The operator of Tokyo Big Sight is attempting to play down criticism over the Japanese government’s decision to close the city’s largest convention centre for seven months before and during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, emphasising that it is open to discussions on adjustments to exhibition schedules.

That has done little to mollify companies and organisations in the exhibitions sector here, however, with the industry insisting that closure of Tokyo Big Sight between April and October 2020 will cause business event players massive losses.

Tokyo Big Sight

A spokesperson for Tokyo Big Sight – which is owned by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government – said the operator “will be discussing and adjusting schedules with organisers”.

The spokesperson added that events are customarily scheduled about 18 months ahead of time and that therefore no reservations have been cancelled.

He also pointed out that the plan to use Tokyo Big Sight as the media centre for the Games was clearly stated at the very outset of Tokyo’s campaign to win the rights to host the 2020 Olympics.

Officials also emphasised that the operator has been cooperating with the exhibitions industry and reduced the amount of time that the venue is closed from the initially scheduled 20 months to just seven months, while an alternative facility is also going to be provided for exhibitions.

The temporary venue will cover 23,000m² and be on a nearby site in the Odaiba district of the city.

“It is a nightmare,” said Christopher Eve, a director of the Japan Exhibition Association and managing director of UBM Japan Co., which organises trade shows.

“Exhibitions are my business and we are a big company so we will survive, but a lot of these companies rely on events at Tokyo Big Sight, so if there are no tradeshows, they have no income, they have to lay off staff and, ultimately, they could go under,” he said.

“Event organisers that have been using Tokyo Big Sight for years will find out that they have no venue in 2020 and will probably look to Shanghai, Hong Kong or Singapore for an alternative,” he added. “And some of them might not come back. That is my biggest worry.”

The six-month-old Le Méridien Putrajaya is marketing its unique location within the lush IOI Resort City, and capitalising on the weak ringgit to attract business event buyers.

Tan Lee Fong, director of sales and marketing, Le Méridien Putrajaya, said the ringgit which had weakened considerably against major regional currencies and the US dollar since November last year, has resulted in more enquiries from regional business event planners for activities in 1Q2017 and beyond.

Millennium Grand Ballroom

To capture the business, she said the hotel sells its location within a resort city, which is next to an 18-hole golf course and linked to IOI City Mall – the largest shopping mall in the Southern Klang Valley.

The hotel is using its unique location to develop golf meeting packages and teambuilding events that involve the shopping mall’s tenants, including an ice-skating rink, a bowling alley and a Tesco general department store.

One such teambuilding event that was recently held involved cooking at the foyer near the poolside where teams were given the task of sourcing and purchasing ingredients at Tesco and preparing certain local dishes as part of a challenge.

“With competition from other hotels, you have to give more than the usual offerings to grab the attention of meeting planners,” said Tan, with some of the perks during meetings being free-flow snacks, coffee and tea for delegates at interactive kitchen stations on the meeting floors.

Another aspect that sets Le Méridien Putrajaya apart from other hotels in the area, according to Tan, is the large number of meeting facilities within the premises. There are 15 meeting rooms and a pillarless ballroom that can accommodate up to 1,000 people in a theatre seating.

Dusit International has introduced Total Quality Management (TQM) systems across its entire portfolio of properties, making it one of the first Thai-owned hospitality companies to meet the criteria of the International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 9000 series and to commit to continuous improvement in all operational aspects.

TQM is a comprehensive and structured approach to organisational management that seeks to improve the quality of products and services through ongoing refinements.

Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket

Dusit International began implementing its TQM systems three years ago and on December 2016, was certified ISO 9001:2015 – an international standard for quality management systems within an organisation – for several of its properties in Bangkok, Hua Hin, Phuket, and Chiang Mai. This was achieved with generous funding from the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).

With continued support from TCEB, Dusit International hopes to hone its operations this year and apply to be certified in several management systems including environmental (ISO 14001), food safety (ISO 22000), and event sustainability (ISO 20121) to position itself as a preferred choice for higher spending business and leisure travellers.

Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria in Ortigas has started working with PCOs to grow its foreign-sourced business events currently comprising just 10 per cent of the pie, with the remainder dominated by local ones.

Newly appointed general manager Gaurav Rai, is targeting to gradually increase the share of foreign business events to 15 per cent this year, 20 per cent in 2018 and to 35 per cent in 2020.

Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria’s Gaurav Rai

With Crowne Plaza’s foreign business events mainly sourced from the US and Australia – both with very strong business process outsourcing in Ortigas – Rai is expanding the net to include Hong Kong, China, Singapore, India and the Australia sub-continent which are active in the PCO segment.

He explained that these five markets are “very doable” with short flight distances to Manila, good airport connectivity, and many flights coming in from these countries. They also have a “good base of corporate clients that the hotel can grow (and) deliver the experiences that they are looking for”.

He emphasised the strategic location of Manila with extension options to Cebu, Clark and Boracay, compared to Thailand where many business events have been held repetitively, and Singapore and Hong Kong which can be very expensive.

Japan, while mainly leisure at the moment, is also a potential market. “With Japan’s prime minister coming here recently, I think it will have a strong corporate impact and if that happened, we want to be at the forefront,” said Rai who recently sent his director of sales and marketing on a Japan visit.

“We want to continue to stick to our brand which is a conference and meetings hotel,” stressed Rai, whose two hotels are undergoing extensive renovation “for better customer experience and better value for money”.

The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore has appointed Renato De Oliveira as hotel manager, Nicolas Bailet as executive assistant manager for food and beverage, Alicia Lee as director of sales, and Sharul Madi as director of sales – MICE.

De Oliveira

De Oliveira has been with Ritz-Carlton for 12 years holding key appointments in five of its properties.

Bailet

Previously director of food and beverage in Bulgari Hotel London, Bailet will be overseeing The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore’s food and beverage operations and leading its promotional strategies.

Lee

In her new appointment, Lee will play an instrumental role in leading the hotel’s sales strategies for the business travel, business events and catering departments within the sales and marketing division.

Madi

Madi rejoins The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore as director of sales – MICE, where he will be responsible for leading the business events and groups sales strategies for the hotel.

Destination Asia has promoted Kaci McAllister to general manager of Destination Asia China, and Karen Cheng to deputy general manager of their Shanghai office.

McAllister will now lead all country operations and business developments in China while Cheng will head the Shanghai team in creating unique guest experiences.

McAllister

McAllister joined the Destination Asia team in early 2014 to lead the company’s product development throughout China. McAllister was previously in rural Guizhou, China, pursuing a career in tourism development and hospitality, after a year-long research stint in Germany. She also has a Bachelor’s degree in German and a minor in Mandarin from Vanderbilt University.

Cheng

Cheng joined the Shanghai team in 2011 and has 14 years of experience in the tourism industry. A Shanghai native, she has handled hundreds of events throughout her career, including the Beijing Olympic Games and the Shanghai Expo, and holds a degree in Tourism Marketing from Tongji University.

Penang hosted 1,251 events with an estimated economic impact of RM808 million (US$182 million) in its CVB’s first year of operations in 2016, according to an industry review released by the Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB).

Of these, PCEB supported 37 international and national business events in the state, totalling an estimated 29,030 participants and 91,616 in room nights.

The report further showed that the majority of international business events hosted in Penang last year originated from Singapore and South Asia.

For incentives, national groups formed the bulk at 82 per cent followed by groups from Singapore at 16 per cent.

As well, the average number of participants per congress and corporate event was 97.9, an indication of Penang’s suitability for small and medium-sized events.

Of the 257 events that make up national congresses, most were centred on sectors related to education, culture and ideas, medical sciences, government, social sciences and economics and industry, coinciding with Penang’s national status as a hub for these sectors.

Major cultural celebrations, festivals, and anniversaries of significant events, have significant bearing on business event patterns in Penang. February and June showed lower numbers of events, participants and room nights attributable to Chinese New Year and the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Also showing a correlation with a decrease in meeting numbers are anniversaries and memorials of unfortunate events such as the Malaysia Airlines double tragedies in March and July 2014, according to the report.