THE year-old Angsana Xi’an Lintong hotel has conducted several public events, from symphony concerts to festival celebrations, to raise its profile and showcase its event capability to MICE planners.

Since its opening in October 2014, the 400-key luxury hotel in the Lintong district of Xi’an has hosted a poolside Valentine’s Day party, a Mid-Autumn celebration that saw 80 hotel guests releasing sky lanterns in the courtyard, and a symphony orchestra concert for 300 hotel guests – also in the courtyard – in celebration of China’s National Day.

The events were marketed as a room and/or dinner package.

Angsana Xi’an Lintong’s general manager, Jerry Mong, told TTGmice that the events were an effective way of demonstrating the hotel’s MICE ability.

“Our hotel sits on a large piece of land and has many beautiful open spaces, such as the courtyard. Our internal events utilise these spaces and they show the variety of activities that can be done here,” said Mong, adding that the events were captured on film which are used as part of the hotel’s marketing activities.

Besides a ballroom for up to 800 guests and seven meeting rooms with spacious foyers, Angsana Xi’an Lintong also offers several outdoor venues such as landscaped gardens, indoor and outdoor pool decks, and a courtyard that can accommodate up to 1,000 pax for welcome receptions, gala dinners and teambuilding games.

The hotel, whose architecture and layout are a modern interpretation of a Tang Dynasty court, was also the venue of the 2015 Banyan Tree General Manager Operation Review, an event in July that was attended by 200 general managers and directors of sales and marketing from the company’s properties worldwide. The delegation was welcomed by a royal procession that recalled the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty’s heyday, executed by 200 actors dressed in ancient garb and armed with elaborate props.

“We planned that opening ceremony on our own, and it is proof that the hotel can facilitate strong welcome receptions for our clients,” Mong remarked.

To celebrate the hotel’s first anniversary, a Halloween party has been planned for 300 hotel guests, trade partners and the media on October 31. It will be held at the soon-to-open Angsana Hot Spring Xi’an Lintong which sits next to the hotel. The two-storey complex features an indoor pool, 25 outdoor hot springs and private cabanas, among other facilities.

GLOBAL events marketing specialist, Ian Wainwright, has been appointed event director for the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME).

Armed with over 13 years of experience, Wainwright possesses a vast understanding of the industry and is capable of offering rich perspectives to AIME. He will lead the AIME team in preparing for the trade show from February 23 to 24, 2016 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.

“With strong relationships with numerous industry stakeholders, including convention bureaux and tourism, government and private bodies, Ian is well positioned to drive Asia-Pacific’s leading business events trade show,” said Sally Coventry, ibtm events portfolio director, Reed Travel Exhibitions.

BRAND experience specialist Freeman has acquired global event services company Staging Connections Group Limited (SCGL), giving it an immediate presence across Asia-Pacific through the latter’s network of 15 offices.

SCGL is now part of Freeman’s audiovisual division and will retain its brand.

“As our clients are expanding globally, they want the same level of Freeman quality, service, technology and support in markets around the world. This acquisition provides us with an immediate presence in ANZPAC and connects us with an organisation and team that shares our values and our design-driven, customer-centric approach to business,” said Joe Popolo, CEO of Freeman, in a press release.

“There are tremendous growth opportunities by combining these two great companies. (SCGL) has strong relationships with the leading brands in ANZPAC and a reputation for superior production design. Together, we will continue to deliver an unparalleled suite of services to our clients around the world,” continued Popolo.

SCGL, which has offices in Australia, New Zealand, China, Singapore and Fiji, is aligned with Freeman’s value system and culture, and brings a customer-centric approach focused on innovation, partnerships, employee development and customer success, noted the press release.

Tony Chamberlain, SCGL managing director, commented:  “There are a lot of synergies between the (SCGL) culture and that of Freeman, particularly our customer-centric approach to event delivery. We’re confident that we will fit together seamlessly.”

AUSTRALIA’S first aerial playground, MegaAdventure Aerial Park, has its eyes firmly set on the local and international MICE market ahead of opening in November.

Located in Adelaide, MegaAdventure is the second park under the MegaAdventure Group umbrella, which also owns and operates MegaZip Adventure Park on Sentosa Island in Singapore and a mobile adventure attractions business in South-east Asia.

MegaAdventure’s main attraction will be the SkyMate – a purpose-built, 26-metre-high structure crafted by the company’s subsidiary, Touch Cloud Global, which specialises in adventure constructions. The SkyMate will launch with 50 ‘crossings’ comprising of scramble nets, rope bridges, beams, swings, log steps, aerial surfboards and even Adelaide wine barrel steps.

“No one can bring a team together like MegaAdventure,” according to CEO and founder Alex Blyth, who is also a former instructor of the British Army who used aerial assault courses to train recruits.

“We provide a range of teambuilding and bonding activities that enable organisations to come together for the benefit of the individual, their workplace and the group.”

MegaAdventure have employed former Australian netballer, Jane Altschwager, to attract corporate groups from the local market.

“She has a great understanding of how businesses can achieve new heights with a strong and dynamic team,” said Blyth, “She is spending a lot of time talking to different companies about the way MegaAdventure can help build their company through teamwork.”

MegaAdventure is now taking bookings for corporate groups.

THE Incentive, Conference & Event Society Asia-Pacific (ICESAP) has formed a joint-venture partnership with Angliss International Singapore, part of William Angliss Australia, to offer professional development courses.

ICESAP president Nigel Gaunt said the programmes will start in December with a six-part online introductory course and followed by intermediate courses in 2016.

Gaunt added: “The majority of content will be delivered online and in late-2017 ICESAP will offer a degree course in IC&E management.

“ICESAP is further committed to growing the IC&E sector by implementing a universal accreditation scheme for the intermediary agency businesses operating in the sector across Asia-Pacific.”

Established in January 2014 and headquartered in Hong Kong, ICESAP is still the only association in the region to represent the IC&E segments.

Gaunt said: “Being by nature a cross-border industry there needs to be a consistent approach in key areas, such as industry standards, education and accreditation.”

Gaunt also said there were many customer examples where all incentive, conference and event components, and not just one, were required to meet different business needs.

He gave the example of Tupperware where several thousands of top achievers were rewarded with an incentive to Macau, and where a conference and an exhibition were also organised.

In 2014, the estimated IC&E sector in Asia-Pacific was valued at over US$120 billion, Gaunt said, adding: “Eighty per cent of this spend came from within Asia-Pacific. Despite the scale of the industry there has been no peak body until the formation of ICESAP.

To professionalise and “up-skill” practitioners in the industry, ICESAP will form an accreditation scheme early 2016. Applicants must abide by a code of conduct, demonstrate financial security and participate in a guarantee fund to “de-risk” customers and suppliers.

Although accreditation cannot be mandated, Gaunt said the scheme will be made attractive and be a “game changer” for the industry.

A JOINT study by ACTE and American Express Global Business Travel has found a majority of travel managers intending to tackle traveller behaviour to achieve savings.

The Evolution of Travel Policy: A Global View on the Future, which surveyed 350 corporate travel managers around the world, reported that 52 per cent of respondents said savings was the primary driver of their managed travel programme over the last one to two years, followed by duty of care (23 per cent) and traveller service (16 per cent).

However, the balance between savings and service is expected to change as corporate travel managers are looking to traveller behaviour, rather than supplier cost reductions, to drive savings.

Eighty-four per cent of respondents said savings would be achieved through demand management and compliance in the next one to two years. Yet, communications tools to drive compliance were often missing: 44 per cent of respondents have no formal systems for gathering traveller feedback.

While 75 per cent of respondents see improved traveller service as a route to savings, few organisations have measures to justify these improvements to procurement or finance leaders.  Twenty-one per cent of them use traveller productivity metrics, nine per cent use work-life balance metrics and just five per cent use stress reduction metrics.

However, 12 per cent of corporate travel managers plan to introduce stress reduction metrics in the next one to two years.

Commenting on the findings, Caroline Strachan, vice president of global business consulting at American Express Global Business Travel, said: “Demand management is the bedrock of a strong managed programme so it’s significant to see that travel managers are embracing the traveller and traveller service. Clearly, they understand the future’s going to be traveller-centric. What’s less clear, is whether travel managers feel they have the right technology and tools needed to deliver this future.

“Communication is critical for building relationships, engagement and compliance. The research suggests there’s scope for travel managers to upgrade their communications systems and practice.”

Greeley Koch, ACTE executive director, said, “The report’s findings are consistent with ACTE’s Traveller Centricity education pillar, which puts the traveller and the traveller’s needs at the heart of policy.”

Koch pointed out that influencing traveller behavior and supporting the traveller in the field is far more conducive to meeting the primary objective – raising corporate revenue – than savings alone. “While savings remain a key driver, profitability is the objective of business travel.”

A copy of the study is available at www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com/acte.

KOREA Tourism Organisation (KTO) is offering international meeting professionals a chance to win a trip to South Korea and other prizes through participation in the Mega Survey Of Korea’s Top Attractions online event.

The survey, which invites participants to choose preferred South Korean travel destinations and activities, as well as rank Asia’s premier MICE countries, is designed to give the KTO valuable insights into global perceptions of the country’s attractiveness as an events destination.

To participate, entrants need to visit the official event page and fill out a short survey and select in order of preference, two South Korean cities and the activities they would like to enjoy there.

A total of eleven South Korean cities are available to choose from, while examples of activities include sightseeing, cultural experiences and tours of popular local attractions.

Entrants are also asked to rank in order of preference their favourite Asian countries for business events and choose from among the prices offered.

The prizes include one round trip ticket to korea and a five-star hotel voucher in Incheon (three days & two nights)(one winner), two five-star hotel vouchers in Seoul (twin, three days & two nights)(two winners), and US$20 Amazon.com gift cards (50 winners).

The event runs until December 4, 2015 and a total of 53 winners will be announced on December 11. 2015 at the official Korea MICE Bureau homepage.

Winners will be determined by random draws and only one entry per person will be accepted.

THEMED Innovations in MICE – The Way Forward, the inaugural AEC (ASEAN Economic Community)+ Expo 2015 which will be held in Kuala Lumpur from November 11 to 13, 2015, is projected to yield more than RM28 million (US$6.8 million) in economic impact and some RM14 million from visitor expenditure for Malaysia.

AEC+ Expo 2015 is jointly organised by The Asian Federation of Exhibition and Convention Associations (AFECA) and the Malaysia Association of Convention and Exhibition Organiser and Suppliers (MACEOS) and supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) and the International Association of Exhibitions and Events.

The three-day event will comprise four components – a B2B business events matching, forum sessions, a MICE Youth Challenge where 23 university teams in Asia will compete on a MICE planning competition, and awards presentations for industry members. One will be the AFECA Gala Dinner and Awards and the RAWR Awards (Recognising Award Winning Results within the business events industry), a joint collaboration between MACEOS and MyCEB.

Participation from across Asia-Pacific is expected, with attendance by some 150 exhibitors and a further 300 to 400 delegates at the forum sessions.

Vincent Lim, MACEOS president, said: “Malaysia was chosen to host the event to complement her role as the chair of the ASEAN Economic Community.”

MyCEB CEO, Zulkefli Sharif, added: “This event gives us an opportunity to enhance the country’s branding internationally as Asia’s business events hub. It will showcase Malaysia’s offerings as well as international business event capabilities to local and international buyers, meeting planners and corporate clients.”

Walter Yeh, president of AFECA, said AEC+Expo is set to become an annual event, and his members will have to bid to host this prestigious gathering.

AFECA was founded in 2005 with the objectives of promoting the growth and development of the exhibition and convention industry in Asia.

THE 15^th International Peat Congress in 2016 will be held in South-east Asia for the first time come August.

It will be hosted by the Malaysian Peat Society in partnership with the International Peatland Society and supported by International Union for Soil Science (IUSS) and International Union for Forest Research Organisation (IUFRO). It will also be the first edition to be organised with the support of a foreign chapter – Peat Society of Indonesia.

The theme of the congress, Peatlands in Harmony – Agriculture, Industry & Nature, will relate to an integrated global perspective for the responsible use of peatlands and the preservation of their unique dynamics and natural biodiversity.

Lulie Melling, congress general, told TTGmice e-Weekly: “The Congress will also provide for researchers, academics and practitioners an ideal platform to congregate, share information and discuss their scientific results and experiences with particular reference to peat and peatlands in the tropics.”

“We are honoured to host this congress which will be in Asia for the first time. Previous congresses were always in Europe and America and the downside of this was the prohibitive costs, especially for Asians from developing nations.

“This event is very important for Malaysians and Asians in general as it will allow more delegates from Asia to attend and benefit from scientific, industrial and governmental discussions. They do not have to spend a lot on travel. It’s an opportunity for the people in the Asia Pacific to attend an International Congress and be able to listen to talks by leading authorities in the field and also to be able to know more about temperate and boreal peat especially in relation to sustainability issues, all at reduced rates.

“Previous congresses held in Europe and US were really too expensive for Malaysians and Indonesians and the numbers that went were small. This will be a good platform to present scientific papers. It also gives a chance for the participants a chance to have international network, exchange and sharing of ideas and have personal discussions with light-minded delegates from around the world. Finally, we hope to be able to build up greater awareness to the world on what is tropical peat and at the same time as a platform to build research collaboration.”

The event is expected to draw the largest number of Asian delegation, at least slightly more than half of the total delegation of 1,500.

SYDNEY will be injecting another A$1.5 million (US$1.1 million) into Business Events Sydney (BESydney) between 2017 and 2021, after a stong return from their initial investment of the same value from 2014 to 2016.

“The City of Sydney’s initial investment supported BESydney to secure 24 events worth more than A$70 million in direct expenditure,” said CEO of BESydney, Lyn Lewis-Smith, in a release.

“The funds drawn on to date have achieved a return of more than A$90 for every $1 invested.”

The initial investment has been effective in helping to activate the city precinct during the development of the new International Convention Centre Sydney and Darling Harbour precinct.

City of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, said the programme had been a great success and the city was delighted to continue investing in the bureau.

“Among others, this partnership brings high-yield international incentive visitors to Sydney who spend up to 6.5 times more per day than regular holiday tourists, benefiting our shops and restaurants. Earlier this week BESydney announced the Cathay Life Taiwan Summit has been secured for 2016, a great example of how the City’s current investment is helping to pay dividends for local businesses into the future.

“We are happy to work with Business Events Sydney to secure more events, which will help off-set potential economic impacts of the central business district light rail works and the Darling Harbour redevelopment.”

On October 12, BESydney announced that up to A$113 million of corporate incentive events have been secured for 2016 and 2017 including Nu Skin Greater China Success Trip 2016, Cathay Life Taiwan Summit 2016 and Amway China Leadership Seminar 2017, with broad support from Destination New South Wales (NSW) and the City of Sydney.

To date, BESydney has injected up to A$249 million into the NSW economy by securing more than 53,000 Asian incentive delegates over the past three years alone. This represents 20 per cent year-on-year growth from this sector, which has contributed to BESydney’s strong result.

Some 146 events previously secured by BESydney, estimated to be worth A$404 million in direct expenditure to NSW, will take place between January 2015 to December 2023.