Pan Pacific Hotels Group has appointed Thomas Zhong as vice president, operations support and pre-openings. He was most recently the director for performance management at the Singapore corporate office of Raffles Hotels and Resorts, where he spent five years.
Event brief
The Japan-Spain Symposium is an annual event that has been held since 1997 and is one of the most important bilateral events on the diplomatic calendars of the two nations, which take turns to host the event.
Spurring tourism was a big topic in this year’s discussions, alongside social issues, such as on ageing populations.
Shortly after Shizuoka City The Nippondaira Hotel were selected to host the 18th symposium, the embassy of Spain in Tokyo sent word that King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia would attend. Japan’s Imperial Household Agency responded immediately that Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko would also be present.
Challenges
Given that the heads of the Spanish and Japanese royal families were due to attend, security was a major concern initially.
Shinichiro Suzuki, head of the MICE & International Affairs Division of the City of Shizuoka, said the organisers moved immediately to secure additional funds to ensure that security was of a suitable standard and that facilities were up to scratch.
The number and scale of associated events to mark the royals’ attendance were also increased.
The additional work meant that the event was pushed back to April, giving the organisers approximately six months to complete preparations – an extremely narrow window. One seasoned organiser said preparing an event of such scale normally requires three years.
Solutions
There was no substitute for hard work, extensive cooperation between the divisions within City Hall with a stake in the symposium, as well as local event planning companies, media outlets, volunteer organisations, and other organisations.
At the last minute, however, the Spanish king and queen were obliged to cancel their visit to Japan due to political problems at home. On the evening before the event was scheduled to open, the Imperial Household Agency announced that the Emperor and Empress would also have to withdraw due to the series of major earthquakes that had struck Kyushu, causing widespread damage and loss of life.
“It is impossible to predict political or geological upheavals, so we simply had to roll with the punches and try to deliver the best possible event, despite everything,” said Suzuki.
Still, the symposium and associated events went ahead smoothly. On the day of the discussions, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted an official luncheon and a dinner party in the evening was hosted by Shizuoka Mayor Nobuhiro Tanabe.
Former Miss Universe Riyo Mori, a goodwill ambassador for Shizuoka City, made a special appearance at the party. Ms Mori speaks perfect English and was able to mix and mingle naturally with the Spanish guests.
In addition, over the three-day duration, there were photo exhibitions, cultural performances and displays of the products of several companies from Spain and Japan.
Key takeaways
Said Suzuki: “While, unfortunately, neither royal couple was able to attend the symposium, we were able to gain priceless experience in preparing to host VIP guests.”
When prince and princess Akishino visited in October 2016, this knowledge was put to good use, he explained.
Another learning point was that having a good venue and convenient access are major pluses, but it is important to also highlight local attributes, said Suzuki.
“Shizuoka gives a stellar view of Mount Fuji from Nippondaira Hotel, and we were blessed with beautiful weather during the symposium, so our guests came away with a ‘uniquely Shizuoka’ experience.
“We also served a number of local specialties such as oden stew and bluefin tuna that landed at our Shimizu Port, not to mention locally brewed junmai daiginjo sake made with our renowned, ultrapure water.
“I believe we were able to give this big group of Spanish VIPs a very strong sense of what makes Shizuoka so special among cities in Japan.”
Event:The 18th Japan-Spain Symposium
Organiser/Client The City of Shizuoka and The Nippondaira Hotel
Venue: The Nippondaira Hotel, Shizuoka Prefecture
Date: April 15-17, 2016
Number of participants: 200 for the symposium; about 20,000 for related events
Kaci McAllister is now general manager for Destination Asia China. She joined the company in early 2014 to lead product development throughout China.
AccorHotels has appointed Louise Daley as deputy CEO, Asia-Pacific, on top of her current role as CFO, Asia-Pacific. Since June 2015, Daley has served as executive vice president and CFO, Asia-Pacific. She has been with AccorHotels for 26 years.
Antony Box has been appointed director of sales and marketing for Marco Polo Hotels, Hong Kong. He was last director of sales and marketing, and regional director of business development at The Westin Resort Macau.
Shangri-La’s Boracay Resort & Spa, Philippines, has appointed Anne Busfield as general manager to succeed Ester Marcaida, who will move on to handle various Shangri-La projects. Busfield has worked with numerous international chains as a general manager.
What do you look most forward to in this new role here in Asia?
To create value for corporates which are looking for solutions to take control on their hotel spend while keeping compliance, duty of care and traveller satisfaction. In EMEA, it has been proven that there are solutions to help corporates better manage travel and I certainly hope this can be advocated in Asia more aggressively too.
Secondly, to create value for our partners who are looking for hotel experts to enhance their value proposition to corporates.
Thirdly, to create value for hotels which want to increase their occupancy rate and revPAR.
And finally, to create value for the company and our teams.
What will keep you busy right away in this new position?
Diving in to fully understand the specifics of all markets in South-east Asia, South Korea and India, and to better view corporate travel from the customers’, TMCs’, OBEs’ and hotels’ perspectives so that we can create a more wholesome ecosystem.
I’ll also be busy with recruiting talents.
HRS has already been experiencing solid positive growth the past few years. I am brainstorming on ways to further accelerate growth plans, and to strengthen and reinforce closer relationships with customers and partners in this region.
My key to a productive day is…
to have the big picture in mind. I want to be able to anticipate and weigh the value of every meeting and strike a balance between business and internal ones. Achieving synergy and to get the most out of each day are also important. I want to make things happen.
China will be completing the liberalisation of nearly 70,000 industry associations and chambers of commerce by the end of this year, and their ability to survive as autonomous, professionally-run organisations will be tested.
With the liberalisation, policy, direction, funding changes, the availability of talent, and the organisation of association meetings could be impacted, as more global trade associations have set up in China as part of their market development plans and professional exchange.
(From left) GIS Group’s Stephen Liu and Haley So, Yao and Zhang
To help China’s business events industry tackle the impending changes, IAPCO Education, the international association for professional conference organisers, has appointed Beijing-based IME Consulting as its China representative, said general manager Alicia Yao, who is also deputy general secretary, China MICE Committee of China Association of Travel Services.
For the second time, IAPCO Education Seminars for the MICE Industry will be run in Suzhou.
The introduction of a “junior” level programme last year will be followed up with a “senior” level programme this year between April 12 and 14. IAPCO also offers a “master” level programme.
According to David Zhang, director, Suzhou MICE & Travel Promotion Centre, about 40 senior-level executives have registered so far. The event, organised by the centre, is supported by the Suzhou Tourism Bureau and a local sponsor.
Zhang said: “There were 60 participants last year, including delegates from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan representing CVBs, DMCs etc. I believe IAPCO has the opportunity to grow in China in the next two years,” he said.
Yao pointed out that IAPCO accreditation will be important as some international association meeting RFPs stipulate that only association management companies and PCOs that are its members can be used.
IAPCO members in Asia are MCI China (Shanghai), Hong Kong’s International Conference Consultants and Taiwan’s General Innovation Service (GIS), which won a bid as a result of its affiliation.
Lim Guan Eng, chief minister of Penang, will be proclaiming April 6 as Penang Meetings Industry Day during the Penang Meetings Industry Day press conference on April 4.
This is in conjunction with the Global Meetings Industry Day (GMID), an annual global advocacy day that sheds light on the value of the meetings to people, business and communities.
Ashwin: putting Penang on international GMID platform
In support of GMID, Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) and the Penang business events industry have come together to create awareness of the power of meetings.
Ashwin Gunasekeran, PCEB CEO, said: “From March 23 to April 6, we will be carrying out a social media campaign to put Penang on the international GMID platform, and share a ‘Meetings Mean Business’ message.”
To show Penang’s active participation, all hotels, venues and DMCs have been encouraged to post their meetings – including corporate or college meetings – on Instagram, with the hashtags #GMID17, #BusinessEventsPenang, #ExperiencesUnfiltered, #PenangUnfiltered, #ICCAMY and #ICCAWorld.
“At the same time, we are also building human capital by educating students and undergraduates in colleges and faculties of Tourism & Events on the importance of meetings and potential of the business events industry.”
The March 22 attack in London has underlined the growing necessity for business events to come with a crisis contingency plan, industry players say.
Joost de Meyer, chairman and CEO of US-based First Incentive Travel, said: “The London incident is a reminder that the world today is no longer as secure. However, it does not make sense to stop travelling in order to stay safe. Companies can choose to go somewhere they perceive to be safe for incentive programmes, but business meetings have to happen wherever the money is. So the key is to plan for crisis and be ready to respond.”
Kitty Wong, president of Taiwan’s K&A International Co. and World PCO Alliance, agrees, noting that while “safety cannot be guaranteed”, steps could be taken to minimise impact when security issues arise.
“As a PCO, we can and have to provide a safety plan for the client. This is an increasingly common request now. We also recommend that they buy insurance,” said Wong.
Wong noted that since many clients are unsure how to get started on safety planning, the World PCO Alliance is helping to write a set of guidelines on this.
Ulrike von Arnold, deputy director, Vienna Convention Bureau, opined that the host city, too, has to take responsibility for the safety and security of event delegates as “it is the city that attracts business events and delegates over”.
Von Arnold added that meeting planners should also study the safety standards of event venues and be clear about escape routes. She warned against venues that keep ballroom doors locked or have fire escapes blocked by audiovisual equipment.
That said, von Arnold believes that “we are living in the safest of all times”.
“We have 24-hour access to worldwide communications now but we are too focused on negative news. We have managed to overcome most diseases and (spot potential attacks before they happen),” she said.
