Sydney will host the Global Summit of Women in 2018, an event that showcases progressive government and private sector strategies that level the playing field for women, addressing bias.

This was announced at the recently-concluded 2017 Summit in Tokyo, by the CEO of Business Events Sydney (BESydney), Lyn Lewis-Smith.

“Hosting events like the Global Summit of Women will be a catalyst for greater economic empowerment of Australian women by shining a spotlight on underperforming areas, eliciting tangible commitments from our leaders to change the status quo. A recent EY report suggests that tapping into women’s global potential could be the equivalent of having another one billion people in the workforce, driving economic growth around the world,” said Lewis-Smith.

The 2018 Summit is expected to attract more than 1,000 leaders across private and public sectors from 80 countries, and inject over US$2 million into the New South Wales (NSW) economy.

“Australia can showcase our world leading initiatives such as the Male Champions of Change program, the impact of advocacy organisations like Chief Executive Women, and our record supporting women in the Indo-Pacific to enter the global supply chain. World leaders can learn from Australia, and we, in turn, still have much to learn from the rest of the world,” said Ann Sherry, executive chairman of Carnival Australia.

BESydney is tasked with securing global business events for NSW, and is supported by the NSW Government including Destination NSW, and private sector partners.

AccorHotel’s Novotel brand has been selected for a four-star hotel to be developed next to the new wing of Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC).

The 347-key Novotel Melbourne South Wharf will sit close to the expanded exhibition space of the MCEC, providing business and leisure guests more high-quality accommodation options on the Yarra River’s south bank.

Scheduled to open by 1Q2018, the new-build encompasses Novotel signatures such as Live N’ Dream bedding, interactive TVs and FairTrade bathroom amenities as well as free barista coffee at breakfast.

AccorHotels’ Pacific chief operating officer Simon McGrath: “Significant investment in infrastructure such as this Novotel hotel will further increase the capacity for Melbourne to attract significant events, conferences and exhibitions and cater to the domestic and international travel markets.”

Novotel Melbourne South Wharf will complement other Novotel properties in the city – Novotel Melbourne on Collins, Novotel Melbourne Glen Waverley and Novotel Melbourne St Kilda.

The embattled Philippine travel trade is using every avenue to improve the destination’s image, following the latest attack of a heavy indebted gambler at the casino of Resorts World Manila (RWM) last Friday after a series of unfortunate events in recent months.

The RWM casino attack, which claimed 38 lives including the gambler’s, came on the heels of ongoing clashes between the military and ISIS affiliated terrorists in Marawi that led to the imposition of martial law in Mindanao. An earlier failed terrorist attack in Bohol and terrorist threats in central Visayas had also led to travel advisories from various countries.

Marlene Insigne, tours division manager, Southeast Travel Corp, said they immediately sent assurance to their clients and counterparts abroad, attaching the letter of Benjamin Santiago, director, National Capital Region (including Manila) on the Department of Tourism addressed to tourism stakeholders.

Santiago in his letter urged Philippine stakeholders to assure their counterparts abroad that Manila and the nearby regions remain a safe destination for visitors, emphasising accurate information dissemination is critical.

“We continue to work closely with you by providing you with reliable updates on matters that may affect tourism and your businesses and assist in minimising any adverse effect that may arise because of lack of information or worse, inaccurate reporting in the media,” he wrote.

Insigne said that a group of eight from the US has not cancelled their booking for this week at Belmont Hotel, part of the RWM complex, which she expects to have tighter security.

Bernadette de Leon, general manager, Amiable Intertours, said that while they can only “wait and see until things get better”, the Philippines still has time to recover its image.

De Leon said that the RWM attack is “an isolated case” and not an act of terrorism, adding that martial law in Mindanao is only for 60 days and will be lifted once the terrorists are defeated in Marawi.

Fe Abling-Yu, one of the founders of the Asia Premium Travel Mart (APTM) which will be held in Manila on June 20, said the mart is hit by some cancellations “but that this is also the best time to promote the Philippines”. She is also encouraged that there are over 10 APTM buyers and media who will go on a Davao fam trip.

On Facebook, travel agents began challenging their friends here and abroad to post pictures of the Philippines to show it as a great place. “Let’s counteract the negativity and help ourselves,” said Rajah Tours president Jojo Clemente.

The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, always a slow period for business events, has turned out particularly bad this year for business hotels in Malaysia, the situation exacerbated by reduced corporate budgets on the back of a weak corporate environment and the national currency slump.

Susan Yap, director of sales and marketing at The Westin Kuala Lumpur, told TTGmice: “It is more difficult to convert leads from corporate companies this year. They tell us they are not sure about having the meeting, or it might be postponed.

“The lead time for small meetings is also very short. We’re getting bookings coming in three days prior to the event. In the past, it used to be at least 10 days for small groups of 20 pax or less.”

To compensate the slowdown, the hotel has designed one-stop breaking of fast packages in its function spaces for corporate organisers. The packages include food, traditional music, decorations and prayer facilities.

Zoe Seow, director of sales with Four Points by Sheraton Puchong, another business hotel, noted that local meeting organisers tend to be more price sensitive this year and are looking for better meeting package rates, rather than add-ons.

Seow elaborated: “They know this is a good time to get better rates. Our Ramadan full-day meeting packages are 20 per cent cheaper than the normal packages. We still offer two coffee breaks but those who choose not to have lunch can exchange for a dinner voucher which they can utilise during the fasting month.”

Four Points by Sheraton Puchong is also generating revenue from the breaking of fast spreads to balance out lower revenue from meetings.

When contacted last week, The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa’s director of sales and marketing, Sally Fadjrina, revealed that meetings were only coming from domestic account, many of which were from Kuala Lumpur. While business was slow, Fadjrina said clients are attracted to the more affordable rates now available.

Fadjrina expects business events from Asia-Pacific to pick up in 4Q2017.

Also seeing a tough month of corporate event business is Syed Razif Al-Yahya, group managing director of Sutra Group of Companies, who revealed that government agencies and government linked companies had slashed budgets last year and had trimmed it down further this year.

Concur will join SAP’s Seoul office in its latest expansion announcement, allowing it to offer expense solutions to large conglomerates, enterprise businesses and multinational companies with operations in South Korea.

“South Korea is an important part of Concur’s global growth strategy,” said Won Joon Hyoung, president, SAP Korea.

“We currently have strong business interest and momentum in South Korea, despite not having a local office. The outdated expense and travel management solutions widely deployed in the market today are not capable of providing data and insights that help businesses make more informed decisions. By investing in Concur’s operations in South Korea, our goal is to lead the domestic market in travel and expense management.”

Barry Long has been appointed as vice president of global sales, Asia Pacific for Concur, and Jaesung Kim is head of sales for Concur Korea. Concur will be building additional sales, solution consulting, marketing, service delivery and business development teams in the coming months.

In 4Q2016, among its current customer base in Korea, Concur saw more than 125 per cent YOY growth in expense transactions, and more than 113 per cent growth in reimbursed expense spend.

According to GBTA’s BTI Outlook, total South Korean business travel spend was US$32.6 billion in 2015. The BTI Outlook projects spend volume will grow at a rate of 4.4 per cent per year through 2020, outpacing the 2.6 to 2.8 per cent economic growth.

South Korea currently ranks among the top 10 countries for business travel spend, according to GBTA. With the launch, Concur is now operating in all 10 of the top global markets for business travel.

Nick Evered, senior vice president and general manager for Concur Asia Pacific, hopes to continue Concur’s strong performance in South Korea through the SAP partnership.

Concur, which was acquired by SAP in 2014, offers a fully connected travel, expense and invoice platform ecosystem that integrates its products, suppliers and partners.

Marking the latest milestone for the construction of Adelaide Convention Centre’s new East Building is the installation of the venue’s rotating seating platform – said to be the largest in the world.

The two 18m revolving drums can be rotated 180 degrees within minutes, allowing the building to be quickly reconfigured for events, conferences and concerts.

The East Building will also feature hinged seating stored in the roof, which can be lowered to convert the room from an exhibition area to a theatre-style space.

The East Building will also feature hinged seating stored in the roof, which can be lowered to convert the room from an exhibition area to a theatre-style space.

The two rotating drums can each accommodate up to 320 people, with the East Building having a total capacity of up to 3500 seats.

At the height of construction there have been more than 400 workers on and off-site involved in construction and when complete the redevelopment is expected to support more than 1,200 South Australian jobs a year.

The East Building forms Stage Two of the redevelopment and is scheduled to be officially opened in August.

The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation has launched the Jabodetabek Airport Connexion (JAConnexion), a bus service connecting 15 hotels and seven malls in Jabodetabek (Jakarta-Bogor-Depok-Tangerang-Bekasi) to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

Initiated by the Jabodetabek Transportation Management Board, the service is operated by four major bus operators deploying a total of 91 buses.

Officials at the launch of JAConnexion. Photo credit: kabartangsel.com

Indonesia’s minister of transportation Budi Karya said: “Soekarno-Hatta (sees) traffic of 150,000 (people) a day and 25,000 (more) work at the airport. Such a transportation service has become mandatory, but 91 buses are not enough. I expect by the end of the year, we will have 400 buses.”

JAConnexion will give travellers an alternative mode of airport transport on top of the Jakarta Lite Rapid Transit train service, which will start operating soon.

Among the hotels and malls enjoying the shuttle connections are Alila Jakarta, Hotel Borobudur Jakarta, Sari Pan Pacific, Grand Indonesia, Taman Anggrek and Plaza Senayan.

The service costs 50,000 rupiah (US$3.75) from hotels and half the price from malls.

New Zealand is an attractive destination not just because of its scenery and activities but because it is a safer choice than Europe, opined agents attending last week’s MEETINGS 2017 in Auckland.

“My customers are avoiding Europe now,” said Astrid Soeseno, president director of Rotama Tour in Indonesia.

 “Europe has often been the more popular choice because of the perceived value for money. But recently, a lot of things have happened (there) and there’s been a lot of bombings, so people are more likely to consider New Zealand or Australia,” Soeseno explained.

Soeseno was one of 29 international hosted buyers who experienced New Zealand’s offerings in a fam trip organised by Tourism New Zealand in conjunction with MEETINGS 2017. Programmes included sailing on an America’s Cup yacht, visiting picturesque vineyards, skydiving and bungy jumping.

“I think New Zealand definitely has a lot to offer,” said Jessie Heng, managing director of events company Crystal Edge Singapore. “The only thing is visitors won’t have enough time to cover so much goodness. But it’s a good problem to have.”

For Chinese delegates however, there are a few things that would hold back an enthusiastic endorsement of the country for business events.

“New Zealand is good for meetings,” said Linda Tsai, vice general manager of MICE for Apple Tour in Shanghai and Taiwan. “But we need more airline capacity from China, large convention centres as well as restaurant food for Asian diets.”

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has served a notice to revoke the travel agent licence of MISA Travel for “(ceasing) to carry on the business of a travel agent and being unable to fulfil its obligations towards customers”.In a statement, STB advised affected consumers to contact MISA Travel regarding the status of their booking or seek a refund. In the event that the agency cannot be reached or fails to provide the relevant service or refund, consumers with applicable travel insurance should approach their insurance providers.

Those not covered by travel insurance can approach the Consumers Association of Singapore or the Small Claims Tribunal, STB said.

STB also stressed that consumers should take precautionary measures such as purchasing travel insurance that covers unforeseen events such as travel agent insolvency and making instalment payments.