The government of Seoul will be providing an additional 10 billion won (US$8.74 million) to assist the city’s development of its business events sector in 2017.

Officials from Seoul Tourism Organisation have confirmed that the city has drawn up a five-point plan and will be lending its support to the See You In Seoul special event, designed to make the city more attractive as a destination for business events.

Seoul’s Myeongdong shopping and entertainment district

Under the proposal, more conventions and exhibitions will become eligible for financial support, while a new range of promotion packages will be created. Other initiatives include the creation of new programmes designed to give participants a hands-on experience of Korean culture, arts and entertainment, while additional efforts will also be made to improve cooperation between the public and private sectors to raise the city’s competitiveness.

The injection of funds is timely – given the geo-political differences that have caused a rift between China and South Korea and are spilling over into the economic sphere, in particular the travel sector.

Unhappy at Seoul’s decision to deploy a defensive anti-missile system to deter North Korea, Beijing is pressuring its domestic travel agencies to curtail the number of Chinese travellers heading to South Korea.

The number of incentive travellers alone from China was up an impressive 33 per cent in 2016 to 123,410 arrivals, although that figure is likely to be drastically reduced this year.

In an effort to counteract the shortfall, city officials said more efforts are going into attracting business travellers and events from South-East Asia, India and Japan.

Kenes Group, a PCO and AMC, has announced four new offices in Asia-Pacific through partnership agreements with specialised agencies.

Representing Kenes in South Korea is Kim’s Travel with an office in Seoul; Destination China, who are representatives in Hong Kong and China with offices in Beijing and Shanghai; and Global Link MP in the Philippines with an office in Manila.

The partner companies will extend the services of the company locally, adding their expertise in the local languages and cultures.

“With the representative programme, we build ideal environments for our events, where our representatives ensure our operations onsite are impeccable. We make use of the purchasing power of Kenes Group complimented by the positioning of Kim’s Travel, Global Link MP, and Destination China in their respective destinations. Our clients are guaranteed the successful execution of every aspect of their event,” commented Jason Ng, managing director of Kenes Asia at Kenes Group.

Kenes Group has been operating in the region since 2008, through its offices in Bangkok and Singapore. In total, Kenes Group has 29 offices around the globe.

Mack Brooks Exhibitions Asia, organiser of inter airport South-east Asia, has reported that half the available space at 2019’s edition has been booked, barely two weeks since the conclusion of this year’s event.

Exhibition director Michael Wilton told TTGmice that inter airport South-east Asia 2019, scheduled for February 27 to March 1 in Singapore, will include an “exciting new outdoor area, which will enable displays of some of the larger pieces of equipment that airports require”.

Michael Wilton

The 2017 edition, held from February 15 to 17 in Singapore, had also boasted new features, such as increased opportunities for networking, pre-planned one-to-one meetings between professionals and additional educational content including new talks delivered by the Singapore Aviation Academy and Indonesia’s Angkasa Pura (Indonesia state enterprise that manages local airports).

Wilton said: “We have seen that the 2017 edition had further enhanced the opportunity for airport suppliers and the regional industry to build their relationships in order to develop world class airports for South-East Asia.”

He pointed out that the “2015 edition was billed as the return of inter airport to the ASEAN region after a 14-year hiatus”.

The international tradeshow, held once every two years, brings together leading airport equipment suppliers from over 27 different countries.

When asked how exhibitions like inter airport help with furthering the progress of the air travel industry, Wilton said: “For a buyer looking to enhance their airport, the ability to come and see demonstrations and examples of that product in a face-to-face environment enables them to make better decisions on the products they use.”

He added that “industry events in general, and especially tradeshows, play a vital role in the procurement and development of any industry”.

“The face-to-face nature of industry events not only allows better business discussions to take place but also enables greater understanding of the product and the industry. The quality of learning and the ability to achieve your goals are vastly improved by having a tangible experience,” he emphasised.

Six professional industry consultants have come together to take a new collaborative approach to solving business solutions for destinations, venues, individuals and event companies.

Called Advantage Consultants, those involved have already established businesses focused on delivering solutions to drive success for companies and global industry brands including strategic management, business planning, B2B event solutions from concept to delivery, human resources, marketing, communications and PR, coaching and mentoring.

Paul Kennedy

Advantage Consultants include Paul Kennedy, director and owner of Kennedy Integrated Solutions; Elisabeth Hansa, owner of Support & Strategy On Demand; Linda Pereria, executive director of CPL events and CEO of the L&I Communications group; Nina Gardiner, founder and CEO of Spotl1ght Communications; Steen Moller, director and owner of Open The World; and Sue Wilkes, director and owner of SW Business & Events Solutions.

“We are able to offer a diverse range of strategic skills, opinions and expertise. Sticking to what each of us does best, our combined depth and breadth of different skill sets – all of us have our own independent consultancy businesses – means we can offer our services either as a group or individually, depending on the solutions that we present to our clients,” said Kennedy.

Wilkes added: “We come together knowing that each of us has a role to play and an opinion to reference against. I personally think this is a big opportunity to help support this industry internationally and to build success for others.”

American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has announced the appointment of Sanghamitra Bose to the position of general manager, Singapore, placing her in charge of setting the company’s strategic direction in the city-state.

Bose was promoted to this role from her previous position as director of the Global Client Group.

She has a wealth of local and international leadership experience, gained primarily through overseeing multinational client-facing teams and business development roles. She has proven expertise in growing multi-country business relationships across Asia-Pacific.

She joined American Express Company in 2003 within the Global Corporate Payments business division. She then moved to Singapore with American Express GBT, and ultimately became responsible leading the global client relationship team across the region.

Bose has also worked in leading hospitality organisations like Taj Hotels and Intercontinental Hotels Group for several years in leadership roles.

The Micronesian island of Saipan will welcome its first integrated resort, Imperial Pacific Resort Hotel Saipan, this year, a development expected to raise the destination’s appeal for business events.

The 140,000m² property, built in the Garapan district, will feature 344 rooms and suites, as well as 15 deluxe villas. The property will also boast an 800m2 ballroom, as well as a dedicated on-site hospitality team providing assistance in arranging conferences, meetings, seminars and weddings. There will also be extensive casino, F&B and entertainment facilities.

Both the resort’s developer Imperial Pacific International Holdings and the island’s tourism authority anticipate that the complex will significantly raise the profile of the destination among business event players.

Chris Concepcion, managing director of the Marianas Visitors Authority, believes the project will underline Saipan’s natural attractions and ability to host major business events.

“We feel the Marianas, and Saipan in particular, is a perfect place to host MICE groups because we offer many venues, activities and attractions that cater to businesses and organisations looking for a place that offers their employees an environment conducive for learning, as well as a place to unwind and relax after a hectic day of training, seminars and workshops,” he said.

“At present, the island is incapable of handling such large groups in terms of facilities and manpower, (but with the integrated resort) there is an opportunity for Saipan to meet the need of various tourism markets – including the MICE sector and special events,” said Ringo Yeung, assistant vice president marketing and communications division, Imperial Pacific International Holdings.

Yeung added: “We want to work with the government to try to expand this opportunity. We believe we can make the island a leading global destination for meetings by bringing together the island’s natural beauty (and complement it) with nightlife, luxury accommodation and various forms of entertainment including gaming and live shows.”

Saipan benefits from favourable visa regulations for Asian nationals, with citizens of China eligible for a 45-day visa-free entry. As a result, a number of cities in China have started direct flights that can reach the island in about five hours.

The 587-room ibis Bangkok IMPACT is the latest accommodation option to open in close proximity to IMPACT Arena, Exhibition and Convention Centre (also known as IMPACT Muang Thong Thani) in the Thai capital city.

The 18-storey premium economy hotel features 54 interconnecting rooms, 475 twin rooms, 112 king rooms and 13 rooms for guest with special needs. Each room is equipped with a 32-inch flat-screen LED TVs, an in-room safe, as well as tea and coffee facilities.

UFI announced the theme of this year’s UFI Global Congress, Raising the Odds – Pressures and Profits in the Exhibition Industry, at a Meetings Africa press conference in Johannesburg recently.

Bringing together more than 400 delegates from the exhibition industry worldwide, the 84th UFI Global Congress will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, from November 1-4, 2017.

(From left) Andreas Gruchow, UFI’s president, and Craig Newman, CEO of Johannesburg Expo Centre 

On why the UFI decided on an economic focus for this year’s congress, Kai Hattendorf, UFI managing director and CEO, said: “Huge investments are being made in exhibitions and events, and economists predict that the exhibition industry will outgrow global economic growth. But at the same time, economic growth has slowed. Politically, protectionism is on the rise. And operationally, digitisation is driving ever-faster change within organisations.”

The congress will enable its members from all continents to meet and gain insight into topics of strategic interest, current trends and challenges for the exhibition industry.

As well, it was announced that the 2018 Congress is scheduled for Saint Petersburg, Russia.

UFI currently has 83 members in Africa and the Middle East.

Despite the country being a challenge for travellers in terms of distance and costs, hosted buyers at the recent AIME show told TTGmice that what the country has to offer event planners and delegates often outweighs the negatives.

“Australia is a premium product,” said Viboon Kamontho, registrar with the Thai Travel Agents Association and managing director of Big World Holiday Thailand.

“Even though Europe is cheaper, they love it here because Australia does the best party functions, there’s more variety, good food and the culture is more relaxed,” he said.

Viboon: best value for money

For Rahman Habeeb, director of Cosmac Computers India, it is his first visit to Australia but he already plans to make the country part of his company’s mix for employee and client meetings.

“We’ve done Europe and made multiple trips to Asia-Pacific so Australia has become very attractive. It’s a very long journey for them but at the end of the day, it’s (Donald) Bradman’s country,” he said, referring to the cricket icon. “People want to visit the museums and stadiums, and they’re willing to travel the distance to see it.”

“It’s not just Sydney and Melbourne anymore. Gold Coast, Brisbane and Perth are also interesting options so we will try to plan for a multi-city trip so they can experience (each city’s) unique offerings, including the negatives,” he added.

Judy Kingston, associate programme manager at event planning group MCI Australia, agreed that Australia has plenty to offer to keep delegates coming back.

“There are different areas that sell the country better. Melbourne is particularly good, but I think Australia as a whole is very good at it. Our facilities and quality of programmes we put together justify the expense,” she said.

However, Viboon warns that the cost and lack of accommodation may hurt Australia’s potential to gain from the current demand.

“Too many leisure tourists are coming to Australia filling up rooms and hotel rates are very high compared to Europe,” he pointed out. But part of that problem is being addressed with a number of hotels being built in Australia’s major cities over the next few years.

Still, Habeeb said that Australia is in a good position to sustain demand with offerings not available anywhere else. “Europe is more about parties but these days parties are also available in India. And there are no kangaroos in Europe!” he said.