THE Australian city of Sydney witnessed a gathering of the world’s foremost researchers and practitioners in data mining, knowledge discovery, data analytics and big data at the 21st ACM Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining conference (KDD15).

The event, co-located with the Big Data Summit, kicked off at Hilton Sydney on Monday and will conclude today.

New South Wales (NSW) Minister for Trade, Tourism & Major Events, Stuart Ayres MP, who was also a guest speaker during the conference, said: “This is the first time Australia has ever hosted this prestigious event and it is only the second time it has been held in the Asia Pacific region. It’s a great opportunity to highlight Australian achievements in big data.”

Ayres shared that the event will inject more than A$2 million (US$1.5 million) to the NSW economy and “support thousands of jobs”.

Business Events Sydney CEO, Lyn Lewis-Smith, said winning the conference for Sydney was a major milestone.

“This conference is usually held in the northern hemisphere and is unlikely to return to Australia for many years,” said Lewis-Smith.

More than 1,000 participants were at the event, according to KDD15 general chair and director of the Advanced Analytics Institute at University of Technology Sydney, Longbing Cao.

Explaining the event organiser’s decision to take the event to Sydney, Cao said: “Sixty-four per cent of the nation’s technology start-ups are based in New South Wales and Sydney is home to more than two thirds of Australia’s ICT headquarters….”

THE Malaysian Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS) is collaborating with Biji-Biji Initiative, a Malaysian social enterprise that champions progressive ideas and sustainable living through the creative reuse of discarded materials, at this week’s the 16^th International Architecture, Interior Design & Building Exhibition (ARCHIDEX).

Through this MACEOS Green Initiatives programme, all PVC and tarpaulin banners used during the four-day ARCHIDEX will be collected and transformed into fashionable and uniquely designed tote bags. All proceeds raised from the sale of these bags will be channeled to Biji-Biji Initiative.

This programme marks the first Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activity undertaken by MACEOS.

Vincent Lim, president of MACEOS and president of C.I.S Network, the joint organiser of ARCHIDEX, said: “Recycling advertising banners into something artistic and wholly practical is the first step we are taking towards creating a more environmentally friendly events industry.”

Matthieu Mertens – Partner, Head of Systems & Electronics, Biji-Biji Initiative, said: “These banner tote bags that we make from discarded advertising tarpaulin offer a creative solution for the global waste problem and each (will have its) own quirky design. These banners have been given a second life, saving them from ending up in the landfill.

“There are countless creative ways we can up-cycle fashionable and useful everyday objects from discarded items. All that’s required is an open mind and a willingness to look at waste from a different perspective.”

At the same time, MACEOS is calling for industry partners including professional conventions and exhibitions organisers, venue owners and operators as well as contractors, to be committed towards reducing carbon footprint during the staging of business and leisure events. An official Green Events logo will be accorded to events that meet the criteria set by MACEOS.

MANILA’S new interactive educational theme park, DreamPlay by DreamWorks, may be built for children but it is taking a serious interest in domestic and Asian MICE markets.

Located in the City of Dreams (COD) Manila, the attraction can accommodate up to 1,200 MICE delegates, and full hire is allowed with a minimum booking for 1,000 participants.

Kevin Sim, COD Manila COO, said DreamPlay by DreamWorks has a “dedicated schedule for MICE participants” during weekday mornings and nights to enable them to experience the venue “without the crowd and it does not infringe on the play space’s ‘adults only allowed if accompanied by a child’ policy”.

“We have been tapping companies for their teambuilding and family day activities; locally, through regular sales calls and sales blitzes and regionally, though tradeshows and sales missions, partnering with wholesale MICE teams, fam trips and offering special rates and concessions for group bookings,” Sim told TTGmice e-Weekly in an interview.

He added that the world’s first DreamWorks-inspired theme park has already hosted a number of corporate events in the past weeks.

It has eight attractions that are suitable for adults, including for teambuilding. Three function rooms including a high-ceiling ballroom can host meetings, workshops, focus groups and product launches.

THE China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Yunnan Sub-Council has signed a number of MoUs to boost the MICE industry in the Chinese province.

Mu Jiansheng, CCPIT Yunnan Sub-Council, Exhibition Department director, said eight MoUs were inked during the 11th China Expo Forum for International Cooperation (CEFCO), which was held in Kunming earlier this year.

CEFCO was co-organised by CCPIT, UFI-the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, IAEE-International Association of Exhibitions and Events and SISO-Society of Independent Show Organizers.

Mu said DCEC, which opened in provincial capital city Kunming in June, was built to serve the whole of China and for Kunming to become the gateway to South-east and South Asia.

“With the opening of DCEC, which is four times bigger compared to the Kunming International Convention and Exhibition Center, we can now raise the profile of smaller events and host mega events for the tobacco, sugar and alcohol industries,” he remarked.

DCEC has staged three large-scale events to date, including the China-South Asia Expo which attracted 80,000 delegates from 20 countries.

Come November the venue will host the China International Travel Mart.

A SERIES of seven new themed coffee breaks is now available to meeting planners who are taking their events to Regal Kowloon Hotel in Hong Kong’s Tsimshatsui.

The seven themes include Tropical Fever, which features tropical fruits dishes and Mixed Berries Smoothie; Vegetarian Refreshment, which offers a refreshing selection of greens; as well as five others that draw inspiration from Hong Kong, Japanese, English, Thai and Singaporean cuisine.

To enjoy one of these fun concepts, meeting planners need only to upgrade their regular coffee break with a top up of HK$60 (US$7.80) per pax. A 10 per cent service charge applies.

Contact rkh.banquet@regalhotel.com.

THE second edition of the rAWr (Recognising Award Winning Results) Awards will include a Special Award category this year to recognise incentive operators who have brought large groups to Malaysia in 2013/ 2014 with the support of Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB)’s Twin Deal ++ global campaign.

Three international operators will receive the Special Award – the International Incentive Operator Award for Excellence at the event on November 12 at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

The annual rAWr Awards, a joint collaboration between MyCEB and the Malaysia Association of Conference & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers (MACEOS), also features four other categories – Business Events, Conventions, Incentive, and Exhibitions. Winners must be Malaysian registered companies that are members of either MyCEB and/or MACEOS, and event owners such as national associations.

Zulkefli Sharif, CEO MyCEB, said: “It is important we recognise extraordinary and innovative excellence in the business events industry to lift Malaysia’s stature in world rankings. Winning a rAWr Award seals your reputation as an events professional, instilling a sense of awe and respect for your company and individuals who are game-changers, challenging boundaries and continuously adding value to clients and the industry.”

Entries will be accepted until September 30, 2015. For more details visit www.rawrawards.com.my.

THE Union of International Associations (UIA) will be holding its annual Associations Round Table Asia-Pacific 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, with the support of IT&CMA and Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB).

Running from September 29 until October 1, the event will feature keynote presentations and round-table discussions between international associations.

Nancy Carfrae, coordinator of the UIA Associations Round Table, explained that the event aims to promote and facilitate the work of international associations by providing learning and networking opportunities.

“Our sign of success is that association representatives leave the Round Table with ideas, information, and contacts that will help and inspire them in their association work,” she added.

The event targets people working in and with associations, mainly international and regional ones but also national and local, and participants are expected to come from diverse associations.

Carfrae added: “For the Round Table Asia-Pacific, we invite in particular associations based in the Asia-Pacific region, or those with members in the area.”

Programme highlights include the opening keynote by Laura Lopez, a representative from the UN regional office, and case studies during the “Crisis and Victory” session. Participants can also join in interactive discussions and panel forums on other major topics.

“Governance and communication, which are topics of perennial interest and necessity to associations, will be featured this year,” Carfrae added.

By Samual Ng

US-BASED Lanyon, which specialises in cloud-based software for managing business events and travel programmes, has released an enhanced version of its Smart Events Cloud.

The solution, which helps business event planners through the entire lifecycle of their events, now offers a new navigation and user interface that simplifies the meeting and event process into logically ordered key components.

The attendee management module for meetings and events is also completely redesigned, making it easier for the user to plan, design and manage tasks such as theme builder, registration and reporting.

 Event theme are also now configurable and business event planners can choose from an existing library of themes or edit a template to create a customised version. A preview feature is also available.

David Bonnette, CEO of Lanyon, said in a press statement: “We have put a particular focus on the user experience for meeting planners, and designed tools to be easy to use and mobile friendly. This is vital as we help companies consolidate their programmes and drive adoption around the globe.”

Additionally, with the increased usage of mobile devices, Lanyon has released a new mobile app, Lanyon Mobile, which aims to improve attendee experience and deepen engagement between the organiser and attendee.

NATIONAL carrier SriLankan Airlines is planning to increase services from India, the island nation’s largest source market, in an effort to support Sri Lanka Convention Bureau’s (SLCB) goal of growing inbound MICE business.

The airline is studying the feasibility of flying to Visakhapatnam, Chandigarh and Hyderabad in addition to increasing frequencies to other popular destinations in India.

Gayan Peiris, a senior manager at SriLankan Airlines, said the company now operates 86 flights to seven destinations – Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Cochin, Trivandrum, Trichy and Bengaluru, and frequencies to some of these destinations will increase.

Meanwhile, SLCB general manager Vipula Wanigasekera told TTGmice e-Weekly that the CVB is bringing forward an October roadshow in Bengaluru to September 6-8, coinciding it with PATA Travel Mart that will be held in the Indian city that week. SLCB is also planning to run a MICE promotion for some 200 to 300 buyers during PATA Travel Mart.

MICE promotions in Mumbai and Delhi are also in the pipeline.

Wanigasekera said these efforts are aimed at “reviving interest from our neighbours” and added that the CVB “didn’t do much MICE promotion in India last year”.

India is Sri Lanka’s largest source market, contributing 170,134 arrivals in the first seven months of 2015, up 27.4 per cent from the same period last year. Indian MICE travellers account for around 30,000 arrivals a year.

SINGAPORE Tourism Board (STB), Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) have joined forces to lure business travellers and events from the Philippines with generous perks and intensified marketing.

The trio “have been working individually behind the scenes in the Philippines” but have decided to come together due to the “huge volume of traffic from the Philippines,” said Carol Ong, SIA general manager Philippines, Guam and USTT (United States Trust Territories).

“The three parties have high confidence in this market when it comes to MICE and corporate segments. We have an ambitious target of 15 to 20 per cent increase”, said Ong.

Total Philippine arrivals to Singapore reached 676,000 last year, of which 20 per cent is MICE.

Adrian Kong, STB area director Philippines and Brunei, said arrivals from the Philippines is “consistent” and is Singapore’s seventh biggest Asian market.

Targeted at BTMICE to and through Singapore via SIA and its subsidiary SilkAir, perks from STB, SIA and CAG include customised packages featuring land and air components with preferential rates, and financial grants depending upon group size, among others.

Under this falls the trio’s collaboration called Singapore MICE Advantage Programme (SMAP), valid till December 31, 2016 for events taking place by December 31, 2017, and Be in Singapore 2 (BEiS2) which offers different qualifying criteria for different BTMICE segments.

Likewise, all MICE bookings made on SIA and SilkAir from now till October 31 for travel before January 1, 2016 will receive travel incentives.

Adeline Lee, CAG assistant manager for passenger development, said that as the first point of contact for MICE visitors, the airport wants to ensure a seamless passage and a world-class airport experience. CAG is offering perks like Changi Dollar vouchers as part of SMAP.