BUSINESS events stakeholders in Langkawi and Kota Kinabalu have stepped up destination promotion efforts in secondary Chinese cities following announcements of new direct flights between Langkawi and Guangzhou and Kota Kinabalu and Wuhan.

Director of Langkawi International Convention Centre (LICC), Ramizan Kaman Shah, told TTGmice e-Weekly that a joint familiarisation trip was organised late last year with Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau to invite media agencies from all over China to Langkawi, ahead of AirAsia’s launch of its direct Langkawi-Guangzhou services on January 24.

Ramizan said: “Langkawi is a new destination for China. Its UNESCO Geopark status, golf courses, good beaches, as well as water and jungle activities make it an ideal destination for meetings and incentives.”

He pointed out that efforts are made to target Chinese MICE buyers from all over China, not just from Guangzhou, “as there are also good linkages from Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi” which enable Chinese MICE travellers to visit the island via Malaysia’s main gateway.

AirAsia’s new daily service between Kota Kinabalu and Wuhan, which commenced on January 22 this year, has also encouraged Sabah Tourism Board and Malaysian Association of Tour & Travel Agents Sabah Chapter to band together on a sales mission to Wuhan in March to engage outbound Chinese agents.

According to Ebony Leong, marketing manager at Sabah Tourism Board, the bureau is ready to provide non-financial support, such as welcome cultural performances, to Chinese meeting and incentive planners.

Currently, Kota Kinabalu receives 61 weekly flights from China and Hong Kong, including new services offered by China Southern Airlines in December 2015 connecting Guangzhou with Kota Kinabalu and Spring Airlines four-weekly services from Shanghai which commenced in October 2015.

UFI, with the support of Reed Exhibitions, has launched the Next Generation Leadership Grant to reward exhibition industry professionals who show clear initiative in driving change and innovation and to involve them in the planning and realisation of the association’s high-profile annual congress.

Through the grant, UFI is looking for up to five outstanding individuals who are able and ready to plan and conduct an hour-long session at the UFI Congress 2016 in Shanghai.

The qualified candidates will benefit from global recognition among fellow industry peers; get to share ideas, explore the latest trends, and be part of an exciting initiative valued by exhibition colleagues worldwide; earn a chance to enhance their network; and gain expert guidance throughout the project.

To qualify for the grant, applicants must be actively employed full-time in the exhibition industry, must not have more than a decade of work experience in the exhibition industry; must provide a written document and a video, both in English, describing concrete ideas and initiatives to drive change and innovation in the industry, reasons for choosing to work in exhibitions and their motivation for pitching for the grant; must be able to drive the project in addition to their daily job; and must be available for UFI activities on June 13-14 in Paris and November 9-12 in Shanghai.

Applications must be submitted by April 30 this year to NGLgrant@ufi.org.

THE Indonesia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (INACEB) has launched in Jakarta on March 28, 2016 after much anticipation, and will be tasked with promoting different Indonesian cities as MICE destinations with a single aim to integrate the country’s MICE industry so as to compete in the international market.

INACEB’s committee was inaugurated by Arief Yahya, Indonesia Minister of Tourism, and will be chaired by Budi Tirtawisata, CEO of Panorama Group.

Budi said: “INACEB is a non-profit, independent private organisation. INACEB will play a role as a partner for the Ministry of Tourism in supporting the Wonderful Indonesia (campaign), especially in the promotion of MICE cities in the country.”

In his speech, Arief expects INACEB to accelerate the growth of the country’s MICE market from five per cent today to 10 per cent.

Partly funded by the government and industry participation, INACEB’s focus for the next five years is to strengthen the database of MICE destinations and their target markets, conduct promotional activities and win events through bids.

Other ambitions include placing Indonesia in eighth position on ICCA’s annual ranking of top meetings countries in Asia-Pacific by 2019, an improvement from its current 12th position; improving the rankings of Indonesian cities on ICCA and UIA charts to have them sit among the world’s top 30 cities; and contributing two million MICE arrivals or 10 per cent of the 20 million overall arrival target by 2019.

LANGHAM Hospitality Group is bringing back the Double the Extra Mile Plus programme, which rewards meeting planners with perks such as a special miles accrual rate and complimentary accommodation and use of select event facilities.

For qualified events with spending of US$6,500, meeting and event planners could enjoy double hotel rewards or miles accrual under any of the 11 selected frequent flyer or travel and lifestyle reward programme partners, including Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer and United Airlines’ Mileage Plus.

Planners can choose between earning two miles for every US$1 spent or enjoying hotel rewards such as complimentary accommodation, food and beverage vouchers and spa vouchers.

In addition, bookings of 60 rooms per night or more will entitle planners to any two of 10 concessions, which include a waiver of cancellation fees; no minimum for food and beverage spend; complimentary internet access for all guestrooms and meeting rooms; one complimentary room per 30 paid rooms; one 30-minute cocktail reception; and spa credit for the meeting planner or the group’s VIP.

Bookings can be made from April 1 to June 30, 2016 for events taking place between July 1 and December 31, 2016 at all participating The Langham and Langham Place hotels.

For more details, visit langhamhotels.com/doubletheextramileplus.

THE Kandooma Marquee, a 200m² events space, was inaugurated on March 19 at Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives.

It can hold up to 180 guests and has a large area for teambuilding activities.

Organisers will be able to enlist an incentives and special events team to assist with planning and event execution. They will also have access to high-speed wireless Internet and advanced audiovisual equipment.

Joseph Della Gatta, hotel general manager, said: “The Kandooma Marquee is our response to the increasing demand of incentives and special events and group requests we are receiving across different parts of the world.”

The resort is a 40-minute speedboat drive from the country’s Ibrahim Nasir International Airport.

STADIA & Arena Asia Pacific 2016 will convene in the Japanese port city of Yokohama this September, drawing an estimated 2,000 specialists in the field of athletic facilities development.

It will be the first such event to be held in Japan, according to a media release from the Yokohama Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Conceptualised by UK company ALAD in 1997, the event will feature both exhibition and conference components, and will invite participants to discuss sport venue design, construction, maintenance, operations management, and related technologies.

The 8,000m² Yokohama Arena will be utilised for the gathering, a venue that is no stranger to many international sporting events. Participants will also get to visit other sports facilities across Yokohama, including the International Stadium Yokohama and the Yokohama International Swimming Pool.

As host for the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final, and with plans to be the site for the 2020 Olympics soccer matches, Yokohama is a fitting choice for Stadia & Arena Asia Pacific 2016.

TAUZIA Hotel Management is looking to beef up its MICE business through the Tauzia MICE Rally, which aims to showcase meeting and event offerings of 42 hotels in its portfolio spanning the Harris, Yello and Pop! brands.

After seeing positive results from the inaugural Rally last year, Tauzia brought the first Rally for 2016 to Surabaya in February, and this will be followed by sessions in Jakarta and Bali in April and September respectively.

Tauzia is the only hotel group that has its own MICE business sessions with corporates in Indonesia.

Fridi Harini, Tauzia’s corporate director of sale – Jakarta and Surabaya Regions, who is also the Rally’s programme director, said: “More than half of our portfolio carry the word ‘convention’ which means we are (well-)equipped for our customer’s functions.”

In part due to the increased awareness of the hotels’ facilities and offerings, Tauzia’s MICE business is rebounding from the 17.2 per cent decline in 2015.

Fridi said: “Looking closely at different cities’ performances between January and February this year compared to the same period last year, Jakarta hotels’ MICE business was up by 51 per cent, West Java region (Bandung, Sentul, Puncak) 31 per cent and Surabaya region 36 per cent.”

And with the improved business climate and the revision of government policy to allow government agencies to organise meetings in hotels, the Tauzia MICE rally can serve to drive this increased demand to Tauzia managed hotels.

Fridi said she expects that the group’s MICE business will be up by 42 per cent from that of 2015.