Asia/Singapore Thursday, 7th May 2026
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Accor to roar into Seoul with four-branded hotel complex

By TTGmice
0

AccorHotels will open Seoul Dragon City in Seoul’s Yongsan-gu district come October 1, a massive property featuring four AccorHotel brands: the 202-room Grand Mercure Ambassador Seoul Yongsan; 286-suite Novotel Suites Ambassador Seoul Yongsan; 621-key Novotel Ambassador Seoul Yongsan; and 591-room ibis Styles Ambassador Seoul Yongsan.

In total, the complex will offer 1,700 rooms, alongside 11 restaurants and bars, 17 meeting rooms, and two multifunction grand ballrooms. There will also be four floors of entertainment in a Sky Bridge suspended between two towers.

The new “lifestyle hotel-plex”, South Korea’s first, will cater to every demographic, according to AccorHotels

Highlights at the Sky Bridge include King’s Vacation, a lounge bar with an indoor miniature swimming pool, stage and SkyWalk; and Sky Beach, a space reminiscent a private beach club.

Patrick Basset, COO of AccorHotels, upper South-east and North-east Asia hailed Seoul Dragon City – dubbed a “lifestyle hotel-plex” – as the largest project the company has signed in South Korea.

He added: “By the end of this year, the group will have 24 hotels in South Korea, which will be followed by eight more in the next two years. We will also be diversifying our brand portfolio to the luxury segment in the near future.”

Qatar introduces visa-free entry for 80 nationalities

By TTGmice
0

Qatar is allowing visa-free entry for citizens of 80 countries with immediate effect, according to a joint statement from the Ministry of Interior, Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) and Qatar Airways.

A multi-entry waiver will be issued free-of-charge at the port of entry, upon presentation of a valid passport with a minimum validity of six months and a confirmed onward or return ticket.

Announcing the waiver, (from left) Qatar Tourism Authority’s Hassan Al Ibrahim, Qatar Airways’ Akbar Al Baker and Ministry of Interior’s Muhammad Rashid Al Mazroui

Depending on the nationality of the visitor, the waiver will either be valid for 180 days (from the date of issue) and allow the visitor to spend a total of 90 days in Qatar; or 30 days and for a stay period of 30 days in Qatar with the possibility of an extension of the waiver for an additional 30 days. The full list is appended**.

The former applies to countries such as Turkey, Seychelles, Iceland, Austria, Spain, Greece and Italy; and the latter to Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Japan, the US and UK, among others.

Hassan Al Ibrahim, chief tourism development officer at QTA, said: “With 80 countries eligible for a visa waiver, Qatar is now the most open country in the region.”

Qatar is also considering waiving visa requirements for holders of a residence permit or a valid visa from GCC nations, the UK, US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or the Schengen countries. This would allow eligible visitors to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorisation by completing an online application at least 48 hours prior to travel.

Recent measures taken to facilitate visitor access to Qatar include the launch of an e-visa platform (www.qatarvisaservice.com) last month; +Qatar, an initiative to promote the country as a stopover destination in May; and enhancements for transit passengers last November.

The latest move comes amid a two-month boycott imposed on Qatar by its Gulf neighbours, as the oil-rich state seeks to build up its trade and diplomatic ties beyond the region.

**

Hilton to plant a DoubleTree in Halong

By TTGmice
0

A DoubleTree by Hilton property is scheduled to open its doors in Vietnam’s Halong city in 2Q2021, which will increase Hilton’s footprint in Vietnam to nine hotels open or under development.

At the singing ceremony, (from left) Tri Duc Hotel JSC’s Tran Toan Thang and Truong Thanh Long along with Hilton’s Guy Phillips and Christian Pucher 

The brand’s third hotel under development in the country, the 318-room DoubleTree by Hilton Halong Bay will four F&B options, a spa, fitness centre and swimming pool, as well as 1,200m2 of meetings and events facilities including a ballroom.

Located in the city’s tourism precinct about 14km from Tuan Chau International Port, the hotel provides boat and cruise connections to Halong Bay as well as access to entertainment and attractions including Halong Ocean Park.

Beyond Asia: Hotel Santiago, euromic, and British Magic Museum

By TTGmice
0
Hotel Santiago, Mandarin Oriental’s first hotel in South America

Mandarin Oriental now in South America
The former Grand Hyatt Santiago has been rebranded as Hotel Santiago, a property under the management of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, making it the company’s first property in South America.

Hotel Santiago will undergo extensive renovations to its guestrooms and public areas to allow them to reflect the local culture as well as Mandarin Oriental’s Asian heritage. The first stage is scheduled for completion in 3Q2018. The hotel will remain open throughout the period, and is now accepting reservations.

The property features 310 guestrooms including 23 suites with commanding views of the city and the Andes, a large free-form outdoor pool, landscaped gardens, five restaurants and bars as well as extensive banqueting and meeting spaces.

East African DMC joins euromic
Euromic, a global association of DMCs, has inducted Green Inspirations-DMC into its membership.

Green Inspirations-DMC is the newly formed business events division of Shades of Green Safaris, a pioneer in East Africa for conferences and corporate travel as well as an expert in safari travel. Shades of Green Safaris is the only company in Tanzania that has an IAPCO and CIS certified management and is the only Tanzanian member with SITE and ICCA.

Its CEO, Gadi Mbuya, served as chairperson of ICCA African Chapter in 2014 and 2015.

Green Inspirations-DMC operates all business events exclusively, in Tanzania, Kenya and all over East Africa.

“Adding East Africa to our association of top-tier DMCs has elevated us to offer contacts around the globe in almost every continent,” commented Hasan Dinc, president of euromic.

The British Magic Museum opens in Norfolk
A museum dedicated to the treasured art form of magic has opened in North Norfolk, England.

This British Magic Museum houses one of the largest exhibitions of magic in the world. The breadth of displays is considerable, with a vast array of apparatus, ephemera, memorabilia, art and grand illusions dating back 450 years. Many of these artefacts are unique to the museum.

Visitors have the unique opportunity to experience the magic of a bygone age, as well as experience the age itself, as the magic is brought back to life.

Indian companies axe conferences out of home state in response to new GST off-set requirements

By Rohit Kaul
0

Hotels in India are seeing cancellations of domestic conferences following a new tax regime that allows only tax off-sets for business events conducted within the home state of the host company.

The Input Tax Credit (ITC) comes with India’s newly introduced Goods & Sales Tax (GST). For hotels, the level of tax ranges from 12 per for room rates of 1,000 to 2,499 rupees (US$15.60 to US$39) to 28 per cent for room rates of more than 7,500 rupees.


Hotels in India see a reduction in event bookings due to new tax rules

According to Dilip Datwani, president, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), hotels across the country are in a fix now.

“Advance event bookings are being cancelled and new ones are not happening. Many companies are considering holding their events in the home state where they are registered for GST,” said Datwani, who added that while companies have accepted “the high GST”, the new tax structure becomes “unviable” without the ITC.

For Lords Hotels & Resorts, the impact of the ITC requirement is an eight per cent loss of conference bookings since July.

Pradeep Jain, associate vice president – finance with Lords Hotels & Resorts, told TTGmice that his stakeholders are also fearful of losing business to neighbouring countries.

“Many of our neighbouring countries not only tax less than half of what is required for hospitality services in India, but also a few of them provide tax refunds. (This issue) is essentially diverting business away from the country and we hope that the government addresses this at the earliest,” said Jain.

When asked if the ITC requirement is at least helping to increase the number of home-based events within each state, industry players said no.

InterContinental Hong Kong to shift events, staff around during renovation closure

By Karen Yue
0

InterContinental Hong Kong will close for major renovations for 12 to 16 months, starting from 1H2019, a massive undertaking that will see regular corporate clients being redirected to sister properties under the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) and staff deployed for other duties and activities.

The total transformation, led by Tokyo-based design studio Curiosity Inc., will span all guestrooms and suites, all public areas, restaurants and event venues, and will include a redesign of the building façade.


The building, long part of Hong Kong’s landscape, will soon get a facelift

Claus Pedersen, general manager, InterContinental Hong Kong, told TTGmice: “We will redirect regular corporate clients to our sister IHG properties in Hong Kong over the renovation period.”

However, Pedersen added that inconveniences to regular events would be minimal, as InterContinental Hong Kong’s restaurants and event venues – including the ballroom and harbourview function rooms – were anticipated to reopen in the evenings from late summer 2019, just after six months of renovations.

As well, Yan Toh Heen, the hotel’s two-Michelin-star Cantonese restaurant, will remain open for dinner throughout the renovation.

When asked about the hotel closure’s impact on staff, Pedersen said the hotel is “committed to keeping our staff fully engaged in a variety of activities”.

“Some will be redeployed among our sister IHG properties. We will offer staff continuous training and development programmes. Employees will also be involved in the community,” he revealed.

“For over three decades our hotel has enjoyed a loyal following of guests not only because of our acclaimed dining, accommodations and harbour views, but also because of the outstanding service by our dedicated employees. As such, our employees will be part of our exciting renovation journey, so that we can maintain the exceptionally high service levels of our hotel and Michelin restaurants,” he added.

 

Dorsett Kuala Lumpur predicts growth in business events, FITs

By S Puvaneswary
0

Dorsett Kuala Lumpur has forecasted a five per cent year-on-year growth for its corporate meetings segment, and a 10 per cent year-on-year growth in FITs for the present financial year ending March 2018.

This prediction comes off the back of the property’s three-year renovation. The RM40 million (US$9.3 million) refurbishment saw the transformation of the hotel’s meeting spaces, 322 guestrooms and all-day dining restaurant.


Dorsett Kuala Lumpur’s meeting spaces have been transformed

Adele Ang, the hotel’s general manager, revealed that the ballroom and four meeting rooms are now bathed in natural daylight, and feature built-in LCD projectors and motorised screens. A centralised coffee break area has been added on level two, where all meeting spaces are located.

Meanwhile, all-day restaurant Checkers Café has been made more expansive and airy, while the buffet counters now feature live cooking stations.

Ang told TTGmice: “Our offerings will appeal to corporate clients and meeting planners looking for good value, service and location. But challenges exist. Among them will be to win back corporate clients which we had lost during the three-year period of renovations which commenced in June 2014.”

Her strategies to grow the corporate meetings segment – which currently contribute half of the business mix – include strengthening the sales team with new personnel experienced in corporate sales; introducing twice monthly networking events for existing corporate clients and potential new clients called Dorsett Hour; and improving Internet connectivity to 80mbps by end-August.

Adelaide wins hosting rights for WIPCE 2020

By TTGmice
0

Come 2020, Adelaide will play host to triennial World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education (WIPCE).

The conference will bring together Indigenous education experts, practitioners, and scholars from across the globe to share strategies and developments for culturally grounded Indigenous education. It will also give Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the opportunity to celebrate their place in the world as the oldest living culture of humanity.

Adelaide Convention Bureau works closely with local experts to identify and bid for renowned conferences

The 3,000 delegate event lasting several days will add A$13.2 million (US$10.5 million) to the state’s visitor economy, provide hotels with 17,872 bed nights, and create 119 jobs.

WIPCE was won for Adelaide following a bid by the Adelaide Convention Bureau working in collaboration with Peter Buckskin, dean of aboriginal engagement and strategic projects, from the University of South Australia, with support from the minister for aboriginal affairs and reconciliation Kyam Maher.

Damien Kitto, CEO, Adelaide Convention Bureau, said in a statement: “Winning this event is another example of the Bureau working with local experts to identify and bid for highly regarded international conferences. The soon-to-be-opened phase two of the Adelaide Convention Centre redevelopment has enabled us to bid for these large size events that were once beyond our reach.”

Global chefs to cook up a storm in KL next year

By S Puvaneswary
0

In July 2018, chefs from 105 countries will convene in Kulala Lumpur for the Worldchefs Congress & Expo 2018 to address food trends and share thoughts on food culture from around the world.

Organised by the World Association of Chefs’ Societies (Worldchefs), the four-day event, themed Asia on a Plate, will begin on July 11. It is expected to attract over 1,000 attendees and generate an estimated RM11 million (US$2.6 million) in economic impact.

Worldchefs Congress & Expo will head to KL in 2018

Speaking at a press conference, Zulkefli Sharif, CEO of Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB), described the congress as the ideal platform for Malaysia to further showcase its unique cuisine influences and expertise to the world.

He added: “Worldchefs Congress & Expo perfectly highlights Malaysia’s exceptional appeal as a global food destination. We hope our local chefs will take this enticing opportunity to network with like-minded industry players, gain insights and ideas on the latest food technology and trends, as well as share best practices with their counterparts from all over the world.”

Previously held in European and Nordic countries, Malaysia is the second country in South-east Asia to host this congress. It was last in this region in 1990, in Singapore where some 700 delegates were in attendance.

The congress bid placed by MyCEB and local organiser Professional Culinaire Association was announced to be a successful one at the 2014 Worldchefs Congress in Stavanger, Norway.

New association launched to feed growing appetite for food tours

By Pamela Chow
0

As the appetite for culinary tourism increases worldwide, operators can now turn to The Independent Food Tour Association (TIFTA) for support and referrals.

TIFTA was launched by eight founding members in Asia, including SingaBites, Food Tour Malaysia, Oishii Tokyo, Taste of Thailand Food Tours, Saigon Street Eats, Lost Plate Food Tours, Eating Adventures Food Tours and Queenie’s Food Tours.

Demand for food tours on the rise; food lovers in Hong Kong pictured (photo credit: Eating Adventures Food Tours)

James Pelham, co-founder of TIFTA and founder and chief taster of Singapore-based Singabites, said: “The food tour sector is constantly growing and becoming more and more popular. By starting TIFTA, we want to make it easier for food travellers to find the best tours as well as create a community where we can all help each other grow.”

Pelham envisions TIFTA as a platform that travellers can use to find reliable and high-quality food tours around the world. The association is now concentrating its efforts in Asia with the goal of recruiting 30 tours by the end of 2017.

The association accepts only operators that are “locally run and use local vendors during their tours thus putting money back into local food communities”, Pelham told TTG Asia.

“We don’t accept members who are owned by big agencies or government organisations. We want to help the small guys,” he elaborated.

TIFTA will also consider customer and peer reviews as part of its recruiting process, said Pelham, and will “keep (members’) standards high” by monitoring reviews and changes in company activity.

The corporate travel segment is also on the plate for the association’s expansion. “With our contacts across the region, we could definitely help corporate event planners,” said Pelham. “Food is one thing that everyone can agree is a good reason to get out of the office and have fun.”

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Sister Publications
TTG Asia TTGmice TTG India TTGassociations TTG Asia Luxury
TTGmice | Running a different race
TTGmice | JW Marriott Mussoorie Walnut Grove Resort & Spa names director of operations
TTGmice | Switzerland eyes China’s MICE rebound with budget hike and tailored roadshows