MADRID Fusion Manila will return to the Philippine capital city in 2016 after a successful run in April, with organisers keen on bringing the prestigious culinary event to other Asian destinations too.

The inaugural Madrid Fusion Manila in April “went beyond our expectations when it came to attendees, participation of chefs and media coverage both in the Philippines and abroad,” explained Domingo Ramon Enerio III, COO of the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB).

TTGmice e-Weekly understands that the Philippine Department of Tourism has the exclusive right to the trade name Madrid Fusion Manila for five years, but there are plans to bring the event to other Asian countries in the coming years.

“We can do Singapore or Malaysia,” said Inigo Canedo, managing director of one of the event’s organisers, Madrid-based Arum Estrategias Internacionalizacion SL.

Canedo, who is pleased with the “very good organisation” of Madrid Fusion Manila, said the organisers want to make the event “the most important trade fair in the Philippines” while being open to expanding it to other parts of Asia.
The next Madrid Fusion Manila, scheduled on April 7-9, 2016, is being planned to be even bigger with fewer Spanish chefs and more Asian ones.

Chefs who have confirmed their participation next year include Joan Roca of three-Michelin star El Celler de Can Roca, S. Pellegrino’s world’s best restaurant for 2015; Eneko Atxa of two-Michelin star Azurmendi Restaurant in Basque; and Yoshihiro Narisawa whose three-Michelin star Les Creations de Narisawa in Tokyo was recently ranked as Asia’s 8th best restaurant.

THE NEW Langkawi International Convention Centre (LICC) has secured 10 regional conferences in its first year of operations as well as played host to high profile events such as the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting in March and the ASEAN Leaders Summit in April, since its opening on March 1.

LICC features pillarless function rooms that are equipped with high-end audiovisual facilities such as Bose sound systems, and offers plenty of natural daylight at its foyer areas. The grand ballroom has a capacity for 1,000 people in a banquet setting and can be partitioned into three smaller spaces. Seven meeting rooms ranging from 21m² to 1660m²in size make LICC ideal for international conferences, product launches and fashion shows.

Events with overseas participants are well supported by a variety of accommodation options close by. LICC sits adjacent to The Westin Langkawi and is also managed by the hotel. Hotels located a short drive away include St Regis Langkawi which is slated to open in November, Bayview Hotel Langkawi, Adya Hotel Langkawi and Dayang Bay Serviced Apartment & Resort Langkawi.

Ganneesh Ramaa, manager of Luxury Tours Malaysia, said: “Meeting delegates will have plenty of accommodation options. LICC will also complement Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre and put Langkawi on the map as a MICE destination.”

Saini Vermeulen, executive director of Within Earth Holidays, believes that LICC’s record of hosting high profile events will “make it easier for us to market Langkawi” to corporate clients and conference organisers.

“The fact that the new LICC, with its state-of-the-art facilities, has handled high profile events will give confidence to meeting planners and MICE organisers that Langkawi is (capable). Planners interested in holding an event in Malaysia now has another option,” Vermeulen commented.

He added: “Also, Langkawi has the required tourism infrastructure such as attractions and restaurants to support the leisure components of a convention programme.”

THE February opening of G Hotel Kelawai has placed holding company, G Hotel Penang, in a stronger position to attract larger-scale events.

The new hotel in Penang is just a two-minute walk from its sister property, G Hotel Gurney. Both hotels have a combined inventory of 520 guestrooms, 15 function rooms including a a grand ballroom at G Hotel Gurney, and nine F &B outlets. Cross usage and signing facilities are available for guests.

Kevin Cheah, executive assistant manager – sales & marketing, G Hotel Penang, said: “With the opening of the 208-key G Hotel Kelawai, we are aiming for meetings, conferences and others events with up to 500 people. Prior to this, we could not accommodate meeting groups of more than 300 delegates.”

G Hotel Penang intends to court MICE business from Singapore, Indonesia and Hong Kong through participation in travel tradeshows such as IT&CM Asia in Bangkok and ITB Asia in Singapore.

Cheah explained that these markets are attractive as they have direct air connectivity with Penang and are within three hours of air travel.

“Being centrally located next to two upscale shopping malls, Gurney Plaza and Gurney Paragon Mall, and near Penang’s famous hawker centre, Gurney Drive, George Town UNESCO World Heritage Site and beaches makes the hotel an ideal place to stay and have meetings,” Cheah remarked.

Meanwhile, G Hotel Gurney’s grand ballroom was unveiled in June with a new look. A refurbishment project gave the venue new carpets and wallpaper, a permanent LED screen, Bose speaker system, mood lightings, Herman Miller designer chairs and a more robust Internet capability with speeds up from 100MBps to 150MBps. It can accommodate up to 700 people in theatre style.

IN CELEBRATION of its 20^th anniversary, Harbour Grand Kowloon has rolled out a series of promotions including a meeting offer.

Priced from HK$480 (US$62) per person, the Anniversary’s Special Meeting Package allows planners to add on a perk for only HK$20. Options include themed refreshments per break, soft drinks and chilled orange juice served throughout lunch, a Chinese/Japanese/executive western set lunch, or an hour-long cocktail reception for up to 200 pax with free-flow beverages before dinner.

Offer ends July 31, 2015.

Terms and conditions apply.

DUE to popular demand, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong is extending its Save & Earn Marriott Rewards Points offer until February 29, 2016.

The offer requires a minimum booking of 10 guestrooms, and includes a 10 per cent rebate on the final master bill and free Triple Marriott Rewards Points.

All prices are subject to 10 per cent service charge.

Terms and conditions apply.

NICCOLO Chengdu, which opened its doors on April 15, has unveiled two new meeting and conference packages – the Niccolo Conferences+ and Niccolo Meetings+.

The Niccolo Conferences+ package includes a welcome cocktail, a themed tea break, and use of two complimentary breakout meetings room. Planners will gain a complimentary guestroom with breakfast for every 10 guestrooms booked.

The Niccolo Meetings+ includes lunch at the hotel’s Yue Hin Chinese Restaurant and two tea breaks for full-day meetings with at least 10 delegates. A half-day meeting package is also available, and it comes with one tea break. Complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi and the use of an LCD projector will be provided.

The hotel in the centre of the city offers 20 function venues including The Conservatory and Niccolo Ballroom.

THE Philippine Council for the Advancement of Association Executives (PCAAE) has developed a programme that assembles a group of “ambassadors” from among its members to bring MICE into the country by bidding for and winning events.

President and CEO Octavio Peralta said that since the programme was soft launched on May 28, two international conferences that may materialise in 2017 have already been referred to the Philippine Tourism Promotions Board (TPB).

He also told TTGmice e-weekly that “we have also at least two PCAAE members with forthcoming international events here”, one on the medical field and the other is related to women’s organisations.

The TPB Ambassadors Programme to Attract International Events to the Philippines, or TAP-In initiative, “is deemed as an ‘additionality’ to TPB’s marketing efforts to increase holding of international conferences by associations in the country without draining its budget since PCAAE is undertaking this as a volunteer programme,” said Peralta.

As a test pilot, PCAAE’s board of trustees will compose the first “ambassadors”, but it is enjoining other members who can represent their industry or profession, have international network, have organised and held events, and are able to motivate to organise events in the country.

FOLLOWING its partnership with the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration (SMTA) to conduct two professional education programmes during the city’s Business Events Week in April, the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS) is moving into Kunming next.

In Shanghai, SACEOS provided corporate travel and association meetings professional education to 40 and 30 MICE practitioners respectively.

SACEOS education chair, Ong Wee Min, said the partnership with SMTA in Shanghai was a “dipstick” and there would be further development in China.

Lilian Kuan, SACEOS executive director, announced new MOUs to provide professional education to MICE professionals in Kunming have been signed.

Kuan noted: “MOUs have been signed with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Yunnan Sub-Council and the Kunming Exposition Affairs Bureau.”

“SACEOS will be providing PEM (Professional Exhibition Management) education (with continuing education unit credits) for 30 people,” she said. Dates for the programme in fall have not been fixed.

Apart from China, SACEOS president Janet Tan-Collis named Malaysia, Macau, Thailand and India as professional education partners.

“We signed an MoU with MACEOS (Malaysia Association of Convention and Exhibition Organiser and Suppliers) two months ago to conduct a train-the-trainer programme,” she said.

In Singapore, the number of MICE professionals with CMP (Certified Meeting Professional) accreditation has doubled from 15 last year to 30 this year, which Ong notes is the largest concentration outside the US and Australia.

He added: “The focus of SACEOS continues to be professional development. So far we have targeted our members in Singapore for CMP accreditation. Next, we will be reaching out to the hotels and other sectors.

“Our goal for Singapore is to have 100 CMPs by mid-2016,” Ong said, adding it is not an ambitious target.

AN INCREASING number of conferences and incentives are sweeping onto Sri Lanka this year, with around 80 international conferences already in the bag for 2015, up from 62 in 2014.

MICE arrival numbers are also being boosted by a 1,600-pax Philips India conference and incentive in January, said to be Sri Lanka’s single largest event so far.

To further grow the country’s MICE business ­– specifically to increase the MICE component in tourism to 15-20 per cent of total arrivals, up from the current 10 per cent, a trade event targeting planners and travel writers was held last week. The first such initiative by the local authorities, the event was attended by 40 participants from China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia and the Middle East.

Zian Ameen, general manager of Aitken Spence Exhibitions and Conventions and president of Sri Lanka Professional Conference, Exhibition and Events Organisers, said the event’s programme, which included a tour of various sites, helped raised the destination’s visibility.

“We want to target more incentive groups from China,” said Ameen, adding that the MICE travel mart will be held again next year and there are plans to make it an annual affair, with each edition involving a new pool of buyers.

Vipula Wanigasekera, CEO of state-run Sri Lanka Convention Bureau (SLCB) said the MICE industry has experienced a leap forward in the last few years with over 144,000 MICE visitors to the country in 2014, many from the incentive travel segment.

SLCB is due to release its first comprehensive MICE data and analysis on July 20, which Wanigasekera said will provide an understanding of the MICE market and its spending patterns.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is pitching to host the annual general meeting of the French Travel Agents Association SNAV in 2016. The group is 600-strong and normally holds its meetings outside France.

“We have made a bid and are confident that SNAV will respond positively,” said Wanigasekera.

A high-powered team led by tourism minister Navin Dissanayake will attend the IFTM International French travel show on September 29 to further promote the bid.

THE Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) has implemented the new year-long Travel Stimulation Programme from July 1 to boost the development of business tourism in the destination.

Unveiled at the Guangdong & Macau Sales Mission and Destination Presentation, a trade event organised by MGTO in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, the programme provides non-monetary support to organisers of incentives, teambuilding activities or award dinners who have a minimum of 25 non-Macau participants staying at least of two consecutive nights.

Basic support includes free admission to the Wine Museum and Grand Prix Museum, and facilitation in liaison with other relevant Macau SAR Government entities.

Organisers and their delegates can also benefit from complimentary tourist information kit and souvenirs.

In addition, incentive groups of at least 40 non-Macau participants will be eligible for a cultural performance, while those with at least 101 non-Macau participants will be offered for a half-day history tour.

Elisa Ng, director & deputy general manager of Macau-based Top Holidays-P & E International Travel, told TTGmice e-Weekly that the new programme is “very encouraging for organisers as it rewards even small groups”.

She pointed out that the previous programme which ended in June, required organisers to achieve a minimum of 50 people.

Antony E Box, regional director of sales Hong Kong and new markets development with Artyzen Hospitality Group, said: “The incentives offered will motivate foreign MICE organisers to consider Macau. Hotels have become more affordable now, after a period of price adjustments since 4Q2014.”

Rocky Kho, managing director of Skyzone Tours & Travel in Kuala Lumpur, said: “The adjustments in hotel pricing has made the destination more attractive this year and the new travel stimulation programme is an added incentive for Malaysian planners  to consider Macau which is usually perceived to be on the (pricey) side.”