JTB Corporation’s Asia Pacific Headquarters (JTB APHQ) will make their exhibition debut at IT&CMA 2018, and is set to engage with buyers and media through a hosted luncheon and Association Day destination presentation.
JTB Thailand and Kobe Convention Bureau will also exhibit alongside JTB APHQ, in a bid to showcase the country’s business events capabilities and PCO services.
A JTB travel agency office in Kyoto, Japan
By hosting a targeted networking luncheon and destination presentation for associations at IT&CMA 2018, JTB is eager to display these competencies.
Mizuho Hara, manager for events & promotions at JTB APHQ, shared: “We already have a well-established MICE programme and network in Japan and wish to raise the awareness of our MICE and DMC solutions to the Asia-Pacific market. Leveraging on the luncheon and presentation will allow us to connect with our target audience within exclusive settings.”
JTB serves Japan’s tourism industry with offices in all 47 prefectures in Japan and from over 1,100 offices in 38 countries, with the group’s global corporate business faction functioning as a leading DMC and PCO for MICE and Business Travel Management in Asia.
IT&CMA 2018 will be held from September 18-20, 2018 at the Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld. It is co-located with the CTW Asia-Pacific – The Leading Corporate Travel Management Conference for the Asia-Pacific.
A rendering of the upcoming lounge at Brisbane International Airport
Australia’s flagship carrier Qantas has announced that it’ll be extending its global lounge improvement programme.
The multi-million dollar programme will see the national carrier upgrade six lounges in Auckland, Brisbane, Hobart, Sydney, Tamworth and Tokyo.
A rendering of the upcoming lounge at Brisbane Airport
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce shared that the extended lounge programme would be across international, domestic and regional airports.
He added: “Over the past few years we’ve been steadily renewing lounges right across our network… As the demand for premium travel increases, we’re responding with more space in our lounges, more dining options and designs that reflect the destination.”
The lounge locations are:
Sydney – The flagship Sydney International First lounge will be refreshed and expanded by 15 per cent.
Auckland – The First and Business Lounges in Auckland will be redesigned into a single lounge based on the format of Qantas’ international lounges in London and Hong Kong. Regional inspiration from New Zealand will be incorporated throughout.
Tokyo – The Narita lounge will be refreshed with a new design and improved dining options.
Brisbane – The Brisbane International Lounge will be expanded to cater for an additional 100 guests and completed in early 2019.
Hobart and Tamworth – Both lounges will be completely redesigned with more space and seating.
These announcements are in addition to lounge upgrades currently underway in Melbourne and Sydney. The first phase of the redesigned Melbourne Domestic Business Lounge opened last week, and once complete will feature a Spice Bar serving freshly made Asian street food. Both lounges will be completed by November this year. Qantas is also building a new Sydney International Business Lounge with 35 per cent more seating.
The Four Points by Sheraton Sydney, Central Park has opened in Chippendale, an up-and-coming suburb in the Australian city.
The downtown Sydney hotel was designed by award-winning British architectural firm, Foster + Partners, and is situated in the Eastern Tower of the Central Park Development on the corner of Abercrombie and Broadway. It features 297 guestrooms, including two luxury suites.
Contemporary cuisine can be had at the Central Quarter restaurant, with direct access off Broadway, outdoor dining and an open kitchen. Also at street level, Malt Bar will offer a selection of craft beers, spirits and wines.
Other amenities include a fitness centre, and 553m2 of function space comprising flexible rooms and an elevated outdoor terrace.
Shinta Mani Hotels has appointed Patricia Yeo as corporate chef.
Yeo will be responsible for overseeing strategic planning and implementation of all culinary matters for the three existing Shinta Mani properties in Siem Reap, as well as the Bensley Collection – Shinta Mani Wild, a luxury tented camp opening in on November 1, 2018.
In addition, she will assume the role of executive chef at Shinta Mani’s first managed property, Treeline Urban Resort in Siem Reap, opening in November 2018.
Prior to joining Shinta Mani Hotels, she was executive chef, and food and beverage director, at Avani Luang Prabang in Laos. In February 2016, Yeo was appointed executive chef at Six Senses Zighy Bay.
In total, the Malaysian has three decades of global culinary experience which comprises being a restaurateur and culinary director for the Big Bowl Division of Lettuce Entertain You.
Steven Black has joined Como Point Yamu in Phuket as executive chef, and will lead the culinary offerings of the resort.
Before joining Como Point Yamu, Black was in the kitchen of Wildflower – the rooftop restaurant at Como The Treasury in Perth.
Since starting his hospitality career in 1982, the Australian has worked in several top restaurants across Europe, and was the co-owner and former chef of London’s Berkeley Square Restaurant, which earned a Michelin Star. He was also awarded a Michelin Star during his time as executive chef at Eastwell Manor Hotel in Kent, England.
Onyx Hospitality Group has appointed Phan Ing Pai as vice president, operations – Greater China. Based in Shanghai, Phan will report to Gina Wo, senior vice president & head of Greater China.
He will be responsible for leading the operations team in the Greater China region, providing support to all operational properties across the region and ensuring all properties are in line with the group’s established operational standards. Phan will also work closely with the sales & marketing team by offering commercial support to the property teams, ensuring optimum hotel performance and business returns.
Prior to joining Onyx, Phan was area general manager, North China for Frasers Hospitality.
He has over 20 years of experience in the hospitality and serviced apartments industries and a deep understanding of the Chinese market. Phan has spent the past 14 years in China, where he also held senior level positions with Swiss-Belhotel International.
Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA) is turning to business events from Asia to help it achieve its target of 10 million tourists by 2021.
To do that, SCTDA is stepping out of the shadows of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the two most popular business event destinations in the UAE, and is emphasising that Sharjah has what it takes to welcome and deliver quality events.
Sharjah Lighting Festival Sunset
“In terms of infrastructure and tourism products, Sharjah is well positioned to cater to international events,” said Khalid Jasim Al Midfa, chairman of SCTDA.
Bordering Al Khan Lagoon and covering 128,000m2, the visually-striking Expo Centre Sharjah is one of the most technologically advanced exhibition, conference and event venues in the Middle East. Recent events that took place at the venue include the 44th MidEast Watch and Jewellery Show, SteelFab 2018, International Education Show and Jordanian Consumer Show.
Expo Centre Sharjah recorded a seven per cent increase in the number of visitors during 1Q2017, with a total of 302,474 delegates who attended 12 exhibitions.
Sharjah hotels are doing well too, with an average occupancy rate of 70 per cent from January to June last year. The hotels welcomed 885,000 guests during the period. The performance has inspired Sharjah to look at adding 5,000 hotel rooms to its inventory by 2021.
“With the business events industry in the UAE expected to grow at a rate of seven per cent, Sharjah would benefit from its own share of business event arrivals, especially considering the tourism development taking place in the emirate,” commented Olivier Harnisch, CEO of Emaar Hospitality Group.
The hospitality company is opening three hotels in Sharjah – Address Aljada Sharjah, Vida Aljada Sharjah, and Rove Aljada Sharjah.
Besides new hotels, Sharjah is currently building the Al Tai Exhibition Centre and adding on new tourism products – for instance, a US$27.2 million attraction at the Al Montazah Amusement and Water Park by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, and the Sharjah Beach Development project, a 3.3km stretch that will feature art spaces, landscaped gardens and restaurants – that will appeal to corporate incentive groups.
As well, there are plans to connect the port city of Khor Fakkan through the Hajar Mountains with Sharjah’s central region.
Khalid Jasim opined that good growth will come out of “key Asian markets like India and China” and SCTDA has stepped up participation at business event-focused tradeshows in both markets. Last year, it exhibited at SATTE 2017 in New Delhi and China World Travel Market in Shanghai – both tradeshows are new to the authority. These efforts are supported by promotional campaigns and workshops in Chinese cities like Guangzhou and Chengdu.
He explained that SCTDA’s presence in China and India aims to “educate local stakeholders on our uniqueness as a business events destination”.
“We also see a great opportunity to increase Indian arrivals further by showcasing Sharjah as an incentive destination,” he said.
Jamal Abdulnazar, CEO, Cozmo Travel, sees two factors in favour of Sharjah as an attractive destination for Chinese and Indian groups. “The winter season here is a good time for Indian groups to visit, while the visa-free policy for Chinese nationals is very helpful,” he said.
Kulwant Singh, CEO of Lama Tours, believes that Sharjah can be positioned as “a new, standalone incentive destination” in the UAE for the Indian and Chinese markets but added that the destination needs more five-star hotels to truly attract the high-end incentive segment.
“Most of Sharjah hotels are three- and four-star properties,” he remarked.
Sharjah welcomed 138,000 hotel guests from India last year, a year-on-year growth of 32 per cent, while Chinese hotel guest numbers rose 45 per cent to 126,000.
While India and China are big on SCTDA’s radar, the authority is not discounting arrival potential from other parts of Asia. In fact, it has identified Malaysia and Indonesia as new sources for business events.
“We are looking at ways to reach out to Malaysian and Indonesian planners. At present we are attracting a small number of arrivals.
“These two markets have strong potential as there is a sizeable Muslim population. We will promote Sharjah by showcasing our rich Islamic culture, uniqueness of the destination and its offerings for business events,” said Khalid Jasim.
For now, SCTDA is collecting and understanding market intelligence on Malaysia and Indonesia, and will use data to form the basis of its promotion and marketing engagements.
It is also shortlisting major outbound travel agencies in Malaysia and Indonesia that it can work with closely to boost business event arrivals.
This article was first published on TTGmice August 2018
The Hong Kong Hotels Association (HKHA) has announced the election of its new chairperson, Rebecca Kwan, senior vice president of sales – Hong Kong & United Kingdom of Dorsett Hospitality International, who has commenced her two-year term from August 22.
Kwan was recently appointed an additional role within Dorsett as head of operations – United Kingdom, which will see her supporting UK sales and hotel revenue related matters. She is also general manager of Lan Kwai Fong Hotel @ Kau U Fong, Hong Kong, a boutique hotel under Dorsett’s d.Collection brand.
Rebecca Kwan
She was a member of the HKHA’s executive committee since 2009, before being elected second vice chairman in 2017. Now elected chairman, she succeeds Shaun Campbell, who had steered the association since 2017.
Campbell, managing director of The Langham, Hong Kong, is now a member of the executive committee.
Louis T Collection has named Robert C Hauck general manager of the 156-room Galle Face Hotel and area vice president for South Asia.
A hospitality leader with over 25 years of hotel experience across Asia, Europe, South America and the Caribbean, Hauck was most recently general manager of Kanuhura in the Maldives.
The German was previously director of Asian operations for International Group Management, Shanghai, a five-star hotel and private member club at Zhejiang Circuit; and president of Thanyapura in Phuket, Asia’s first sports resort, directing the launch of the mixed-use project.
Hauck was earlier general manager at Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor in Siem Reap; held executive roles at Shangri-La hotels in Taipei, Hong Kong and Pudong; and had assumed other executive positions at Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur; the Fairmont Hamilton Princess, Bermuda; Hotel Oro Verde, Guayaquil, Ecuador; and Kempinski Hotel Furstenhof, Leipzig, Germany.
One of the entertainment options onboard Star Cruises
Asia’s development as a cruise playground and key source market for regional and global cruising, as well as the growth potential for business events on the high seas, will be among the many topics addressed by three cruise industry leaders at the inaugural Asian MICE Cruise Conference.
Taking place in Bangkok on September 18, the opening panel session entitled Cruise CEO Panel, will feature Royal Caribbean Cruises’ managing director Angie Stephen; Worldwide Cruise Associates’ co-founder and president, Steve Bloss; and Genting Cruise Lines’ senior vice president – international sales, Michael Goh.
One of the entertainment options onboard Star Cruises
The three panelists, who possess vast cruise industry experience, will also offer interesting insights on how competitive cruise lines are developing attractive hardware and onboard experiences that would appeal to business event groups, and what more could be done to enable destinations, travel agents and event planners to benefit from the cruise industry’s progress.
This half-day event will be held at the Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld from 09.00, and 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 now.
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