The Standard, Singapore has appointed Amy Lu as general manager. She brings 19 years of regional hospitality experience and previously served as director of operations at Andaz Singapore for five years.
Originally from Taoyuan, Taiwan, Lu’s experience spans a range of properties, from resorts in Saipan to hotels in Shanghai. She now brings that international background to her new role in Singapore, where she will focus on team collaboration, guest experience, and operational improvement, drawing on a leadership style shaped by curiosity, resilience and a strong commitment to the industry.
Marina Bay Sands has completed its hotel room renovations as part of a US$1.75 billion transformation, marking a significant milestone in the resort’s development. The update includes approximately 1,850 rooms, with 775 suites, across two distinct collections: the Sands Collection and the Paiza Collection.
The Sands Collection, which includes 1,480 rooms and suites, has been fully refurbished. Designed as an urban sanctuary, it caters to a variety of guest needs, offering a range of room types from the Sands Premier Room to the Sands Family Suite. A dedicated Premium Services team is available to assist select guests throughout their stay.
Marina Bay Sands unveils 1,850 updated rooms and suites following extensive renovation; Presidential Suite living room, pictured
The Paiza Collection, consisting mainly of suites, offers around 370 high-end accommodation, including the three- to four-bedroom Chairman Suite, the two-bedroom Presidential Suite with a golf simulator, and the one-bedroom Horizon Suite featuring a spa area with a Himalayan salt wall and private gym. Guests in the Paiza Collection are served by a 160-member Butler Services team.
As a result of the renovations, the number of suites at Marina Bay Sands has increased to 775, up from 180 prior to the revamp.
Looking ahead, the resort’s reinvestment programme will include the opening of Jin Ting Wan, an authentic Cantonese restaurant, in July. Further refurbishments, including upgrades to LAVO Italian Restaurant & Rooftop Bar, lobby enhancements, and a new spa, are also planned. Additional details will be announced in due course.
Since 2013, Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center (BNDCC) has been implementing sustainability efforts.
Committed to environmental responsibility while actively supporting the surrounding community, BNDCC prioritises eco-friendliness through various programmes aimed at minimising its carbon footprint and promoting a greener future.
These include energy-saving measures in lighting systems, water conservation via graywater reuse and efficient fixtures, sustainable food management with locally sourced ingredients, comprehensive waste management including recycling, reduction, and reuse across all operations.
Ayana Komodo Waecicu Beach has appointed Jean Philippe Lovotti as its new general manager.
Lovotti brings over 25 years of international experience in the luxury hospitality sector, having held leadership roles across Europe, South-east Asia, and the Pacific.
Sands China and the Guangdong-Macau Traditional Chinese Medicine Technology Industrial Park (GMTCM) have signed an agreement to jointly promote the “Big Health” tourism industry in Macao and Hengqin.
The collaboration aims to leverage Macao’s tourism infrastructure and Hengqin’s TCM expertise to create new opportunities in the sector.
The MoU signing between Sands China and GMTCM
The partnership will focus on utilising their respective resources to help health-related businesses in both regions expand internationally and attract investment.
Potential joint projects include hosting Big Health business events in Macau, aligning with the city’s economic diversification strategy, and introducing new health tourism facilities within Sands China’s properties and the GMTCM Park.
Sands China’s CEO Grant Chum emphasised the potential of the global health tourism market and the goal of connecting their resorts with the Big Health sector through events and new tourism products.
Meanwhile, GMTCM’s chairman Wu Song highlighted the significance of this collaboration for cross-sector integration and its contribution to Macau’s economic diversification and Hengqin’s development as a TCM hub.
Established in 2011 as a key Guangdong-Macau cooperation project in Hengqin, the 500,000m2 GMTCM Park has attracted eight billion RMB (US$1.1 billion) in investment. It now houses 235 enterprises, including 89 from Macao, across various health-related sectors, and offers advanced facilities for research, development, and manufacturing meeting mainland China’s GMP standards.
The International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), managed by ASM Global, has announced a A$2.1 million (US$1.3 million) investment in audiovisual, LED screen and lighting inventory.
ICC Sydney’s director of audiovisual services, Brian Nash, said: “Innovation is central to our approach to event delivery at ICC Sydney. We have more than doubled our LED screen inventory with an additional 154m2 of Vuepix Infiled AR Series LED – a world class system known for its ultra bright output and fine pixel pitch of 2.9mm.
ICC Sydney’s Pyrmont Theatre
“Combined with significant investments across lighting, vision processing, cameras, and audio, we’ve expanded our in-house capabilities allowing us to continue to deliver seamless, high quality production outcomes for every event.”
The venue’s Pyrmont Theatre will feature a new permanently installed 12×4 metres LED screen on offer for the cost of the previous projection solution from mid-June 2025. Additional LED wings can supplement the main screen, expanding to a seamless stretch of 14 metres of LED across the width of the stage, visually enhancing the stage and creating a theatrical aesthetic for discreet stage entry and exit for speakers or performers.
The venue’s lighting upgrade further strengthens its production capabilities with a significant expansion of its intelligent LED lighting inventory, providing event organisers with greater creative flexibility and technical efficiency. The enhanced stock features high output, energy efficient fixtures with integrated movement and effects, ideal for delivering dynamic lighting designs across conferences, gala dinners and live entertainment performances.
These enhancements support visually impactful experiences and align with ICC Sydney’s commitment to sustainable operations by reducing power consumption and extending fixture lifespan.
The MoU and import deal demonstrate the industry’s commitment to SAF across the supply chain; photo by Kurt Ams
Qantas, Sydney Airport and Ampol, supported by Qantas’ SAF Coalition partners, have marked the largest ever commercial importation of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) into Australia, with nearly two million litres of unblended SAF arriving last week.
The fuel was imported by Ampol from Malaysia to its Kurnell facility in early May and is currently being blended with conventional aviation fuel before testing and certification so that it can be distributed into the Sydney airport supply chain. It will then be used on flights departing from Sydney Airport over the next few weeks.
The MoU and import deal demonstrate the industry’s commitment to SAF across the supply chain; photo by Kurt Ams
Blended at a ratio of approximately 18 per cent, the fuel can power the equivalent of 900 flights from Sydney to Auckland on Qantas and Jetstar’s 737 aircraft, reducing the resulting carbon emissions from those flights by a total estimated 3,400 tonnes. This is roughly equivalent to the annual emissions generated by 800 cars.
In 2023, Qantas established the SAF Coalition which consists of 15 leading Australian and global companies, all supporting the use of SAF at scale to help reduce their air travel and freight emissions, further demonstrating the demand for SAF that exists across industries
Once established, domestic SAF production has the potential to contribute approximately A$13 billion (US$8.3 billion) in GDP annually by 2040, while supporting nearly 13,000 jobs in the feedstock supply chain and creating 5,000 new jobs to construct and run the facilities.
In line with its Net Zero by 2050 ambition, Qantas is targeting 10 per cent of its fuel use to come from SAF by 2030 and approximately 60 per cent by 2050.
Qantas currently uplifts SAF from London Heathrow and is exploring opportunities at other international locations. Through its A$400 million climate fund, Qantas is also backing several other SAF-focused initiatives, including planned biofuel facilities in Queensland and New Zealand, and a recently announced investment in a climate-focused VC fund.
Sydney Airport has an ambition for 50 percent of the fuel uplift at the airport by 2050 to be SAF.
The importation follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Qantas and Sydney Airport to work together to further facilitate the development of a domestic SAF industry in Australia.
The first Asia Pacific Corporate Annual Conference (APCAC) was held last week in Shenzhen, China, providing a B2B platform for Chinese event buyers to access comprehensive products and services required for annual meetings and for industry professionals to discuss current trends.
The two-day event, created by Shenzhen-based Xinjia Culture Co, a subsidiary of TTG Asia Media, aimed to promote a healthy development of annual meetings among China’s companies.
Asia Pacific Corporate Annual Conference launched in Shenzhen on May 15
It was attended by more than 200 corporate buyers from across China, and showcased destinations, hotels, venue operators and other event suppliers from southern Chinese cities and the Greater Bay Area.
The conference featured topics such as ESG considerations in RFPs, which was presented by Cathy Yun, founder of Sourcing China, and various panel discussions on issues impacting Chinese annual meetings.
Jian Zheng, deputy district mayor of Yantian District, Shenzhen, who opened the the event on May 15, said APCAC had chosen a high quality location for its debut event.
He noted that Yantian District is an “ecological city embraced by mountains and sea, a vibrant city of cultural tourism innovation, and a shining pearl of the Greater Bay Area”.
He also emphasised Yantian District’s accessibility, as it is the only city in China that is connected to Hong Kong by both land and water.
Yantian District has a thriving domestic tourism industry. It welcomed more than 20 million tourists in 2024 and recorded an excess of RMB 20 million (US) in tourism revenue.
This year, for the long Labour Day holidays, Yantian District, the destination received more than 900,000 tourists, an increase of 80 per cent year-on-year.
Jian is eager to extend an invitation to the world, for all leisure and business visitors to come and experience the beauty of Yantian District.
In his speech in Mandarin, Jian also shared that several developments have taken place across Yantian District – a duty-free shopping paradise has been created on Zhongying Street; MGM Shenzhen has opened on the Xiaomeisha beachfront; Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) East is being upgraded to create a world-class mountain and sea ecological tourism destination; and Shatoujiao Port is being transformed into a cultural and commercial complex.
Julia Swanson, CEO of Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB), has taken over the role as board chair of BestCities Global Alliance from Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) Edward Koh.
As incoming board chair, Swanson is committed to solidifying BestCities’ position as the world’s premier alliance of convention bureaux. Her focus will be to empower BestCities’ partner destinations to deliver positive, sustainable impacts within their communities and expand their collective knowledge, while minimising the meetings industry’s global footprint.
Swanson has over 25 years of experience in tourism and business events. During her 14-year tenure at MCB, she led the organisation to prominence in the global business events sector. Through her role with the Visit Victoria leadership team, she has driven stronger strategic alignment with Melbourne’s tourism bureau, contributing to the city’s economic growth.
In 2023, Swanson was appointed as director to the board of the Australian Business Events Association. She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and has 13 years of experience in a number of international hotel chains.
Outgoing chair Koh – who is STB’s executive director, conventions, meetings & incentive travel – oversaw several key achievements, including onboarding Washington, DC as a new partner destination in 2024; launching the new Association Impact Masterclass in cooperation with ICCA; growing the Madrid Challenge community from 24 meeting planners to 59; and increasing the prominence of the BestCities Global Forum, which culminated in the 2025 event in Dublin, Ireland that welcomed a record 32 association clients.
Roasted turkey with mashed potato and Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2016
Emirates has unveiled 18 new Business Class dishes meticulously designed to be paired with exclusive Moët & Chandon Champagnes on most medium- to long-haul flights.
This marks the airline’s first curated champagne and cuisine pairing experience in the air, and was developed over the course of a year by Michelin-star chef Jean Michel Bardet from Moët & Chandon and Emirates’ vice president of culinary design, Doxis Bekris.
Roasted turkey with mashed potato and Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2016
New pairings include starters like poached scallops with green melon and Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2016, and vegan options such as silken tofu with asparagus and Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial. Main courses feature roasted duck with spiced couscous and Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial, roasted turkey with mashed potato and Moët & Chandon Grand Vintage 2016, and seared Chilean Seabass with artichoke puree and Moët & Chandon Brut Impérial. A vegan main course of braised lentils with coconut and Moët & Chandon Rosé Impérial is also offered.
Customers can identify these paired dishes on the onboard menu with a crown icon and can check their specific flight menu in advance.
Emirates has a 33-year partnership with Moët Hennessy and is the world’s largest airline purchaser of champagne. Their Business and First Class offerings include exclusive vintages, while champagne is also available in other cabins.
The newly-opened Ritz-Carlton, Bangkok anchors the One Bangkok development with cosmopolitan elegance. Featuring the city's largest ballroom and a spectacular new penthouse suite, it delivers exceptional hardware and deeply authentic, soulful service for business and leisure travellers alike
Behind the imposing, Brutalist concrete that defines Zurich’s Oerlikon district lies a surprising secret. While its exterior honours the neighbourhood’s industrial roots, stepping inside Mama Shelter reveals a vibrant, neon-soaked world that is a far cry from its rigid shell
A polished urban retreat designed for business travellers, Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown combines thoughtful design, seamless service, and exceptional facilities.
Originally from Taoyuan, Taiwan, Lu’s experience spans a range of properties, from resorts in Saipan to hotels in Shanghai. She now brings that international background to her new role in Singapore, where she will focus on team collaboration, guest experience, and operational improvement, drawing on a leadership style shaped by curiosity, resilience and a strong commitment to the industry.
Lovotti brings over 25 years of international experience in the luxury hospitality sector, having held leadership roles across Europe, South-east Asia, and the Pacific.
