The Conference of the Electric Power Supply Industry (CEPSI) 2018 will take place in Kuala Lumpur Conference Centre this September, hosted by the National Electricity Board (TNB).
More than 1,500 delegates – comprising CEOs, senior executives, engineers, government officials and experts in the electric and power sectors from around the world – are expected to attend.
The conference to take place at KLCC
CEPSI is held every two years by the Association of the Electricity Supply Industry of East Asia and the Western Pacific (AESIEAP). In its 22nd edition, this year’s conference will bear the theme, “Reimagining Utility of the Future”.
“The theme will address some interesting topics that include mega trends, sustainability, energy trilemma, digitalisation and smarter future,” said Azman Mohd, TNB president/CEO and president of AESIEAP (2017-2018).
“This conference will be the ideal gathering for utility stakeholders to share their thoughts and ideas, hear from visionaries and learn from some of the best minds in the industry.”
TNB, which holds AESIEAP chairmanship from 2017 to 2018, last hosted the conference in 1996.
Huone brings creative spaces to third location
Huone International is expecting to introduce its third creative meeting venue, which will open in Helsinki’s Kamppi region this fall, after previously launching in Jätkäsaari district of Helsinki and in Singapore.
Among other rooms, Huone Kamppi will feature a nomad-life inspired Caravan Room with a private garden, and a harbour-inspired Pier Room.
Huone is already seeing its existing venues “booked well in advance”, and anticipates ample demand for the new Kamppi spaces.
Swiss-Belhotel to rise near Muscat airport come 2019
Swiss-Belhotel International will operate the Swiss-Belinn Muscat in Oman, set to open near the Muscat International Airport in 2019.
The result of a management agreement with Al Salaam International Hotel, Swiss-Belinn Muscat will offer 120 standard rooms and 10 varieties of suites. Facilities include an all-day-dining restaurant, flexible meeting and conference venues, gym, Wi-Fi access and 24-hour room service.
UFI announces managerial changes in Paris
UFI has welcomed Monika Fourneaux-Ceskova as marketing and communications manager, replacing Angela Herberholz who will move into her new role of programme manager.
Fourneaux-Ceskova has for the past eight years been responsible for the exhibition and marketing activities of an international broadcast technology solutions provider, Ateme. She is hence familiar with trade shows held in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Rai Amsterdam, Dubai World Trade Center, KoelnMesse and London Olympia, among others.
She has also worked for the Czech Embassy in Paris to provide and deliver national pavilions at trade shows, and was part of the support team at the World Economic Forum Annual Meetings in Davos.
After managing UFI’s marketing and communications activities for the past three years, Herberholz will as programme manager focus on coordinating and supporting the work of the various working committees to aid them in their global development, while also leading and driving projects in UFI’s education programmes.
Hamburg Convention Bureau welcomes new head of conventions
Nele Aumann has taken on the role of head of the Hamburg Convention Bureau’s (HCB) conventions unit. In her new position, she will coordinate the unit’s team of six in charge of marketing Hamburg as a MICE destination in Germany and abroad, and will report directly to HCB’S managing director, Michael Otremba.
Aumann has been with HCB for more than four years, most recently handling associations as well as clients from the fields of medicine, healthcare and life sciences. Prior to joining the HCB, she worked as a sales manager with Hamburg Messe und Congress and as a project coordinator with the congress agency CPO Hanser Service.
Disney villains to spook corporate groups in true Halloween fashion
Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (HKDL) is now accepting bookings for corporate buyout for Halloween.
This year, HKDL is promising a spookier and more fun Halloween party with Jack Skellington and his crew of baddies, along with more Disney villains.
Disney villains to spook corporate groups in true Halloween fashion
Corporate guests can enjoy private access to the entire park for a fright-filled evening with a whole park buyout after the nighttime cavalcade with extended park hours, along with exclusive privileges to entertainment, including private access to Tomorrowland and the exclusive nighttime cavalcade “Villains Night Out! Chapter 3″.
Smaller groups can also enjoy Halloween fun at the park by opting for Corporate Mix-in Nights. Events can be enhanced with customised elements, such as theatre or theme restaurant buyouts for company programmes, or private character greetings with Disney friends.
Last fall, HKDL hosted eight Halloween buyout events, where corporate guests were treated to the wicked fun of Disney Halloween Time. Among these events was Bank of China (Hong Kong)’s (BOCHK) buyout on September 24 for a centenary celebration. More than 25,000 guests, including BOCHK staff and their family members, participated in this event, making this the largest single-day buyout in HKDL history.
Since 2010, HKDL has welcomed about 400,000 guests in almost 50 Halloween park buyouts hosted by about 60 corporations from across Asia, including about 80,000 Halloween buyout goers in 2016 and 2017 each.
Pan Pacific Hotels Group has appointed Jeane Lim as general manager of Parkroyal on Pickering.
Prior to this appointment, Lim was most recently the general manager of Destination Singapore Beach Road.
Her career spans 30 years, where the first 18 was spent with Grand Hyatt Singapore in areas of guest services, business development and sales.
Tan then spent the next 12 years with Millennium Hotels & Resorts in various positions such as director of sales and marketing at Copthorne King’s Hotel, and vice-president global sales Asia.
Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has appointed Simon Dell as general manager of Mövenpick Asara Resort & Spa Hua Hin, a seafront resort opening later this year in Thailand.
Prior to joining Mövenpick, Dell was vice president & area general manager for Onyx North Asia.
During the course of his two-decades-long career, the seasoned hotelier has also served in senior management roles with hotel groups such as InterContinental, Raffles, Swissôtel and The Savoy Group. He has spent the last decade in Asia-Pacific, with several years based in Thailand.
The UK national first moved to Asia in 2007, initially as director of rooms at The Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong, before moving on to Amari Hotels & Resorts, now part of Onyx Hospitality Group.
Donaghy: summit being hosted in Sydney testament to city's level of security and a capable convention centre
The 15-month-old International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) is bringing back large-scale business events to the Australian city, with the most prominent gathering so far being the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit that kicked off last Friday.
The Summit drew the participation of heads of state from across South-east Asia as well as Australian political leaders.
Donaghy: summit being hosted in Sydney testament to city’s level of security and a capable convention centre
Geoff Donaghy, CEO of ICC Sydney, told TTGmice that the meeting was 12 months in the making, with the venue team working closely with various agencies, state authorities and federal government.
Donaghy described the meeting as a “very important event for Australia, but also for Sydney and for the centre”.
“(An event) at that high political level will put incredible focus on the city and the venue because the ability to host such an event requires a high level of security, and this sends an important signal to the South-east Asian market about the capabilities of ICC Sydney,” he said.
The next major event for the harbour city is Sibos, regarded as the world’s leading financial services show, scheduled for October 22 to 25. It will be attended by 6,000-plus delegates.
World Congress of Accountants will follow in November for 4,500 attendees.
Samantha Glass, ICC Sydney spokesperson, added that the venue has attracted many corporate meetings that have long been held in Asia to move out to Sydney.
David Swagell, head of industry – professional services and technology with Business Events Sydney, said the return of mega meetings was a welcome one for Sydney.
“A lot of large events couldn’t come to Sydney for the three years that ICC was in construction,” he said. “We are now having a lot of conversations in the international marketplace to bring these events back to Sydney.”
Demand is rising, he noted, and the city now boasts “a very strong pipeline of events from a range of industries that are in line with the NSW government’s priority areas”.
Furthermore, the opening of ICC Sydney is leading a hotel revolution in the Darling Harbour precinct.
‘With the new convention centre, we are seeing an uplift in the supply of hotel stock. For example, The Ritz-Carlton is going into The Star, we are getting a W hotel, and the Hyatt Regency has just increased its (room inventory) to about 900 rooms. Plus, the Sofitel has just opened down at Darling Harbour, which brings a positive and exciting impact to the precinct.
Having soft opened last November, the 347-room Yogyakarta Marriott Hotel is in its early days seeking volume in order to gain visibility in the market.
The hotel, the first under the Marriott Hotels brand in Indonesia, currently features the biggest hotel ballroom in the city, club room and lounge, and is adjacent to Hartono Mall, the largest mall in Central Java.
A guestroom in Yogyakarta Marriott
Winkie Wong, senior director brand and marketing Asia Pacific, Marriott International, said: “Indonesia has immense potential as a growing source market and we see a lot of opportunity there for the Marriott Hotels brand.”
As for the choice of Jogjakarta, Wong told TTG Asia: “In addition to having a great owning partner, Duta Merlin Dunia Properti, there’s a lot of potential in the destination for international leisure and business travellers. Jogjakarta is a hub of art, culture and education as well as a dynamic city that is growing in terms of business and economic development.”
The city has direct air access with Singapore and Kuala Lumpur and is only a 50-minute flight from Jakarta.
The opening of the hotel is also considered timely as the city is expected to have a new international airport by 2020.
Alain Rigodin, general manager of Yogyakarta Marriott Hotel, believes the opening of the airport would be a game changer for the destination. The hotel will officially launch 12-18 months ahead, affording it the time needed to position itself in the market and be ready when the airport is up, he said.
With the biggest, pillar-less ballroom in town measuring 1,870m2, seven meeting rooms and one boardroom, business events will be its primary focus, followed by corporate and leisure travellers, Rigodin said.
During this introductory period, the hotel has benchmarked prices for the lead-in category between one million rupiah (US$77) and 1.5 million rupiah.
“This is reasonable when you compare with other destinations like Jakarta, Bali or even Singapore. where you will see similar offerings for three to five times the price.”
To attract corporate and community gatherings, the hotel is also putting in place various promotions such as nightly all-you-can-eat buffet with different themes, the first such hotel offer in the city.
“We are (currently) looking for volume because want to showcase the hotel and our strategy is to get more people to talk about it – such as through social media,” Rigodin shared.
The joint venture was formed to develop tradeshow business in China and Italy
A new joint venture between the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) and VNU Exhibitions Asia, which will develop tradeshows in China and Italy, has been launched following the establishment of its Board of Directors.
Based in Shanghai, the Europe Asia Global Link Exhibitions (EAGLE) will have its board helmed by chairman Corrado Facco, IEG’s managing director, while VNU president David Zhong has been named vice-chairman.
The joint venture was formed to develop tradeshow business in China and Italy
Emanuele Guido, head of group strategy & international business development at IEG, will serve as EAGLE’s director, and Shine Liu, vice president of VNU Exhibitions Asia, has taken on the role of executive director.
EAGLE will develop IEG’s business interests in the Far East in the wellness, green technology, hospitality and tourism sectors, where the Italian company is already vested. IEG currently hosts TTG Travel Experience at its Rimini Expo Centre in Italy, which this year will take place October 10-12.
For VNU Exhibition Asia, owned by Utrecht Expo, EAGLE will provide additional opportunities to consolidate its commercial relations with leading companies in East Asia.
Two EAGLE events have been scheduled for 2018. The 15th Shanghai World Travel Fair, an outbound show, will take place May 24-27, with an expected attendance of more than 500 exhibitors from around the world and 13,000 buyers and visitors, mainly from eastern China.
Travel Trade Market – a B2B event for inbound and outbound Chinese tourism operators – will take place September 5-7, in Chengdu, Sichuan.
The new venture has also concluded an agreement with the European Tourism Association to explore and secure greater commercial opportunities in the Chinese market.
Restriction is due to seat belt and air bag system, THAI says
Your waistline now matters when flying business class on Thai Airways’ (THAI) new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, The Nation reports.
Passengers with waist wider than 56 inches cannot be accommodated by the new safety belts and airbag system in accordance with the safety standards of the US Federal Aviation Administration, Pratthana Pattanasirim, THAI’s director of security and flight standard division, explained.
He added that the seat belt likewise cannot accommodate parents with child sitting on their lap.
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau’s (TCEB) latest China roadshow swept into Shenzhen last week, drawing the attendance of 71 senior executives from 52 MICE travel agencies.
The event at The Ritz Carlton Shenzhen allowed TCEB to highlight new business events developments in Thailand as well as the bureau’s new campaign, Meet by Design.
Representatives from the Kingdom included 24 industry and strategic partners.
Nooch Homrossukhon, TCEB director of meetings & incentives department, expects the Shenzhen roadshow to generate 40 business leads, with a value of 600 million baht (US$19.2 million) for the Thai economy.
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.
