Orlando Monteiro da Silva, one of the six ambassadors. Photo credit: ipim.gov.mo
In line with the Macao SAR Government’s policy to place more priority on conventions, the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) has appointed six well-respected professionals in different sectors from China and abroad as conference ambassadors.
The experts are Orlando Monteiro da Silva (dental specialist), Zhu Lilan (strategy scientist and chemist), He Jingtang (architect), Li Ning (entrepreneur and athlete), Tsui Lap-Chee (molecular genetics specialist), and Liu Chung Laung (IT expert).
Orlando Monteiro da Silva, one of the six conference ambassadors. Photo credit: ipim.gov.mo
Holiday World Tours’ managing director, Paul Leung, said: “These are familiar faces in China and Asia so their influence may help drum up noise within their respective fields.”
Powerhouse Convention and Exhibition’s president, Todd Cai, hopes to see the size of the ambassador team double or triple.
He also hopes to see “more influential representatives from IT, direct selling and insurance (as they have) an extensive business network”, as well as more “faces from other countries”.
Leading up to Malaysia’s economic transformation in 2020, the Malaysian Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) is expanding its outreach to China with its annual roadshow from March 23 to April 2.
The roadshows will be held in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Chongqing, the last city being a new addition this year.
Tourists posing in front of the Sultan Abdul Samad building in Kuala Lumpur
“We believe that with higher accessibility, we will be able to get more people from Chongqing to Malaysia… Tier-two cities are very important, as they probably know very little about Malaysia, so we have to go and deliver information to them,” shared Zulkefli Sharif, CEO of MyCEB.
He continued: “The government will also have another Visit Malaysia (campaign) in 2020, so the process for getting people to visit Malaysia starts now. We are hoping that with all the incentives and promotions carried out by our DMC partners, we can attract more attention for Malaysia.
“We are hoping that the number of Chinese outbound to Malaysia will increase significantly.”
During the roadshows, MyCEB and its 27 partners will promote the Malaysia Twin Deal XP incentive programme to attract more organisers, of which they hope to attract 100 per city.
Cebu is one of the other destinations in the country suitable for business events
Both business events and tourism stakeholders in the Philippines are taking pre-emptive steps to mitigate the impact of the possible closure of popular tourist hotspot Boracay.
Speaking at the recently-concluded IT&CM China, Rene Reyes, tourism attache, Philippine Department of Tourism in Shanghai, shared: “We are speaking to private sector stakeholders to draw MICE business to other areas of the Philippines that can offer the same attractions as Boracay, such as the sand and the sea.”
Cebu (pictured above) is one of the other destinations in the country suitable for business events
Boracay is famed for its talcum-sand beaches and clear sea, which have recently been threatened by pollution from untreated wastewater. If not cleaned up within six months, the island faces a possible shutdown by Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte.
In response to Duterte’s instruction, environment secretary Roy Cimatuhas announced that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will address Boracay’s wastewater and garbage problems.
While awaiting “official instructions”, the Philippine Department of Tourism will have dialogues with private sector operators to promote the country’s other destinations, said Reyes.
The country is expecting some 3,700 new hotel rooms this year, with most hotels opening across Manila, as well as upcoming areas of Ilo Ilo and Baguio. Come 2019, Clark and Cebu will receive one new convention centre each.
Gloria Hotels & Resorts is currently concentrating on further expanding and building two of its brands in its portfolio – four-star Gloria Plaza and boutique chain G-LUXE by Gloria – in light of the growing number of domestic business travellers in China.
Explaining the expansion push in the four-star and boutique product range, Thomas Jouan, corporate director of branding, Gloria Hotels & Resorts, told TTGmice that many domestic and international companies are turning to “nice four-star hotels” as these properties are more affordable and offer upscale facilities and services oriented towards business travellers. As well, big cities are now “saturated” with five-star hotels.
Jouan: concentrate on two brands, as well as expansion outside of China
Jouan pointed out that Gloria’s four-star properties could well be worth five stars, although they are not classified as such because they do not meet the strict five-star criteria. In a number of second-, third-, and fourth-tier city, upscale four-star properties are the best hotel choices in the destination.
“It’s because we choose to have different elements within the property. For example, instead of choosing to have a speciality French or Italian restaurant – which is crucial for a five-star – we opt to have (hotel facilities like) a large Chinese restaurant and 25 private meeting rooms to better fit the local market demand. Four-star hotels offer more flexibility,” he explained.
Currently, there are around 22 Gloria Plaza properties in main Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. In the near future, there will be another Gloria Plaza in Shanghai and Xi’an. Expansion will not be limited to tier-one Chinese cities, as the company enjoys good corporate business for secondary and third-tier cities.
“A good number of these properties have complete meeting facilities. Smaller hotels may have large meeting venues too. For example, a hotel in a third- or fourth-tier city may only have 150 rooms, but it may have a ballroom that can cater up to 1,000 people, a response to local meetings and F&B demands,” he said.
He added that four-star hotels also offer more affordable meeting options and packages, allowing Gloria to host a wider range of meetings.
Currently, room keys for Gloria Plazas are around 180 to 400, and would appeal to medium-sized corporate groups. Moreover, most Gloria Plazas are conveniently situated in the city centre or in a new business district.
As for the G-LUXE by Gloria brand, Jouan shared that these properties are apt for smaller business meetings. For instance, the G-Luxe Hongqiao Shanghai by Gloria stands next to the new Shanghai International Convention Centre, and after an event, smaller board meetings can take place in one of the meeting rooms on the property.
When asked what the group’s future plans were, he said: “Moving forward, we want to focus more on growing the Gloria name outside of China. We are using Malaysia as a point to expand our presence in South-east Asia.”
New properties upcoming in Malaysia include a residence in Lumut, and a resort in Melaka. Gloria Hotels & Resorts has also signed three new properties in Genting Highlands. The company will be adding a new serviced apartment brand to its portfolio once the Gloria Residence Shangrao opens in August 2018.
The second Gloria Residence will be located within the Ion Delemen complex in Genting Highlands, and has an opening date set for December. Aside from the residence, the complex will also have a G-LUXE-branded boutique property, set to open in mid-2019. Both residences will share the complex’s meeting facilities.
A surfer catching some waves in Gold Coast, Queensland
Australia’s Gold Coast will play host to the Global Wave Conference (GWC) in 2020, a bi-annual major surfing event that is set to attract 400 experts from around the world.
The GWC will be attended by surfing academics, marine scientists, ocean conservationist, industry leaders, legends and champions of the sport to address issues and concerns facing surfing as a whole and how to seek solutions and outcomes for its sustainable future.
A surfer catching some waves in Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast Tourism estimates the five-day conference will generate more than A$1.2 million (US$0.93 million) directly for the local economy.
The 2020 Gold Coast GWC bid was supported by the Queensland State Government, City of Gold Coast, Tourism and Events Queensland, Destination Gold Coast, World Surfing League, Surfing Australia, Tim Bonython Movie Festival, and The Drop Live Music Festival.
GWC executive director Nik Strong Cvetich said: “We are thrilled to see the Global Wave Conference go to Gold Coast in 2020 as it is the 8th World Surfing Reserve. The Global Wave Conference was established in the Canary Islands, followed by Biarritz, Mexico, UK and Santa Cruz.
“Gold Coast will be such an exciting venue for the 6th biannual held the week before the World Surfing League world tour event at Snapper Rocks, and in the year that surfing is introduced into the Olympics for the first time.”
The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre’s (the Centre) recently celebrated International Women’s Day, where one of the organised activities included a Work–Life Integration Talk with BFM Radio Host, Freda Liu (seated, fourth from right).
Currently, 52 per cent of the Centre’s managers are women. In total, the Centre employs 145 women, of which 79 hold executive to senior managerial positions.
Langham Hospitality Group has brought back the No Strings Attached Plus offer that gives event planners and organisers more flexibility, as well as added rewards and privileges.
Highlights include spa credits; one round-trip airport transfer; one 30-minute cocktail reception for a meeting or event; waived cancellation terms; room upgrades; and no minimum spend on F&B.
The Langham Xintiandi’s Grand Ballroom
The offer may be booked from April 1 to August 31, 2018 for events taking place from April 1 to December 31, 2018 at all participating Langham and Cordis hotels.
Added benefits are also applicable to reward event planners and organisers. With a minimum spend of US$6,500, all takethelead members can also qualify for hotel rewards or miles from any of our selected frequent flyer/travel and lifestyle rewards programme partners.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has closed 2017 on a good note, and a “strong line-up of events scheduled in 2018” is expected to keep the good vibes going for Hong Kong’s business events industry, said an HKTB spokesperson.
The spokesperson revealed that direct selling companies are one of the biggest drivers of business events into the destination, with Hong Kong welcoming its first Unicity Global Leadership and Innovation Conference this year. As well, scheduled to sweep onto Hong Kong’s shores is Nu Skin Greater China Convention 2018. Both events will bring about 35,000 overseas delegates to Hong Kong.
Medical events are going strong too, with at least 10 such gatherings won for 2018, eight of which are new to either Hong Kong or Asia.
China is expected to top the source markets chart for 2018, based on its strong performance in 2017.
“Overnight MICE arrivals from China grew 7.6 per cent year-on-year in the first three quarters of 2017,” said the HKTB spokesperson, who added that the Chinese made up half of Hong Kong’s overall business events arrivals for 2017.
Business positivity extends to the supplier side.
The Park Lane Hong Kong, a Pullman Hotel expects significant growth in 2017 to flow into 2018. Stella Gillera, vice president, sales and marketing, sees bright spots in meetings and incentives, particularly from longhaul markets. However, regional source markets and Hong Kong will continue to dominate the supply of business event leads.
Gunther Homerlein, general manager of Destination China, believes that growth will be driven mainly by pharmaceutical companies.
However, he expects business to be harder to come by unless venues and hotels “become more reasonable and realistic” in their pricing.
He said: “Our hotels, restaurants and venues…do not realise that we have much more competition in the region (where destinations are priced) more reasonably. Even Shangri-La Hotel in Paris offers a better priced lunch than a middle-of-the-road restaurant in Hong Kong.” – Prudence Lui
Tokyo Tower, Japan
Japan’s MICE arrivals are climbing in tandem with the booming leisure sector, with the total of 26.2 million visitors in the first 11 months of 2017 likely to be surpassed in the new year.
“We anticipate that conventions will be our strongest sector in 2018 as university research institutes and the national government are strengthening support programmes for congress organisers,” said Etsuko Kawasaki, executive director of the Japan Convention Bureau.
“Local authorities are also putting into action plans to upgrade existing facilities and construct new convention spaces before 2020, including in Yokohama, Okinawa and Kumamoto,” she added. “That is helping to create an environment in which it is possible to cater to large-scale business events.”
Science, technology and the medical sciences will remain the major drivers in 2018, while there are also expectations that robotics and artificial intelligence will become increasingly important.
Hiromi Murayama, head, sales promotion division of Pacifico Yokohama convention centre, is focused on “attracting conventions and meetings from European markets due to the high concentration of associations’ headquarters there”.
Jared Stenhouse, managing director of Destination Asia Japan office, projects a strong incentive segment in 2018, “as buyers look forward to the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and the Tokyo Olympic Games the following year”.
“Surprisingly, we are seeing a rise in business from Latin America – Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, in particular, thanks to the recent addition of direct flights between Mexico City and Japan,” he said.
“For us, maybe Europe has peaked but we are seeing strong demand in the automotive and retail sectors from other parts of the world,” he added. – Julian Ryall
St Paul’s Ruin, Macao
Macau’s continued tourism development and intense destination promotions worldwide are expected to extend 2017’s growth in business events into 2018, according to Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM).
Notable events coming to town include the 4th World Cashew Convention and the 47th Skal Asia Congress.
An IPIM spokesperson revealed that corporate meetings made up the strongest segment in 3Q2017 (56.2 per cent of all business events in Macau). Association meetings (28 per cent) and government meetings, incentives and exhibitions (15.8 per cent) followed next.
Asia is the strongest of all source markets, said the spokesman. “The region remains economically stable and the MICE industry continues to be buoyant.”
MCI Macau, director of business development and events, Olinto Oliveira, is excited about 2018. He said: “2017 was a bounce back from a forgettable 2016, and I think 2018 continues that trend (especially due to) more event spaces opening up (to cater to large gatherings).”
Oliveira expects continued growth in exhibitions but weaker revenue generation from smaller meetings and incentives. And for the new year, he is keeping an eye on South Korea, as the market “came through at a higher clip than traditionally”.
Sands Resorts Macao, senior vice president of marketing and brand management, Ruth Boston, is also confident of healthy business in 2018. “We believe this growth will be driven by a number of factors including the increased (accessibility of) Macau and the continued expansion of Macau’s hotel room inventory. We will see growth in incentives and meetings. In addition to the US, China has a lot of room for growth in both conferences and incentives,” she said. – Prudence Lui
John Blanco has been appointed general manager of the 101-room Capella Bangkok, which is expected to open in 4Q2018 along the rejuvenated Chao Phraya River waterfront promenade. The hospitality veteran has 25 years of experience, and possesses a stellar track record with luxury hospitality companies such as Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons.
Event brief
Apart from China National Convention Center’s (CNCC) meeting rooms being used to stage the Belt and Road International Cooperation Forum’s opening ceremony, high-level plenary session, six thematic sessions and bilateral meetings on May 14 last year, the venue’s catering division was tasked to feed about 10,630 delegates, forum staff and the media.
China National Convention Center
CNCC served a total of 33,900 meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner and provided 14,600 refreshments in the media centre.
Challenges
Compared to other international events at CNCC, the Belt and Road International Cooperation Forum was a higher-level international event, which required much higher standards of service.
While access to the venue, security and forum logistics were handled by the organisers for the many high-profile Chinese and international delegates, including 29 heads of state and governments and their delegations, CNCC’s F&B and service capabilities were put to the test as it had to feed up to 20,000 people at peak mealtimes and showcase its creativity in representing “Belt” and “Road” dining highlights.
CNCC was also responsible for the press centre and had to provide 44 hours of continuous service. The 10,000m2 press centre – with 15 functional areas, such as a press release area, a studio area, a dining area and 538 workstations – had to be equipped with a free, comprehensive wireless network. On the opening day, CNCC had to cater for 4,495 registered Chinese and foreign media reporters.
Solution
CNCC’s F&B team began planning for and testing the intense pace of the event’s catering delivery as well as research on food to be served six months before the event, according to Wei Mingqian, executive general manager.
From the selection of ingredients to staff training and table setting designs, the F&B team worked towards providing outstanding dining experiences to all the delegates.
CNCC brought in the local customs and culture of countries along the Belt and Road route and created 40 groups of food decorations made of dough, sugar, fruit and vegetable carving and nearly 1,000 distinctive icons like the Great Wall, desert scenes and seascapes, as well as hundreds of flowers in bloom and great inventions.
To ensure smooth F&B delivery, CNCC designed a number of delegate diversion and dining routes, with volunteers guiding participants and maintaining order during peak times.
Those attending the opening ceremony had to be admitted early to be seated before the 09.00 start and for those who had no time for breakfast, CNCC prepared five coffee break areas, starting from the main entrance and on every floor, for delegates to help themselves. With so many international delegates with different tastes and dining customs, CNCC’s F&B team created fancy food displayed with names like Bloom and Prosper for fruit and dim sum selections, rose-flavoured cakes, assorted mini-naan bites, vegetarian rolls and a wide variety of snacks.
To avoid any food allergy attack, all items were labelled in Chinese and English with the ingredients listed.
Apart from serving the international press core at regular mealtimes, CNCC volunteers provided 24/7-service to the journalists who had to meet deadlines round the clock.
Key takeaways
For CNCC, hosting the event provided a great opportunity to set goals and measure its capabilities as a capital venue provider. Hosting the forum has given CNCC a strong template of how it can replicate and deliver high quality, large-scale state affairs.
Event Belt and Road International Cooperation Forum
Organiser Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and the National Development and Reform Commission
Venue China National Convention Center
Date May 14-15, 2017
Number of participants Around 1,500 participants from more than 130 countries representing some 70 international organisations
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.
