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.

The growth in luxury travel into Japan is rubbing off on the business events sector as consumers increasingly seek the unusual and the unique.

Naomi Mano, founder and CEO of Luxurique, said demand for her company’s services is so strong that she has been forced to turn down clients and will soon be opening a new office in Kyoto to meet demand.

Kyoto’s Kiyomizu-dera Temple

“We focus exclusively on foreign, high-end corporates, executives and celebrity clients who are well known enough to have their own Wikipedia page,” Mano told TTGmice.

“Japan is increasingly appealing as a destination because it is unique and has a good balance of culture, cuisine, history, art and everything else that appeals to these sort of customers,” she said.

Corporate visitors can simultaneously draw inspiration from many of Japan’s tried and trusted approaches to doing business, while spouses can enjoy the cultural, dining and shopping opportunities, Mano added.

“We are expanding and I believe that higher end business events in Japan are still largely untapped. The government has said that it wants to double the total number of inbound visitors to Japan to 40 million by 2040 and I believe the business sector can grow at a comparable rate within that,” she said.

Representatives of Cox and Kings Japan were equally upbeat about the outlook for Japan’s high-end business events market in the year ahead, with increasing enquiries from the US and Australia.

“Japan has a high profile because Tokyo will host the Olympic Games in 2020 and the entire travel sector is growing partly in anticipation of that,” said Eri Sato, interviewed on the sidelines of the recently-concluded International Luxury Travel Market event in Tokyo.

“A lot of people have already visited Tokyo and Kyoto but we see great potential from other cities around the country,” she said. “Some may not have the accommodation capacity or infrastructure currently, but the government is keen to make sure those facilities are developed and that will be a big benefit for us.”

The fifth Top MICE Agents Awards Ceremony and Familiarisation Trip, conducted by Meetings and Exhibitions Hong Kong (MEHK), held its largest-ever edition this month, with South Korean top-performing agents gaining recognition for the first time.

More than 50 top performers from China, India, Indonesia and South Korea were celebrated at an award ceremony last week, hosted at the Maritime Museum. Award categories were customised for each market, including top performers for bringing the largest number of groups and delegates, plus best newcomers to recognise emerging star performers.

The event also included an experience-packed, five-day itinerary for the attendees, with the programme designed to showcase Hong Kong’s latest venues, products and offers for business events.

Manathai Hotels and Resorts is offering early bird rates for meetings and events booked at its properties in Koh Samui and Khao Lak between May 1 and December 24 this year.

Special discounted room rates are available from 2,800 baht (US$80) per night at both properties, and packages include one complimentary room upgrade for every 10 rooms confirmed, a complimentary hour-long cocktail function, one complimentary coffee break, late check out until 14.00, complimentary Wi-Fi in all meeting rooms, complimentary use of audio equipment, slide projector with screen, standard stationery, and bottled water and candies for all delegates.

A meeting room at Manathai Khao Lak

To qualify for the promotion, events must have at least 10 participants and not more than 150. Bookings must be made before April 15.

Manathai Khao Lak and Manathai Koh Samui, known for offering tranquil escapes in their beachside locations, are able to support planners looking to add a little tropical flare to their events. They boast half- and full-day meetings packages, along with a range of additional activities, services and event options. Outdoor venues are available for cocktail receptions or pre-dinner functions.

For more information, visit www.manathai.com/khaolak/meeting-packages and www.manathai.com/samui/meeting-packages.

Laguna Phuket has rolled out corporate packages for its inaugural Food & Music Festival, from March 3-5 this year, in hopes of leveraging the public event to add fun elements to corporate gatherings and to demonstrate the integrated resort’s varied offerings for business events.

In an interview with TTGmice e-Weekly, Ravi Chandran, managing director of Laguna Hotels & Resorts said the “crossover” between lifestyle and business events allows corporate clients to benefit from fun activities when both are held together.

Laguna Phuket Triathlon

Chandran shared that Laguna Phuket’s large-scale destination events, such as the Laguna Phuket Triathlon, have been attracting corporate groups. Citing an example, he said a global nutrition and weight management company took part in the popular sporting event in 2015, not only as one of the main sponsors but also by using the event as a platform for its own three-day incentive programme.

“With some of the festivalgoers being business owners and CEOs themselves, Laguna Phuket gets the opportunity to show off what it can do for their events without having to tell them, ‘come and meet here’,” added Chandran.

Highlights at the Food & Music Festival include live culinary demonstrations by MasterChef Asia judge Audra Morrice, Laguna Phuket’s appointed food consultant; pop-up food truck and beer garden with musical performances; and a charity gala dinner on March 4 with celebrity appearances.

There will be business aspects in the festival too, with sponsors such as Jaguar and Coca-Cola taking up booths to showcase their products and hotels within the Laguna Phuket integrated resort doing the same to show off their business event capabilities.

Chandran is confident that this hotel showcase will allow Laguna Phuket to secure at least five to six business events after the festival.

He revealed that 600 to 800 people are expected to attend the weekend festival, and a number of them will be part of corporate groups. When asked if these corporate groups would be tying their meetings and incentives with the festival, Chandran believes that “at least one would be doing so”.

Of the 40 tables at the charity gala dinner, 18 to 20 of them have been purchased by MNCs and leading Thai companies.

The Food & Music Festival is one of several key events that will be held in a year-long campaign to celebrate Laguna Phuket’s 30^th anniversary. Corporate discounts are available on accommodation, corporate fundraising and promotion booths. Bookings can still be made at press time at ticket@lagunaphuket.com.