FCM Travel Solutions promotes Bertrand Saillet

July 5, 2018

Bertrand_Saillet_General_Manager_FCM_Travel_Solutions_Singapore-JULY-18-640 — Bertrand Saillet

FCM Travel Solutions has consolidated its Asia management team and announced that Bertrand Saillet will be the new managing director of Asia of FCM Travel Solutions and FCTG.

He replaces David Fraser, who was previously the managing director of FCTG Asia. In his new role, Saillet will spearhead the overall growth of both FCTG and FCM Travel across Asia.

Saillet was previously the general manager for FCM Travel Solutions, where he oversaw the sales and marketing, account management, technology and operations across Asia.

Swire Hotels announces opening of The Middle House

By TTGmice

July 5, 2018

0

The Middle House has opened in the heart of Shanghai, within the HKRI Taikoo Hui development.

The property offers 111 modern studios – varying from 50m² to 100m² in size – and 102 serviced residences that range from 55m² to 110m². The latter comes with kitchen and laundry facilities.

The Middle House also features a 660m² top-floor Penthouse overlooking Nanjing West Road. The two-bedroom suite offers private terraces, a lounge and an exclusive event space with a private kitchen – an ideal event venue.

Recreational facilities include a heated indoor swimming pool, 24-hour gym facilities comprising a Hypoxi room and wellness studio, group yoga sessions, and a lifestyle shop. There are three F&B venues as well: Café Gray Deluxe by chef Gray Kunz which combines a restaurant, lounge bar and private dining room; Italian restaurant Frasca; and Sui Tang Li, an eatery serving up dimsum and dishes influenced by Shanghainese, Sichuan and Cantonese regional cuisines.

The Middle House is the latest addition to Swire Hotels’ portfolio, and is the fourth hotel in The House Collective.

Beyond Asia: The Tivoli Évora Ecoresort, Star Alliance Lounge, The Big 5 Egypt

By TTGmice

July 5, 2018

0

Tivoli unveils property in Évora, Portugal
Tivoli Hotels & Resorts will be opening its first property in the Alentejo region of Portugal in the UNESCO-listed city of Évora.

The Tivoli Évora Ecoresort, scheduled to launch in 3Q2018, will be a nature retreat offering 56 suites placed on the 38,000m² grounds. The hotel is currently operating as the Ecorkhotel, Évora – Suites & Spa. As part of the refurbishment, a new villa with nine guest rooms, and a private outdoor swimming pool will be added.

Recreational facilities include a spa comprising an indoor swimming pool, sauna, Turkish bath and fitness room. There are also a restaurant, lobby bar, and pool bar. Public areas and multiple suites can be reserved in exclusivity upon request, providing the perfect setup for incentives or company retreats.

Star Alliance opens new lounge at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport
Star Alliance customers travelling from Rome can look forward to a new premium lounge experience at Fiumicino Airport.

The Star Alliance-branded lounge features Italian designer furniture, along with functional spaces to work, relax or socialise in. Travellers can delight in a staffed bar and barista coffee station, and have their belly filled with made-to-order Italian-inspired dishes.

Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the lounge, with a mix of standard and USB power outlets where customers can recharge their electronic devices. A private space for making phone calls is also available. The lounge, located on the upper level of Boarding Zone D in Terminal 3, can accommodate around 130 guests and will open daily from 05.15 to 21.15.

Mesnwhile, the lounge in Paris Charles-de-Gaulle Airport is due for refurbishment, and a new lounge is being developed in Amsterdam, slated to open in early 2019.

The Big 5 goes to Egypt
Organiser dmg events is expanding its The Big 5 brand into Egypt.

Taking place at the Egypt International Exhibition Centre from September 18-21, 2018, The Big 5 Construct Egypt will be the second largest construction show after Dubai. The show’s first edition will be held on 24,000m2 of space, split across two exhibition halls and an outdoor area.

The event will bring in the latest technologies from leading global brands and support knowledge sharing while facilitating business opportunities between local and international innovators in the sector.

MCEC names director of IT

By TTGmice

July 5, 2018

0

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) has appointed Celeste Johnston as director of information technology, a newly-created role within the organisation.

Johnston will start in her new position on August 6, 2018.

She joins MCEC from AGL where she was head of digital technology quality assurance, digital transformation capability leader. Johnston also has extensive experience in digital transformation, where she ensures technology delivers business value, and has led large, complex digital delivery services.

Prior to joining AGL, Johnston was head of quality assurance, project governance and release management at Latitude Financial/GE Capital. She has also held a number of senior positions with organisations including Credit Suisse, Telstra and Coles Myer.

Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit stirs Sicilian chef into team mix

By TTGmice

July 5, 2018

0

Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit has appointed Frederik Farina as its executive chef and director of F&B.

He assumed both roles last month at the first Hyatt Regency in the Thai capital, which is scheduled to open later this year. In his new position, he will oversee all culinary attractions at Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit.

Prior to his transfer, the Sicillian spent most of the last seven years in similar roles at Hyatt Regency Danang in Vietnam. He previously started with Hyatt Hotels in 2005, when he first worked at Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok for almost 10 years.

Farina started in 1999 as a cook helper at Jonico Restaurant in his hometown of Siracusa, Italy, before taking on culinary positions at renowned restaurants in Milan and Miami.

Bali’s Badung Regency readies for IMF-World Bank meeting

By Mimi Hudoyo

July 3, 2018

0

antarafoto-bandara-bali-raih-penghargaan-240416-app-1-909x605 — Ngurah Rai International Airport’s parking stands are in the process of being increased

Bali is gearing up to welcome the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, happening later this year, by improving various infrastructure and amenities.

The meeting from October 8 to 14 will be the biggest event to ever take place on the island with 15,000 delegates from 168 countries.

Ngurah Rai International Airport’s parking stands are in the process of being increased

A total of 1,200 meetings will take place in 89 venues across two convention centres and hotels. As well, 4,600 hotel rooms in Nusa Dua have been booked to accommodate delegates.

In addition, state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura I, which manages Ngurah Rai International Airport, is expanding the airport’s apron to allow 11 additional parking stands, bringing the available slots up to a total 63 aircraft. This development is currently underway and is expected be ready in time for the meeting.

Improvements are also being made to the regency’s infrastructure. The 712m-long Ngurah Rai Underpass – set to be ready in August – will reduce traffic congestion around the Ngurah Rai Statue roundabout by 50 per cent.

Badung Regency stretches from southern Nusa Dua, Uluwatu and Jimbaran to Seminyak and Canggu along the west coast, up to Mengwi and Plaga in the northern part of the territory.

The regency is in the midst of developing itself into a ‘smart city’. A project, which involves the installation of 385 CCTV cameras in 986 locations across the regency, as well as a Wi-Fi network, is scheduled to be completed by October.

Addressing the media at the Bali and Beyond Travel Fair 2018 held in Bali last week, I Made Badra, Badung Regency’s head of tourism, said: “The CCTV cameras are placed at tourist attractions and other strategic locations to provide safety and security for travellers and the community alike. The Wi-Fi network will be available across the regency free of charge to (enable tourists to stay connected).”

These, according to Badra, will not only be available during the conference period but will become part of the service the regency provides to both locals and travellers.

Meanwhile to make it easier for delegates to move around, the regional government has provided 20-seat buses, and put in place a traffic central system. In addition, some 9,000 members of police force and pecalang (Balinese traditional guards) will be on duty during the event.

Asian tech startups bank on events for growth opportunities

By Ruth Chen

July 3, 2018

0

The Asian tech startup community is thriving on the back of numerous business events, highlighting Singapore as the go-to destination for startup capital and accelerating the pace of Singapore’s tech scene.

At the e27-organised event Echelon Asia Summit 2018 last week, more than 8,000 participants paid for entry to the event featuring 250 exhibitors, with participants from 15 countries such as Cambodia, South Korea and Kazakhstan.

Finology’s Jared Lim (right) and his colleague at the Echelon Asia Summit. Photo credit: Ruth Chen

Regional participation was significant with many startups pitching their successes to investors for capital.

Jala spokesman Syauqy Aziz said the company is looking at gaining more investments since its first US$25,000 seed money from Hatch Blue, a Norwegian investor. According to Syauqy, setting up an office in Singapore was part of the deal for the seed money. Jala is an aquaculture farm solution that provides online farming assistance and consultation service to help farmers increase their yields. It has presence in Java and has plans to expand to Sumatra in Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Consumer credit provider Finology founder Jared Lim said he hope to leverage on this event to set the stage for his company’s impending regional expansion into Indonesia. The Malaysia-based company attended the event to showcase its product and network with other startups.

Echelon Asia Summit 2018 also featured workshops and panel discussions on cryptocurrencies, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT) among other topics. Several participants said that while the workshops were helpful, they benefited more from the networking opportunities at the event.

According to an angel investor who declined to be named, such events provided an opportunity to assess the scalability of startups pitching for capital.

ICCA Asian members confident of continuity as CEO steps down

By Caroline Boey

July 3, 2018

0

ICCA members in Asia, reacting to last week’s sudden announcement that CEO Martin Sirk is leaving at end-July after 16 years in service, say the organisation is well run and the appointment of chief value officer Dennis Speet as acting CEO – until a permanent replacement is found – will ensure a smooth transition.

Asia, with 259 members out of a total of 1,100 worldwide, represents ICCA’s biggest region, with China, Japan and Australia taking the top three spots with 57, 36 and 32 members respectively.

In a press statement the ICCA board said it would be “working with new leadership to drive the association forward over the coming decade, and to identify and implement new business models that will future-proof ICCA in what is certain to be a dynamic and hyper-competitive environment”.

ICCA will appoint a new CEO as soon as possible and has engaged an international recruitment firm to assist with the selection and evaluation process, the statement added.

Alicia Yao, a founding member of the ICCA China Chapter, is optimistic a permanent CEO would be announced by the time the 57^th ICCA Congress in Dubai takes place in November.

Yao commented that ICCA is a “stable” association and leadership change is part and parcel of the renewal and rejuvenation process.

“Asia is safe and the economy is doing well, good reasons for ICCA to continue to focus on Asia and grow its members who value the marketing, training and database services it provides,” she observed.

Nancy Tan, managing director of Singapore-based PCO Ace:Daytons Direct (International), added: “ICCA is well run and the association has the right people in place to ensure nothing is affected.”

Meanwhile, Noor Ahmad Hamid, ICCA regional director Asia-Pacific, said the new ICCA CRM platform was rolled out in early-June to better capture and integrate information and to consolidate its tracking and servicing of its membership. It was one of the initiatives driven by Speet, who was formerly ICCA’s director of sales and marketing before he was promoted, to add value to members.

The 59^thICCA Congress returns to Asia in 2020 and will be held in Kaohsiung.

Sydney wins 2019 MDRT Global Conference

By TTGmice

July 3, 2018

0

Sydney has won the bid to host the US-based Million Dollar Round Table’s (MDRT) inaugural Global Conference in September next year.

The 2019 MDRT Global Conference Sydney will see some 8,000 of the world’s top earning professionals in the sector join their Australian peers to exchange insights, share innovative practices and collaborate with the best in their profession.

Sydney wins inaugural elite financial meet

Previous speakers include Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP, one of the world’s leading business software companies; and motivational speakers Bill Gates and Amanda Gore.

With MDRT membership taking in 500 companies in 72 countries, 98 per cent of the delegates are expected to be international, generating in excess of A$19 million (US$14 million) to the local economy.

NT welcomes first long-term business events strategy

By TTGmice

July 3, 2018

0

Darwin Convention Centre in the Northern Territory

KPMG is set to develop the first long-term business events strategy for the Northern Territory (NT) in Australia, where the NT government’s A$103 million (US$76 million) Turbocharging Tourism stimulus package includes A$2.33 million to support business event bids.

“Business events in the Territory deliver significant economic benefits and create local jobs – that’s why we are seriously targeting this area,” said minister for tourism and culture, Lauren Moss, in a statement.

Darwin Convention Centre in the Northern Territory pictured

“Securing just one additional 500-delegate business event for the Territory can deliver over A$2 million in incremental visitor spend; demonstrating the value of this sector.”

Moss added this is the first-ever long-term business events strategy for the state, and it will guide the development of NT’s business events sector through to 2030, and articulate a shared vision and framework for the sustainable economic growth of business events in the state.

KPMG will undertake a comprehensive industry consultation process and has partnered with business events specialist Michael Cannon to best realise and pinpoint opportunities and challenges for the NT business events industry and how to maximise its growth.

The report is expected to be delivered by October 2018.

FCM Travel Solutions promotes Bertrand Saillet

Swire Hotels announces opening of The Middle House

Beyond Asia: The Tivoli Évora Ecoresort, Star Alliance Lounge, The Big 5 Egypt

MCEC names director of IT

Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit stirs Sicilian chef into team mix

Bali’s Badung Regency readies for IMF-World Bank meeting

Asian tech startups bank on events for growth opportunities

ICCA Asian members confident of continuity as CEO steps down

Sydney wins 2019 MDRT Global Conference

NT welcomes first long-term business events strategy

Reviews

Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown

A versatile powerhouse

Amari Bangkok