Image Asia Events has launched what is said to be Thailand’s first and only in-depth, interactive online portal for the MICE industry, a platform that promotes the country for business events, connects suppliers with buyers, and aggregates MICE news content from other sources.

According to Grenville Fordham, Image Asia Event’s founder and managing director, the meetinthailand.com portal will debut first with Phuket. Work has started on phase two which covers Koh Samui, Krabi and Khao Lak, before moving on to Bangkok.

Fordham said: “The trial Phuket content is representative of what this website can be, to both buyers and suppliers in the MICE and wedding sectors.”

MICE suppliers can access and update their product information in a secure back-end environment, while buyers can search for and contact suppliers using an automated RFP feature while being guided by an interactive checklist to ensure no detail is forgotten in the event planning process.

“I’ve seen event buyers waste time and money on inspection trips to Thailand, armed with inadequate information – often a local DMC’s interpretation of what they might want,” said Fordham.

“The idea behind meetinthailand.com is that no buyer should need to leave the office and travel to Thailand without a meaningful shortlist of venues, suppliers and opportunities preselected on the basis of comprehensive, up-to-date information.”

NAGOYA-ZA, a kabuki café in Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture, has launched a package that includes dinner and accommodation for MICE groups.

The kabuki performance relates a traditional Japanese myth about three gods who laid the foundation of Japan by fighting dragons. The audience is encouraged to take part in the story by cheering and throwing provided objects onto the stage. Guests will be seated traditional-style on cushions placed on tatami matting.

“The theatre is specially built for this show,” said Hiroshi Furukawa, theatre manager. “And our show does not require the audience to understand Japanese so we’d like to welcome more guests from overseas.”

The package will include a dinner of famous local specialities and accommodation at Nishiasahi Café Restaurant and Guest House through Nagoya-za’s booking agent, Tourism Designers Co.

“In the future, we plan to have a greater variety of packages available as we collaborate with shops at our base, Endoji Shopping Arcade,” added Furukawa.

Performances, plus a talk session after the final curtain, are on every afternoon and evening on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and are 90 minutes in duration.

UFI is bringing on board two new hires to help deliver and improve the association’s growing roster of events, committee activities and other industry initiatives.

Elia-Beissel, new programme manager at UFI

Nicolette Elia-Beissel is joining as programme manager. She was most recently operations director at the Durban International Convention Centre for four years, after being promoted from the roles of acting operations director and exhibition manager.

In the earlier stages of her career, she was with Rai Exhibitions and Events (now known as Thebe Reed Events & Exhibitions) based in Johannesburg, South Africa. As project manager, she worked on international shows as well as her own show in Sandton Johannesburg, Meetings Africa.

Jana Hofmann, new events manager at UFI

Meanwhile, Jana Hofmann is joining UFI as events manager. For the last six years, she worked as a project manager for the German-based trade show organiser fairtrade Messe, managing various projects in an international exhibition environment with a focus on emerging markets such as Ghana, Iran and Nigeria.

The new hires join the global exhibitions association as it continues to organise numerous events, ranging from the UFI Global Congress to the UFI Global CEO Summit.

Both Elia-Beissel and Hofmann will be involved in the 83rd UFI Global Congress in Shanghai from November 9-12.

THE newly minted I’m Hotel in Makati is hoping to lure corporate groups with its onsen spa and other novel water treatment concepts when it soft-opens in November.

I’m Hotel, a brand so named to project guests’ personalities and preferences for an experiential stay, is owned by a Singaporean group and is a sister property to Hotel H2O in Manila. It will first open with 100 rooms, an onsen spa, an infinity pool, MICE facilities and most other facilities. The remaining 334 rooms will open in 1Q2017.

Director of marketing, Melissa Lim, said I’m Hotel targets travellers from Australia, the US, the UK, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and China.

“Based on our studies, the latter four markets will be particularly interested in our onsen spa concept,” she told TTGmice e-Weekly.

I’m Onsen Spa covers 3,800m² of space over six storeys, with state-of-the-art facilities including carbonated bath technology from Japan; 69 beds; executive and VIP rooms for small exclusive gatherings; relaxation lounges. Premium rooms have a bathtub atelier who will draw a bath with customised scents and light bites and beverages.

I’m Hotel elevates swimming into a sensorial experience with an acrylic-bottomed, see-through infinity pool that can be seen upon entering the lobby.

Lim said the hotel has several venues for events. The 80m² Palmera room can take 40 pax in a classroom setting, while Narra Ballroom can seat 400 people for a banquet.

WHILE corporate travel budgets in China increased only marginally in 2016, cost-effective and efficient solutions as well as employee safety are emerging as some key concerns among Chinese organisations, according to new findings from the China Business Travel Survey (the Barometer) by CITS American Express Global Business Travel.

Average growth for travel and expense (T&E) budgets in China in 2016 was 4.86 per cent, consistent with 4.8 per cent growth in 2015.

Of the surveyed organisations, 52 per cent maintained stable T&E budgets for the last 12 months and 61 per cent indicated they will not increase their budgets in 2017.

While the uncertain economic climate impacts enterprises, the majority of organisations surveyed indicated that travel is a core business function and they will continue to invest in and improve their managed travel programmes. 36 per cent said they will need to find smarter ways to spend their budgets to support travel activities, and 29 per cent will try to find ways to increase travel to further accelerate business growth.

Moreover, the proportion of spending on international air travel against domestic air travel decreased this year. The domestic portion this year is an average of 73 per cent (up from 66 per cent in 2015) and international is 15 per cent (down from 19 per cent in 2015).

Meanwhile, the Barometer indicates the top three priorities in formulating business travel policies include: ‘employee safety’, ‘employee’s mental and physical conditions’ and ‘work efficiency of the employee during and after the business travel’.

Among the companies that have changed travel policies during the last 12 months, 28 per cent did so in response to the need to enhance processes and policies in relation to duty of care. Of these, 57 per cent implemented feeds to security service providers, 47 per cent mandated air bookings with a designated agency, and 32 per cent mandated hotel bookings with an appointed agency.

As well, nearly 30 per cent of organisations said they would consider updating their business travel policies in future to address traveller needs, mainly to take into consideration the use of enhanced safety measures.

And while there was a considerable movement away from the practice of using multiple TMCs or agencies in 2015, there has been no further significant change when it comes to using multiple TMCs. However, nearly 59 per cent of multi-agency users surveyed are considering using fewer agencies.

53 per cent of organisations surveyed undertook projects involving enhancement of their travel technologies solutions during the last 12 months.

The signing ceremony

KOELNMESSE, Persatuan Dokter Gigi Indonesia (Indonesian Dental Association) and PEO Traya Eksibisi Internasional have signed an agreement to jointly stage the first Indonesia Dental Exhibition & Conference.

On why Koelnmesse decided to stage a dental event in Indonesia, managing director Mathias Kuepper said: “Indonesia’s healthcare industry is expected to grow by up to 20 per cent yearly, which points to an emerging need for a platform for dental professionals to learn more about well-established and effective technologies, research and skills.”

Farichah Hanum, president of Persatuan Dokter Gigi Indonesia, added: “Indonesia has over 27,000 dentists nationwide, who face unique challenges in their daily practice. The city of Jakarta, with over 5,000 dentists, was chosen to host this new event because it is the central business and travel hub for Indonesia.”

The event will take place in Jakarta from September 15-17, 2017.

It will be held every odd year, alternating with IDEM Singapore, a regional dental exhibition and conference that caters to the South-east Asian market. In contrast with IDEM Singapore, the Indonesia Dental Exhibition & Conference will offer an extensive trade exhibition, localised educational programme, and provide a platform for manufacturers keen on penetrating the emerging Indonesian market.