Buhdy Bok, an industry veteran with two decades of experience in the aviation and cruise sector, has been appointed managing director of One Faber Group in Singapore.
The One Faber group was last year rebranded from Mount Faber Leisure Group, and has a portfolio spanning Singapore Cable Car, Wings of Time, Sentosa Merlion, Faber Peak Singapore, Dusk Restaurant & Bar, Spuds & Aprons, Good Old Days, Show Bites, Fun Shop, Cable Car Gift Shop and local membership programme Faber Licence.
Bok will be responsible for taking on the next phase of building One Faber Group’s business through its portfolio of leisure products at Faber Peak Singapore and Sentosa Island.
He spent 15 years with Singapore Airlines in the Singapore, Shanghai, Nanjing and Milan offices and seven years with Costa Cruises based in Shanghai. He last held the position of chief commercial officer with NokScoot Airline, a joint venture between Scoot and Nok Air, based in Thailand.
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) has appointed Darren Waite as director of sales. He will join the team on October 15, 2018.
Waite was last with AccorHotels where he was regional director of sales and marketing for Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.
Prior to joining AccorHotels, Darren was director Asia Pacific for CWT Solutions Group. He has also held a number of senior positions with global brands including InterContinental Hotels Group and Accenture Procurement Solutions.
Oakwood’s first serviced apartment in Surabaya, has opened as part of a mixed-use development in Kertajaya within East Surabaya.
Located along Jalan Raya Kertajaya Indah, Oakwood Hotel & Residence Surabaya offers 144 keys, a mixture of hotel rooms and fully-furnished serviced apartments. Categories include studio superior rooms, studio deluxe rooms, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments. All rooms offer a Bluetooth home theatre system, a smart TV with multi-channel cable, while the apartments come with an extra fully-equipped kitchen.
Guests at the property will be able to make use of the concierge services, as well as facilities such as a semi-indoor swimming pool, and a fitness centre. The property will also have two F&B outlets, Spice Restaurant and Deckside Lounge and Café, both of which are open to the public.
From now until December, the Singapore Zoo comes alive at dusk with its latest nocturnal attraction – the Rainforest Lumina – a night walk unveiled in conjunction with its 45th anniversary.
The attraction is an illuminated one-kilometre-long trail decked out with interactive light, multimedia projections and sound installations, and covers about half of the zoo’s area. It is open from 19.30 to 00.00, with the last entry at 22.30.
While the walk doesn’t involve any interaction with live animals – which are moved back of house at night – visitors will have the chance to interact with eight virtual animals. These eight creatures – an orang-utan, flying fox, sloth, chameleon, otter, pangolin, hornbill and white tiger cub – appear in various exhibits.
There are 11 zones in total, a few of which are interactive. For instance, in the Sing Like An Animal zone, guests can sing (or hum, croak or yell) into a microphone, and the more sound made, the more vivid, colourful and elaborate the projection will be.
Other memorable zones along the trail included the countless dancing green fireflies, and a section dedicated to luminous stalks of flowers.
Aside from spreading the message of wildlife conservation, this light-up was an opportunity for the Singapore Zoo to activate the precinct after the zoo closes at 18.00.
Tickets cost S$22 (US$16) for adults, and $16 for children ages three to 12.
Rainforest Lumina is a collaboration between Wildlife Reserves Singapore and Moment Factory, a Canada-based multimedia entertainment company. It is the first Lumina instalment in South-east Asia, and the seventh in the world.
Kumar Muniandy has joined Hilton Garden Inn Puchong in Malaysia as general manager.
Prior to joining Hilton, Kumar was the general manager of the Oasia Suites Kuala Lumpur. He also served as general manger at the Sri Tiara Residences Kuala Lumpur.
A 20-year hospitality veteran, Kumar began his career as a waiter and bartender at Tasik Hotel in Seremban, before becoming a management trainee at Holiday Inn City Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
From there, Kumar went on to hold positions locally and internationally such as assistant manager in Singapore, night manager and guest service manager in the UK before moving up to the general manager position.
Joni Aker has been appointed as general manager of Treeline Urban Resort, the first managed property under Bangkok-based Hospitality Management and Development Asia.
The New Zealander has extensive management experience in operations across a wide range of fields, including the luxury hospitality sector. She was most recently the cruise director for Aqua Expeditions operating on the Mekong between Cambodia and Vietnam, and on the Amazon in Peru.
Located on the banks of the Siem Reap River, Treeline Urban Resort will have 48 keys comprising 36 rooms and 12 suites, together with culinary outlets, a rooftop pool and bar. It will open November 1, 2018.
A rendering of the Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium. Photo credit: STH Live
The opening of Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium in Iwate Prefecture on August 19 was seen as a beacon of hope for the tourism recovery of the Japanese port town which was devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011.
The stadium – the only newly-built facility of the 12 to be used for the Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2019 – will offer corporate hospitality packages and host business guests during the event, and its construction has shown the Japanese people how a sporting event could help to drive business events and tourism revenue.
A rendering of the Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium. Photo credit: STH Live
Since Kamaishi was named a RWC host in 2015, its motto has been “rebuilding through rugby”, and its population of 36,000 is preparing alongside officials to welcome sports fans, tourists and business guests.
The port town is famous for rugby, steel and fishing. Some 30 per cent of homes and 60 per cent of businesses were damaged or destroyed during the 2011 natural disasters.
“We are excited to be part of the rejuvenation of Kamaishi and the Tohoku region,” said Tomo Shimada, head of marketing at STH Japan – a provider of sports hospitality and premium spectator experiences.
Shimada: great to be play a part in Kamaishi’s rejuvenation
Though limited accommodation and public transport means the RWC corporate hospitality provider will not offer its full range of packages, it is expecting good uptake of its newly launched corporate Premium Seats. These will include the best Category A seats, premium food and drink, official merchandise, and a souvenir gift.
Moreover, about 10,000 seats will be added to the 6,000 pax capacity stadium ahead of the first RWC game in September 2019.
According to Shimada, the concept of sports hospitality was unknown to most Japanese people STH Japan surveyed as part of its market research in 2017. But awareness is growing due to industry efforts.
As of August this year, 21 companies have been assigned as official travel agents for the RWC. Their offerings include corporate packages to Kamaishi with Premium Seats, teambuilding or incentive trips in the local area and accommodation in neighbouring areas.
From left: Michael Goh, Freddy Muller, and Farriek Tawifik
Cruise lines are seeing a growing number of Asian corporate events heading onboard, but specialists say more needs to be done to clear the air of persistent misperceptions of the product for business gatherings.
Princess Cruises’ Farriek Tawfik, Genting Cruise Lines’ Michael Goh, and Silversea Cruises’ Freddy Muller, will be taking the stage at the inaugural Asian MICE Cruise Conference on September 18 where they will address common myths surrounding cruises for business events. They will also share examples of how past events have benefited from being hosted on a cruise ship.
From left: Michael Goh, Freddy Muller, and Farriek Tawifik
Their session, MICE Onboard 1: Making the case for MICE cruises, will begin at 11.00 at the Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld.
The Asian MICE Cruise Conference is free for all registered IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2018 delegates.
Industry players who are not registered for IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2018 are welcome, and can secure a complimentary seat here.
Cultural food experience company Noshtrekker will be expanding its palates beyond its current Singapore and Australia markets, and head to Malaysia, Thailand, and New Zealand next year.
Sarah Tan, co-founder & brand director at Noshtrekker, elaborated: “In Malaysia, we are first heading to Penang, and in Thailand we are looking at Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and in New Zealand we’ll be promoting the provinces. We are also exploring places in Italy, like Genoa.”
Checking the vines at Artemis Wines’s vineyard
When asked why the focus was noticeably on second-tier cities, Tan pointed out: “Second-tier cities have the advantage of being relatively accessible, and have less dense local and tourist populations. You also get greater value for money. (In terms of) luxury travel, the standards of big city luxury are still recognised in second-tier cities due to the proximity, but (in comparison) travellers are not paying as much (as first-tier cities).”
Tan further adds that promoting second-tier cities – like the Southern Highlands in New South Wales – usually requires a different strategy, as compared to selling experiences to well-known destinations. As such, the company joins forces with local businesses such as Robertson Truffles and Artemis Wines, as well as partners like Destination New South Wales and Singapore Airlines, to raise awareness of the destination.
Moreover, as Noshtrekker’s clients are mainly corporates, incentives or business event groups, time is of the essence. Their guests are generally business travellers at a senior executive level, and group sizes number from 10 to 20.
A freshly-harvested truffle from the Robertson farm
“Few people know that Southern Highlands is only 90 minutes from Sydney or Canberra. You can self-drive or even take a train from Sydney. Our marketing strategy is not just centred on itineraries, we have to market the destination,” she shared.
Itineraries that Noshtrekker offers in the Southern Highlands range from half-day experiences to 2D/3N detours. In fact, these itineraries were only created around two months ago, and DMCs purchase these for their clients.
Tan elaborated: “We are mainly a B2B business, so travel agents and DMCs buy our food and travel experience to add to their catalogue of products. Noshtrekker is not a travel agent so we do not process any travel bookings; this is all managed by the travel agent or DMC.”
Hillary Rodham Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State, will be making a keynote speech at the 18th World Knowledge Forum (WKF) in Seoul
The 19th World Knowledge Forum (WKF) will be taking place at the Jangchung Arena in Seoul next month from October 10-12.
The theme of this year’s forum is Global Challenges: Geopolitical Conflicts and Trade War, and is expected to welcome around 3,500 delegates.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, former US secretary of state, making a keynote speech at last year’s WKF
Event delegates will gain insights on the developments of the diplomatic relations in the Korean Peninsula; how the blockchain technology is disrupting the existing monetary system; and ways to improve the quality of life beyond wealth and technology. Some of the 200 prominent speakers at this edition include former UN secretary general Ban Ki-Moon, founder of Crypto Exchange Miko Matsumura, Nobel Peace Prize winner Kawasaki Akira, and the president of the Republic of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid.
First launched in October 2000, WKF serves as a platform to educate about pressing global issues and seek ways to promote a balanced world economic growth. It sees participation from heads of state and government, business leaders, and other public figures.
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.
