand Hyatt in the country.
Rooms
The layout of the double room I was given was intended for business guests, where there was two of everything.
There were two separate luggage areas in the sizeable walk-in closet; two double-sized Hyatt beds with ample space in between; and two bathing areas. One had a shower stall while the other sported a shower and a tub, but each came with their own sinks, and separate toilet. There was also a circular glass table that double as a desk or dining area. Overall, the room felt spacious and relaxing.
MICE facilities
The hotel has over 2,280m2 of flexible space comprising several event venues, such as the pillarless jewellery-box inspired Grand Ballroom for 900 pax.
Clad in floor-to-ceiling glass windows which open out to an uninterrupted view of the skyline and Manila Bay sunset, the 1,190m2 ballroom also has a show kitchen; there’s even a chef who can sing and dance should you wish for a bit more flair for your event.
Instead of the usual scaffolding, the ballroom also features sky hooks or hanging points in the ceiling, where each can carry a ton of weight, meant to make the event venue more spacious.
Other meeting venues include the Grand Salon; the Apartments with a loft kitchen and beverage bar; the Garden Pavilion equipped with folding glass windows for an al fresco set up; the Penthouse; as well as seven VIP rooms in No.8 China House restaurant.
Other facilities
Recreational facilities include an outdoor pool on the 6th floor, a 24-hour fitness centre; and the Illume Spa. There are also currently six F&B venues, with one more, The Peak – described as a collision of a grill restaurant, speakeasy, whiskey bar, cabaret, and a music lounge – opening in 3Q2018.
Contact Tel (63) 2 838 1234
Email manila.grand@hyatt.com
Rooms
Contemporary elegance best describes the well-appointed spacious rooms and suites. Ranging from 45m2 to 96m2, all rooms are outfitted with the latest technology like intelligent lighting.
The deluxe room is a cocoon of luxury with a roomy bed, soft linen, feather duvet and a pillow menu. There’s also a spacious writing desk, and the marble bathroom was stocked with personal care items and plush bathrobes.
MICE facilities Meeting spaces within the hotel include the 1,650m2 Grand Ballroom for up to 1,200 pax, 780m2 junior ballroom for up to 715 pax, and 19 multifunction rooms spread over multiple floors.
Shangri-La at The Fort also has an Events Concierge for event organisers and guests. Also, the hotel’s edge is that its staff are able to meet the specifications of event organisers in terms of aesthetics, service quality and food. The frontline staff for business events have certainly improved and their confidence more apparent, unlike in the beginning when there were several hiccups not quite uncommon for a new hotel.
The hotel is also well situated, providing easy access for delegates and business travellers to surrounding tourist attractions, and Bonifacio Global City’s shops, bars, restaurants, and convention centre.
Other facilities
There are six dining concepts led by the modern-day marketplace concept of High Street Cafe. Meanwhile, Kerry Sports Manila occupies 8,000m2 and has over two floors with fitness facilities such as studios for yoga or pilates, a gym, 25-metre outdoor lap pool, and a NBA-grade indoor basketball court.
Contact
Tel (63) 2 820 0888 Email slfm@shangri-la.com
Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok has appointed Jakob Yamac as director of food and beverage.
Prior to joining the hotel, Yamac was at the Address Boulevard Hotel in Dubai, in the same capacity for two years.
He is no stranger to Kempinski, as he held the position of bar manager at Kempinski Mall of Emirates in Dubai, UAE.
In total, the German has more than 10 years of experience in F&B roles under his belt. He first began his career as a bartender at the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, UAE.
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.
