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.”

CHINA’S proposed law – The Non-Mainland Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) Management Law of the People’s Republic of China – could impact foreign associations wishing to hold meetings in China.

It is in its second reading draft and observers in China did not express concern but are keeping an eye on the progress.

One foreign meeting professional who has been based in China for many years said the draft will have to go through a lot of government discussion before legislation is passed.

Jeffery Huang, deputy secretary-general and associate researcher of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, does not think there will be any negative impact.

However, Kimberly LaBounty, president and founder of US-based association management company, Apex Management and Special Events, expressed concern. She is keen to organise a publishing association conference in Beijing or Shanghai in spring 2017.

The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) – with more than 21,000 individual members and nearly 10,000 industry partners from tax-exempt organisations – believes the draft legislation will make it extremely difficult for US trade associations and professional societies to be active in China.

ASAE president and CEO John Graham, in a letter to the Law Committee of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, said the legislation would significantly impact US and China economic and commercial relations.

He added that major restrictions would be placed on the ability of its association professionals to meet, share knowledge, conduct business, and share best practices with Chinese associations, severly curtailing association programmes in China.

Graham said ASAE was “particularly concerned” with the overly broad definition of NGO, that all foreign NGOs would have to have a government-affiliated sponsor approved by an Industry Supervisory Unit and that “the overall tone of the legislation treats all foreign NGOs as threats to the national security of China”.

While the proposed law has the potential to streamline the process for associations active in China for a long time, the current draft would have major negative implications and ASAE has asked for an opportunity to discuss the issue further.

THE Asian Federation of Exhibition and Convention Associations (AFECA) is partnering the Malaysia Association of Convention and Exhibition Organiser and Suppliers (MACEOS) to jointly launch AEC (ASEAN Economic Community)+ Expo 2015 in Kuala Lumpur from November 11 to 13.

Edward Liu, immediate-past president of AFECA, which marks its 10^th anniversary this year, said AEC+ Expo is the first major AFECA event in a decade.

Supported by Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau, the event will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

It will comprise a one-and-half day conference and an exhibition, and be the launchpad of the inaugural AFECA awards to honour those who have contributed to the success of MICE in Asia.

Liu said Kuala Lumpur was chosen to host the event as Malaysia is the 2015 ASEAN chair and the new event takes place one week before the 27^th ASEAN Summit and related summits in the capital.

The AEC is expected to contribute to freer flow of goods, services and people in ASEAN and the integration framework to remove economic obstacles will be completed on December 21.

Malaysia’s Fairs & Events Management is managing the MICE-focused event and Jonathan Kan, CEO, and the event’s project director, said exhibitors from the 10 ASEAN countries as well as Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, China and India are expected to participate.

Kan, immediate-past MACEOS president, added negotiations are under way with Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia to provide international and regional access to the event.

Liu said: “The event will give AFECA the opportunity to dialogue with the young and to invite hosted buyers.”

“For example, we are talking to IAEE (International Association of Exhibitions and Events) to bring a number of US event organisers to AEC+ Expo,” he noted.

THE recently launched Amara Bangkok Hotel is now courting MICE business with its new Meet & Stay package deal.

Available for half- or full-day meetings with at least 15 delegates and eight room bookings, the package is priced at 4,100 baht (US$121) for single occupancy in a Deluxe Room or 5,500 baht for double occupancy.

Accommodation includes a welcome drink and buffet breakfast, free use of the hotel’s gym and pool, two pieces of laundry per day, and free Wi-Fi and mini bar upon day of arrival.

The full-day option comes with two coffee breaks and one coffee break for the half-day package. Delegates will get a taste of Singapore at breaks when the hotel serves up Singapore snacks like satay and chee cheong fun. Set lunches will be provided for all delegates, or as a buffet lunch for groups of at least 30 people.

The package is available until September 30, 2015. Prices are subject to taxes and service charge.

Amara Bangkok Hotel is the Singapore-owned Amara Hotels & Resorts’ first hotel in the Thai capital, opened in March.

TWO new national MICE entities are set to make their first appearances at this year’s IT&CM Asia (IT&CMA) in Bangkok.

Berlin Tourismus & Kongress follows its inaugural appearance at IT&CM China in Shanghai earlier this year with a presence in Bangkok this September.

Ralf Ostendorf, director market management of Berlin Tourismus & Kongress, said: “VisitBerlin has intensified marketing activities in Asia for the past years to develop new incoming markets for tourism to Berlin.”

“We believe that IT&CMA is a well-positioned platform for us to learn more about the MICE industry in Asia-Pacific and nurture our popularity in the region.”

Likewise, Dubai Business Events will also be joining IT&CMA for the first time this year. Senior manager – sales and convention services, Katrina Lance, said: “The Asia-Pacific market represents 30% of the generated MICE leads for Dubai. This is a growing market, benefiting from the growing economics that various Asian countries have been experiencing.”

This year’s edition of IT&CMA 2015 will also see the debut of six Swiss entities: Arosa Kulm; Destination Davos Klosters; Geneva Tourism & Convention; Lausanne; Montreux Riviera – Lake Geneva; Lucerne Convention Bureau; and Zurich Tourism.

IT&CMA 2015 will run at the Bangkok Convention Centre at CentralWorld as always, between September 29 and October 1 this year. It runs alongside CTW Asia-Pacific.

CANBERRA Convention Bureau has named Michael Matthews as its new CEO, effective October 1, 2015.

Matthews is currently the executive director of Meetings and Conventions PEI, where he is responsible for marketing, sales and product development for the province of Prince Edward Island in Canada.

The Australian national has spent the last 14 years in sales, operations and destination marketing roles in the Canadian market.

THAILAND Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) is intensifying its promotions in the Philippines, a key source market that is bouncing back after Thailand’s year of political instability.

TCEB acting director Nooch Homrossukhon commented that 80 per cent of MICE from the Philippines are incentive groups. “We’re expecting not bigger events but bigger number of events of 50 to 150 pax per event,” she said.

The Philippines was Thailand’s ninth biggest market with 25,553 pax during the fiscal year October 2012 to September 2013, TCEB’s peak year.

Though it rose to sixth place in the following fiscal year, numbers more than halved to 11,197 pax due to Thailand’s political troubles. After the dramatic drop in FY 2014, the Philippines is showing significant improvement with 19,447 pax in the first half of the fiscal year October 2014 to March 2015, said TCEB acting director Nooch Homrossukhon.

Nooch explained that many companies that held back their MICE events during Thailand’s period of instability will likely return over the rest of the year, crediting social media and word of mouth for the return of MICE traffic.

TCEB unveiled its Thailand – Connect The World scheme offering financial subsidies and spiced up privileges and discounts, among others, for MICE groups at its roadshow in the Philippines earlier this month.

To ease safety concerns, TCEB has also spoken to meeting organisers to reassure them that the CVB has contingency plans in place.

LOVE it or hate it, technology is making an impact on the travel management industry and Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s (CWT) latest report has identified the top five trends that are affecting managed travel today, including mobile technology and the sharing economy.

Titled Faster, smarter, better? Emerging technologies and trends and their impact on managed travel, the study evaluated over 15 different industry trends and technologies with feedback from travel managers and travellers.

CWT found that travel managers are open to new technologies and the majority of travel managers surveyed who rated the impact of new technologies and trends moderate to high also have firm plans to expand programmes to work new technologies into their operations or are actively considering their options.

The trend thought to have the most impact on managed travel is mobile technology, which includes wearables, seamless multi-channel access across devices, apps, and location based services. There is therefore a need for a clear mobile policy to steer travellers towards using approved apps and solutions and address data safety concerns.

The second is a trend towards more customization in services, driven by Big Data, social media and IATA’s new distribution capability for airline inventory.

Peer-to-peer services such as Airbnb and Uber are also creating specialised products for the managed travel market to address safety concerns and expense management issues in particular.

Travel managers have also shown interest in fare- and rate-tracking technology enabling their programmes to generate more savings, as well as technology-based, proactive rebooking services for employees who face trip disruptions.

New payment solutions that simplify processes, reinforce policy compliance and protect against fraud are also very welcome.

CWT’s study spanned December 2014 to May 2015 and involved more than 65 travel management experts from companies, business travel associations, travel management companies, technology and solutions providers, travel suppliers, trade media and consultants.

It also took into account a detailed online survey that polled 1,080 from four global companies and a similar survey involving 127 travel managers worldwide.

TWO heads are better than one, goes the adage, and BCD Meetings & Events is taking that advice to heart with the merger of its two operational units.

The company issued a statement yesterday to announce that its two operational arms BCD M&I and BCD Travel Group have been merged to form a single entity with more than 700 employees and operations in more than 40 countries.

The integration builds on existing collaborations and eliminates duplication in some products and services for more streamlined service delivery, better leverage with suppliers and a larger pool of meeting and event experts.

Former BCD M&I global president Scott Graf heads up the new incarnation, BCD Meetings & Events.

He said in the statement: “The time was right to integrate these two operational units. While we found great success in meeting market needs with separate meetings and group travel organisations, the new configuration positions us better for future growth and scalability.

“The meetings and events business is booming around the world, and our shareholder is committed to seeking out investment opportunities in the meetings and events space. The new brand positions us for growth,” Graf commented.