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.

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.