SINGAPORE-BASED Pacific World has signed up 22 staff members in Singapore and the region to take the Convention Industry Council’s Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) training course for international accreditation.

Herve Joseph-Antoine, global managing director, Pacific World, said 13 staff members from its Singapore office and nine from its offices in Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam have enrolled for the programme this year.

“The business events industry is at a turning point and Pacific World has been looking for a solution and a suitable staff development programme since 2012,” said Joseph-Antoine.

“Not only will the CMP training and certification provide our staff with a helicopter view to deliver the needs of our clients, our clients also recognise the value of working with a company whose staff understand and speak the same language.”

SACEOS and PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association) have renewed their partnership for a second consecutive year to provide a train-the-trainer programme in Singapore, offering education and support for those in the region planning to take the CMP exam.

Lilian Kuan, executive director, SACEOS, told the TTGmice e-Weekly that 26 MICE practitioners took the CMP exam in 2014 and eight earned their CMP credentials.

“Singapore now has a total of 30 MICE practitioners with CMP accreditation, and SACEOS is playing a very involved role to help MICE companies professionalise their staff by helping the individual MICE practitioner prepare for and pass the exam in 2015.”

Kuan said the CMP programme costs S$2,300 (US$1,722) per individual, but Singapore-registered companies who meet the terms and conditions of the Productivity Innovation Credit scheme can enjoy a 60 per cent subsidy.

WARMER cross-straits ties have bolstered Taiwan’s MICE industry, where a promising outlook has propelled MICE infrastructure development and investment from international hotel chains.

Latest information from Meet Taiwan has revealed plans to construct brand-new MICE venues in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Taichung, which will be ready for business in the next two years.

Kaohsiung city saw the grand opening of its Kaohsiung Exhibition Center in April 2014, while in Taipei, construction of a second exhibition space for Nangang Exhibition Hall will complete in 2017. The halls will collectively be able to contain 5,000 booths, and the increased capacity will relieve the space crunch confronting major international exhibitions including Computex Taipei.

Meanwhile, construction of Taichung Convention and Exhibition Center – with the capacity to house 3,353 booths and 30,000 visitors – will be wrapped up by 4Q2018.

Prominent local hotels, including W Taipei, Le Méridien Taipei and Humble House Taipei, are expanding their MICE facilities. The Marriott Taipei, featuring an attached international convention centre for 2,000 pax, will commence business in 2Q. Likewise, the Courtyard by Marriott Taipei will open its doors in 2H2015.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts is boosting its presence across the country via the Westin brand in Taoyuan and Taipei, Le Méridien in Hualien and Taichung, and Four Points by Sheraton in Penghu. More international brands are expected to come up in Taiwan.

Taiwan External Trade Development Council executive vice president and Meet Taiwan managing director, Walter Yeh, said Taiwan will welcome 12 international conferences with over 1,000 participants in 2015.

Also, Meet Taiwan will bid to host Rotary International Convention 2021 and 2022 that will involve an estimated 35,000 participants.

Meet Taiwan 2014 assisted 118 firms in conducting corporate meetings and incentive travel in Taiwan, with Greater China as the largest source market.

Corporate clients drawn to Taiwan include renowned firms like Jollibee China, China Perfect, Charle Japan, Colgate-Palmolive Malaysia and Estee Lauder Singapore.

Translated from the original TTG China e-Daily, January 20, 2015 article by Ong Yanchun    

THE China Foreign Trade Centre (Group) and Reed Exhibitions have signed a new strategic alliance agreement for a stronger exhibition events sector.

The agreement will see regular executive meetings, resource sharing, professional talent cultivation, exhibition projects, organisation and venue cooperation between the two organisations.

Reed Exhibitions chairman, Mike Rusbridge, said: “After more than three decades of rapid growth in China, the agreement is a milestone for Reed Exhibitions… and ‘a powerful statement of intent’ between two strong partners with one common goal to continue building world-leading exhibition events in China.

“This new partnership will prove mutually beneficial in the joint projects that we intend to undertake together in China. This alliance will remain instrumental to the modernisation and sustained success of the industry.”

Meanwhile, in May, three mega medical and healthcare industry events – CMEF, API China and PHARM China – organised by Reed Sinopharm – will co-locate for the first time at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai.

CONRAD Maldives is offering Rangali island, one of the two islands it owns, exclusively for the expanding meetings and incentives market.

The adults-only island can accommodate up to 100 delegates for private hire and has 50 upmarket water villas, restaurants and other facilities, including a wine cellar with the largest stock in the country.

Kimberley Roberts, Conrad’s director for marketing and communications, said: “The concept has been designed in an effort to attract high-end groups looking for the ultimate location with the facilities and amenities to cater to the group’s requirements.”

Rangali is connected by a footbridge to Conrad’s main island of Rangalifinolhu, which has over 100 beach villas and is a more family-oriented resort.

“We are giving incentive groups and also socials and weddings the opportunity to completely buy out Rangali Island for their event, incentive, wedding or meeting,” said Roberts.

Viluxur Holidays managing director, Shafraz Fazley, welcomes this addition to a small but growing number of resorts offering incentive and meeting packages in the Maldives, which has been profiled as a honeymoon and high-end destination.

“There is a big demand from companies for meetings and incentives and the Maldives should encourage this segment. At the moment, we are unable to accept many requests for meetings and incentive travel as many resorts are not able to provide such facilities,” said Fazley.

Fazley’s company, which handles 4,000 Chinese visitors per month among other guests, recently handled a group of 300 on a meeting/incentive package.

Among other resorts in the Maldives, Kurumba and Bandos – the oldest – can handle meetings and incentives packages; Shangri-La has a large conference facility in the nearby Gan island, while Lux* Maldives could accommodate 70 to 80 guests in its nightclub if transformed into a meeting place, Fazley said.

WHILE 2015 marks the final year of Taiwan’s three-year pilot MICE industry programme Meet Taiwan, it will witness the birth of the Taiwan Value Go scheme.

Taiwan External Trade Development Council executive vice president and Meet Taiwan managing director, Walter Yeh, said Meet Taiwan aims to develop the country as an important MICE destination in Asia, and the programme had, in the past two years, attended various international MICE events and conducted numerous business trips to China as well as north-east and South-east Asia.

In 2014, Meet Taiwan kickstarted the Asia Super Team, a massive multinational marketing campaign directed at companies in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Companies from these countries battled in a two-stage competition comprising online and in-country components, with the winner was awarded an incentive travel package to Taiwan worth US$50,000.
Following its success, the competition will run again this year, with an expanded market that includes businesses in Thailand and Australia.

Yeh elaborated that 2015’s Meet Taiwan will focus primarily on China, along with other Asian countries, while Taiwan Value Go will feature exhibitions and arts and cultural festivals across Taiwan’s various cities and provinces beyond the two major cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung.

Meet Taiwan will also give out award grants capped at US$100,000 to international corporate conferences with at least 100 participants and which incorporate Taiwan Value Go itineraries into their MICE programme.

Companies with more than 10 participants who extend MICE trips in Taiwan and incorporate featured itineraries into their extended stays may also qualify for grants capped at US$10,000.

Translated by Ong Yanchun from the original TTG-BTmice e-Weekly, January 14, 2015 article

CHINA’S integrated resort company Mission Hills is offering a price discount and additional benefits to meeting planners who submit a request for proposal with sustainability requirements.

Yum Siew Wah, group vice president of hospitality, said depending on the group size or requirement, around a 10 per cent discount for groups with at least 30 people will be offered.

“The MICE group will also be able to take advantage of free sustainable education activities such as visiting the Cultural Heritage Eco Trail and Eco Learning Gallery, and food for the sustainability-related event will be made from organic ingredients,” he said.

Yum said Mission Hills is expecting up to a 20 per cent increase in sustainable MICE events as a result of the innovations the company has put in place since last year, including solar-powered golf carts, water conservation and the establishment of an international scientific climate change research field station at Mission Hills Haikou.

MEETINGS groups holding their events at Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort can participate in CSR programmes which form part of the resort’s ongoing collaboration with a local school.

Delegates can show their support for the Ban Bang Rong primary school in the rural north-east of the island through activities such as planting vegetables in the school garden, painting the toilets and canteen, rearranging the library, and donating educational games and materials to the school.

They can also take part in other projects in the greater Phuket community.

Tony Pedroni, general manager of the resort, said: “The primary school has many ongoing needs. In recent weeks we have made repairs to the drinking water filtration system and have installed a playground for the younger kids.

“Outside of the school however, there are several opportunities to provide much needed island wide community and environmental project support. Ultimately, our aim is to work with clients so that they can give something back to our community in a meaningful way that has a lasting benefit.”

Meanwhile, the 255-key resort has also recently unveiled new meeting facilities, the Similan Ballroom as well as the Tongfah, Tawan and Talay meeting rooms.

SHANGHAI’S meetings industry can only get better following the release of a list of the city’s first Conference Organizers in Compliance with Management & Service Standards of the Meetings Industry on January 5.

The list comprises 13 meetings management and service organisations which have passed the evaluation in compliance with applicable standards.

Additionally, with the approval of Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration, these 13 organisations have obtained the Shanghai Conference Service Standard Organization certificate issued by the MICE Service Standards Technical Committee of Shanghai Tourism Standards Technical Committee.

The committee had initiated the evaluation project last June, and made visits to applicants last september for evaluation.

The 13 conference organisers are MCI Group, Healife PCO, Shanghai Fumed Convention & Exhibition Management, Shanghai China Travel International, East Star Event Management, China CYTS MICE Service, Grand China MICE, Shanghai United Event, The Oppland Corporation, Duxes Business Consulting, Shanghai Topstar International Exhibition & Event Services, Skyway International Business Travel Service, and Shanghai Business International Travel.

Enterprises which intend to apply for evaluation can do so through www.smcss.org.

TTG Events today launched its custom event app on the iTunes and Google Play store to provide event delegates guides to TTG Event’s four MICE and corporate travel tradeshows.

The TTG Events app contains information for IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific, IT&CM China, CTW China and IT&CM India, aimed at simplifying scheduling and information gathering for the delegate.

Information available through the app includes speaker bios, presentations, sponsor listings, social media feeds, and interactive maps.

Separately, TTG Events has confirmed Shanghai Marriott Hotel Parkview as the official venue for the IT&CM China’s opening ceremony and welcome dinner venue. The hotel joins its sister property Marriott Shanghai Changfeng Park as one of its official hotels for 2015.

Situated in Puxi, the 317-unit Shanghai Marriott Hotel Parkview is within 15km from the trade show’s new venue at Shanghai Convention & Exhibition Center of International Sourcing.

IT&CM China 2015 will take place from April 14 to 16.

FOLLOWING the launch of the SmartSTAY hotel programme launched last year, FCM Travel Solutions is strengthening the product with new inventory as parent company Flight Centre Travel Group moves from travel agency to travel retailer.

New additions to the Singapore portfolio include Parkroyal on Pickering, Carlton Hotel, Pan Pacific Singapore and Fairmont Singapore, all of which came on board last year.

Managing director of FCm Travel Solutions Singapore, Suyin Lee, said SmartSTAY was part of the group’s company-wide transformation from travel agency to travel retailer.

She said: “This transformation to become a business travel retailer has seen the group create and source exclusive travel products to ensure our customers get more value from their travel experiences and their travel dollar.

“Travel cost management has always been a priority for businesses but recently there has been a growing emphasis on traveller wellbeing.”

“More companies are recognising that a poor travel experience impacts productivity, and SmartSTAY provides value-added extras that can make a big difference to a traveller’s level of comfort without blowing the budget,” Lee added.

The global added-value accommodation programme entitles corporates year-round access to free hotel extras such as free room upgrades, Wi-Fi, breakfast, car parking, among others.