The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) awarded Chew Ghim Bok, Singapore’s bid chair for the Rotary International Convention 2024, with Best Business Event Champion at the Singapore Tourism Awards 2018 on Tuesday evening.
Awarded under the Experience Excellence (MICE) category, Chew was recognised for playing a key role in securing Singapore’s bid for the Rotary International Convention 2024. The event is set to be the largest association convention to be hosted in Singapore, with more than 25,000 Rotary members from around the world expected to attend.
“Our bid was flexible in that we didn’t just present one venue. We suggested having the main event at one venue, and the plenary and breakout sessions at a nearby hotel or convention centre. Singapore is so small, so this mix-and-match element was also very attractive to the organisers,” said Chew.
He added that Singapore also enjoys strong “regional support”, in terms of having a good reputation among its neighbours, who spoke highly of the country’s safety and efficient immigration at the meeting.
“The support from STB has also been tremendous,” he shared.
The next challenge for the convention is in acquiring sufficient volunteers to execute and manage the event, Chew said.
The Experience Excellence (MICE) award category awarded a total of eight recipients for their achievements in Singapore’s MICE industry.
Read more about the MICE industry winners at this year’s Singapore Tourism Awards here.
At least five new hotels will open in Melbourne over the next few years, among them two Hyatt Hotels and three from InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG).
Firstly, Hyatt has entered into into a management agreement with PEC Portfolio Springvale for a 200-key Hyatt Place hotel. The hotel will form part of a mixed-used complex, which will also include co-working facilities and retail stores.
Hyatt Place Melbourne Springvale will be located at the intersection of Springvale and Dandenong Roads in the heart of the Monash Employment and Innovation Cluster, which is home to a number of academic institutions, businesses and medical facilities. It will become the second Hyatt Place hotel in Australia upon its expected opening in 2020.
Over in Melbourne’s CBD, a Hyatt Centric is also expected to open in 2020 on Downie Street, a management agreement with developer Little Projects.
Hyatt Centric Melbourne will feature 280 guestrooms and suites, a restaurant, and rooftop bar offering views of Melbourne’s Yarra River and Southbank. Located close to Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Center and the Crown Entertainment Complex, this will mark the second Hyatt Centric-brand hotel in Australia.
Also upcoming in the CBD in 2022 will be a dual-branded Hotel Indigo and Holiday Inn. The property will front onto Bourke Street Mall on one side and Little Collins St on the other.
The A$200 million (US$150 million) mixed-use development will include international retail stores and a combined 453-room hotel – 181 in Hotel Indigo Melbourne Little Collins and 272 in Holiday Inn Melbourne Bourke Street Mall. There will also be F&B outlets, a gym, meeting spaces, and a distinct guest lobby and room experience for each brand. The development will enjoy shared back-of-house services and facilities that create common-sense efficiencies.
IHG has also signed a deal with Barnes Capital to open a design-led Holiday Inn in the Coburg suburb.
When it opens in 2020, Holiday Inn Melbourne Coburg will enjoy views across the town and its surrounding landscape, including Coburg Lake Reserve. It will feature a gym and large meeting facilities, as well as a bar and all-day dining restaurant. The 150-room new-build will show off a bold, new design statement for Holiday Inn, created by architects Hachem.
IHG currently has 47 hotels operating under four brands – InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express – in Australasia with another 17 in the pipeline.