Want your delegates or winners to take a taste of Cambodia home with them and earn good karma while doing so? Here’s the answer – Feel Good Cooking School, helmed by the young and energetic Sovannara “Nara” Thuon.
Participants are picked up by tuk tuk and taken to the Feel Good Café in Phnom Penh, where the school is located, to enjoy a fragrant cup of coffee brewed from beans that have been roasted locally. Then it’s a three-minute walk to a buzzing local market to pick up groceries for the lesson. Nara leads guests on a journey guaranteed to tingle the senses – suck tart guava-like fruit, dip your fingers in freshly squeezed coconut milk, and enjoy the refreshing scent of kaffir lime.
Participants haul supplies back to the sparkling kitchen of Feel Good Cooking School and get down to business – the creation of one appetiser, one salad, a main dish, and a dessert, with guidance from Nara’s capable hands.
The menu includes but is not limited to chicken sausages wrapped in banana flower petals, mango salad with dried shrimp and dried fish, pumpkin custard, and the Khmer cuisine signature fish amok.
The lesson is wrapped up with a sit-down meal for participants to relish, literally, their new-found culinary prowess! Printed cook books containing recipes to all dishes offered at the school are given to participants.
Feel Good Cooking School opened in April 2014 as the latest initiative under the Feel Good social enterprise seeking to train and empower Khmer youth. It has welcomed a couple of small corporate groups and is set up for classes of up to 12. Book one week in advance.
Contact nara@feelgoodcafe.com for reservations and customised programmes.
Communications company Enzo Global has to divert the media’s attention from unexpected news of Malaysia Airlines’ missing light and keep them focused on the conference, writes S Puvaneswary
Routes Asia 2014, owned by UBM Information from the UK, was held for the first time in Kuching, Sarawak in March. It was an important event for co-hosts Ministry of Tourism Sarawak and Malaysia Airports Holdings, which both wanted to leverage on the presence of delegates from the aviation industry to introduce Sarawak and attract more foreign airlines to fly to the destination.
Thus, Enzo Global, a strategic communications company, was engaged about 10 weeks prior to the start of Routes Asia 2014, to drum up media publicity and create more awareness of the attractions of Sarawak and its state capital, Kuching. It was also tasked to generate news and business articles of interest to those in the aviation industry.
Justin Santiago, director of Enzo Global, recalled: “We developed a communications strategy leading up to this annual conference. This included writing the website content on Sarawak for conference delegates, and thought leadership articles to promote Sarawak. Many of the articles were released in stages prior to the event.
“The articles we wrote were first vetted by the Ministry of Tourism, which in turn forwarded them to the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Communications Sarawak before disseminating them to the local and foreign media.
“One of the challenges we faced was that we had no contact person within the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Communications to inform us of the dates the releases were sent out. On one or two occasions, we noticed the releases were only picked up by the foreign media, so we had to sent them out ourselves to Bernama, the Malaysian national news agency. Thankfully, the rest of the local media picked up the articles.”
Santiago added that an important lesson learnt from this undertaking is that if there has to be an intermediary between the company and the press, in this case, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Communications, there also has to be a specific contact person for the company to liaise with for better workflow and maximum media reach.
Then, adding to the challenges, unfortunately, was the reported disappearance of Malaysia Airlines’ Beijing-bound flight MH370 just a day prior to the start of the event.
Santiago said: “We needed the media to stay focused on the conference and the key messages given by the Minister of Tourism, Abdul Rahman Zohari Openg, at the press meeting. Therefore, we had to brief the media in advance, to keep questions related to the event.
We also released our remaining stock of thought leadership articles during the event so that the attention on Sarawak would not be drowned out by news on the disappearance of flight MH370.”
Additionally, Enzo Global helped the media write summaries on conference sessions, especially those related to the destination. It also penned articles highlighting places of interest in Sarawak, then disseminated the articles to the foreign media representatives who were interested in writing features on the destination.
Owing largely to Enzo Global’s efforts, there was a lot of positive media coverage on Routes 2014 as well as on Sarawak from both the local and international media. According to Santiago, Routes Asia 2014 managed to garner 108 clippings in print, online and television coverage.
The intimidating incentive group size of 2,000 participants has M.I.C.E Matters tackling logistical issues – from flight to accommodation to tour arrangements – effectively with creativity and sound planning, writes Paige Lee Pei Qi
Organising an incentive trip often necessarily entails challenges, but when it is to be planned for a group as large as 2,000 participants, the task can seem a tad overwhelming.
Event organiser M.I.C.E Matters was called to such a task in February, when Nu Skin Southeast Asia decided to send 2,000 sales leaders to Istanbul, Turkey as a reward for having achieved the company’s Go Double Double target this year.
Hailing the 4D3N trip as the largest ever from Nu Skin Southeast Asia and the largest ever from South-east Asia to Istanbul, M.I.C.E Matters director, Melvyn Nonis, admitted the group size did pose logistical challenges when planning for transportation, accommodation and tour activities.
The team first designed and implemented a customised e-registration system to meet the requirements of the event. This helped accommodate last-minute changes, facilitating constant updating of information in the system.
Then, obviously, the large group had to be divided for separate flights over two days, the arrival times of which posed a problem. Nonis said: “As most flights are red-eye flights arriving early in the morning into Istanbul, the hotels are not ready for check-in yet.”
Plans therefore had to be made for the tour and lunch before the hotel check-in was possible. To cater to the diverse nationalities of participants, tour guides were hired to conduct the tour in five respective languages – English, Bahasa Indonesia, Thai, Vietnamese and Mandarin – along with 60 coach buses.
Accommodation wise, it was impossible for all to be housed in one hotel. Hence, bookings were made in advance with three hotels: Hilton Istanbul, Grand Hyatt and InterContinental Istanbul, and all strategically within close proximity to the Istanbul Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) where the gala dinner was to take place.
The final hurdle was the execution of the group photo-taking at ICEC, which was impressively completed in an hour. Applauding this achievement, Nonis explained it was not likely for all to be photographed in a conventional setting, but a creative solution was hatched.
“We had to arrange for all participants to be in the picture, so we prepared 2,000 markings on the ground prior to the session for each of them to stand on. We marked out a star formation and even used a 70m crane for the photo-taking,” he added.
Evita Singson, regional vice president for sales, Pacific & South-east Asia, Nu Skin, said: “Istanbul is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for many of our sales leaders and we managed to overcome the challenge of taking such a big group there, allowing them to truly enjoy the city.”
A ratio system helps Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre to determine the amount of food needed for each event
Rising global food demand and waste is stressing the Earth. With the extent of F&B featured in business events, venues in Asia are doing their part to minimise impact on the environment, writes Karen Yue
As any good, hospitable host will ensure his guests are well entertained and nourished, business event organisers spend considerable effort developing strong content that educates attendees and opens new business avenues for them, as well as on how they are fed during welcome receptions, refreshment breaks in between meetings, networking cocktails and closing dinner galas.
In Asia, where it is customary to demonstrate hospitality with an overflowing supply of good food, the amount of food consumed and wasted should give pause to event organisers and venue operators especially at a time when satisfying global food demand has become one of the biggest environmental threats.
Environmental experts have blamed agriculture for being the biggest cause of global warming, due to the massive volume of greenhouse gases emitted by cattle and farmland, and through the clearing of land for farming. Farms also consume a lot of water while fertilisers pollute water systems.
Agriculture’s impact on the environment is bound to intensify with the growing need for food. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) projects that, under current production and consumption trends, global food production must increase 60 per cent by 2050 in order to meet the demands of the growing world population.
More events equals more food?
Considering how several dining activities are featured at business events, which are on the rise at major venues in Asia, is the MICE industry adding to this environmental woe?
According to Kevin Teng, executive director of sustainability at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, there is a direct correlation between the amount of food prepared and business volume. While the integrated resort is unable to provide quantitative information on the extent of food consumed at business events held there, Teng said all team member dining rooms serve up to 7,000 meals daily.
Just how much goes into the belly?
A post-event sustainability report prepared by MCI Headquarters and Marina Bay Sands for the 500-pax Responsible Business Forum on Sustainable Development last year, found that the event had generated 215kg of food waste.
“Food waste is one of the highest streams of solid waste for events,” declared Roger Simons, group sustainability manager of MCI Headquarters, Asia Pacific.
“Events can produce a significant amount of food waste simply by their scale. A 6,000-pax congress (with a no-show of) 20 per cent for an evening function results in 1,200 meals being wasted.”
Chucking food is a crying shame at a time when food demand is high but not equally distributed globally, causing some nations to starve. Food disposal is also cause for concern because it generates methane emissions, which also contributes to global warming, warned FAO.
Fortunately, some venues have told TTGmice that a large portion of food prepared for business events goes into the bellies of delegates.
At the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, 95 per cent of food prepared for an event is consumed, while the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre reports that the consumption rate is 90 per cent.
To minimise food wastage during events, venues have developed ways to calculate how much food is needed.
Chen Soo Yoong, director of facilities at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, said: “We have a formula to calculate the amount of food required for a particular event. This formula has been enhanced over the years based on our experience and the consumption rate for a variety of events held here.”
Marc van der Meer, director of food & beverage at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, said his venue uses a specific ratio system that is “based on the number of people being served, the type of event and the menu items ordered”.
Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel actively tracks food wastage from each event, compares that with its food requirement estimates and makes adjustments, if necessary, for future events.
Meanwhile, Marina Bay Sands has spent the past 12 months developing a food waste tracking system “to monitor each meal option served and the waste generated in our team member dining rooms. With this tracking system, we are not only able to actively reduce food costs but also overall wastage”, revealed Teng.
Internal push
All the venues TTGmice spoke to said they are committed to sustainable practices and have procedures to follow and goals to meet.
Ross Grinter, hotel manager of Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel, said: “Sustainability is a key goal of all Starwood hotels as we want to ensure our business is run in an environmentally responsible manner that is integrated with the local community. We have aggressive goals as an organisation to meet this objective, and accordingly, our management team gives a great deal of focus to both reducing energy consumption from our daily operations and minimising food wastage.”
The hotel manages food waste by directing excess food that has not yet left the kitchen to the internal staff canteen and by composting leftovers.
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre has an employee Environmental Taskforce dedicated to enhancing sustainability initiatives, which include looking at ways to reduce food waste. “We were the first convention centre in the world to be awarded a six-star Green Star environment rating, something we work hard to maintain,” said van der Meer.
Reducing waste in general is a priority for Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. “To cut down on food waste, the venue practises bookshelf cooking, whereby nonperishable items are pre-cooked and stored to be made à la minute. This keeps food fresh and reduces (over-production). Where possible, non-exposed food prepared for events but not consumed are served in the staff canteen while nonperishable (meat) is used for stock,” explained Chen.
On top of that, the centre has a licensed contractor who collects waste and turns food waste into fish food for local fish farms. These combined efforts have allowed the centre to reduce its annual food waste from 69 tonnes in 2010 to 37 tonnes last year, said Chen.
Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel produces a meetings impact report for all its event clients
At Marina Bay Sands, the first MICE facility in South-east Asia to obtain the ISO 20121 Sustainable Events Management System certification, employees are educated on ways to manage food waste.
Teng said: “We continually run food waste awareness programmes such as monthly clean plate activities in the team dining room. Team members are reminded and encouraged to take only the required amount per serving.”
Marina Bay Sands also transfers unconsumed food prepared for buffet lines to executive team dining rooms and channel subsequent food waste to a processor that decomposes and breaks down such waste into clear reusable water that is then pumped into the public waste water system. As of October this year, the system had converted up to seven tonnes of food waste to water, Teng said.
MCI Headquarters believes that venues with strong sustainability policies have an advantage in winning over event clients.
Simons said: “(We) have definitely seen a rise in corporate clients requesting for venues and suppliers with solid sustainability practices. Brands like Schneider, BASF, Oracle, Symantec and Intel are making it a strong requirement and many feature sustainability as a core part of their event programme.
“There is no denying that the trend is led by North America and Europe, but we are seeing global companies making commitments to responsible business wherever they are.”
Charitable solutions
Another way of minimising food waste is to direct surplus food to charities.
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre has been working with community food programme SecondBite for the past six years and OzHarvest since January 2014. Surplus food suitable for donation is kept refrigerated while collection arrangements with the charities are made. Donation amounts vary according to the events being held at the centre.
Non-profit organisation Food from the Heart receives unconsumed bread from Marina Bay Sands’ buffet lines. According to the property’s spokesperson, Val Chua, some 2,400 pieces of bread are donated per month to the charity. Event clients are also encouraged to take part in this bread donation exercise.
Presently, Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng Hotel is “exploring options to partner with charities”, said Grinter.
Reaching out to clients
Venues are working closely with event clients to achieve smarter food management, by advising them on F&B requirements and providing options to manage unconsumed food responsibly.
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, for instance, can arrange for leftovers brought in by event visitors to be donated to one of its charities.
Marina Bay Sands’ ECO360° meeting packages offer planners the option to achieve waste targets for their events. Planners can also pick sustainably sourced F&B options from the Harvest Menu. An even more valuable option for planners comes in the form of the Sands ECO360°Event Impact Statement, a post-event report that consolidates sustainable event metrics such as energy and water consumption, recycling rate and carbon emissions.
Chen observed that “clients in general are willing to listen and act on our advice and expertise”.
MCI Headquarters can also produce post-event reports for its clients.
“We’re encouraging as many clients as possible to be transparent about their event’s impact. As you can imagine there is a fair amount of time and resource required in engaging suppliers, tracking the relevant data and then calculating and presenting the information in an engaging manner, so not all clients want to head down this path,” said Simons.
HEADQUARTERED in Vienna, DMC Pegasus – The Welcoming Agencies is promoting the region of Bavaria, Tirol, and Salzburg to South-east Asian MICE groups looking for a different experience of Europe.
Marketed as an alliance called Jewels of Romantic Europe, the region may not excite the first-time MICE visitor to Europe, said Renate Forte, managing director of Pegasus.
But the English-speaking region is 20-30 per cent cheaper than major European capitals and is easily accessible through Munich and Vienna, said Forte. It also offers one incentive experience high on the wishlist of South-east Asians.
“There is snow throughout the year at Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain about 90 minutes south of Munich, and snow activities can be organised for incentive groups even in summer,” she said.
“Incentive also groups have the option to use Munich, Vienna, Salzburg, or Innsbruck as the base and make day trips to places of interest in the region.”
Pegasus sees Indonesia as a new market with good potential.
Florian Pötsch, business division-aviation, head of travel industry and hub marketing, Munich Airport, said companies such as Prudential and Great Eastern Life from Singapore, and Thai conglomerate PTT, have chosen the region for mid-size incentive groups of 700 to 1,000-plus people.
“Löwenbräukeller (a venue offering a Bavarian cultural and dining experience) for example, which has a ballroom for up to 2,000 people, can offer halal food and Indian cuisine,” he said. “The Jewels of Romantic Europe website, with partner and destination information, is also available in Thai, Bahasa Indonesia, and Malay.”
MCI France has strengthened its creative client services through a merger with Yves Hunt, a former subsidiary of the Awak’iT Group.
MCI has a global network of 57 offices in 30 countries while Yves Hunt designs concepts and events in the healthcare and life sciences, automotive, FMCG, and financial sectors.
“Combining Yves Hunt’s dynamism with the MCI Group’s impressive global presence and best practices will allow us to embrace new challenges and gain experience in new markets,” said Antoine Alexandre and Arnaud Chouraki, who will now lead MCI France’s meetings and events division.
“MCI France’s impressive growth over the last few years is in line with the strategic vision of the MCI Group, and acquisitions to incorporate additional creative capacity to better engage our clients’ target audiences play a key role in this growth plan,” said Philippe Fournier, president of MCI France.
SEEKING to secure the next generation of talent for the conference and exhibitions industry, Singapore’s SACEOS has inked an MoU with Republic Polytechnic to collaborate on two major initiatives.
Seto Lok Yin, deputy principal (industry services), Republic Polytechnic, said: “WE are collaborating with SACEOS on Inspire 360 for our diploma in integrated events (DIEM) students to be groomed and mentored by key industry partners. Through such industry exposure in real work setings, they will be ready to contribute to the dynamic MICE and events industry upon graduation.”
The first of two initiatives, Inspire 360 is a structured mentorship programme for a pilot group of 10 second-year DIEM students who will be matched with mentoring companies based on their aspirations. Mentoring companies will guide and involve the students in real work to give them on-the-job training and experience.
Students in the Inspire 360 programme will also intern with the company in their third year for six months, and could be offered a full-time position upon graduation if they perform well.
Inspire 360 will begin on January 1, 2015.
The second initiative will see SACEOS’ Professional Conference Management and Professional Exhibition Management certifications become part of the school curriculum to increase students’ future employability.
Neeta Lachmandas, assistant chief executive of Singapore Tourism Board, said: “Inspire 360 and the certifications will enable both the students and lecturers to deepen their level of expertise on delivering high-quality experiences and events.
“This is in line with MICEHQ.SG, one of the key thrusts of the MICE 2020 Roadmap, which looks at building Singapore’s strength as a MICE destination and sustaining Singapore’s leadership position for the future.”
DEFYING the pall cast over Thailand’s MICE scene due to political unrest this year, Bangkok-based Events Travel Asia (ETA) is expanding its business and opening offices in Singapore and Hong Kong to gain greater market share.
At the helm of ETA is group managing director Max Jantasuwan, an events and hospitality professional with over 14 years of experience.
“The opening of our Hong Kong and Singapore offices were earlier than expected, and it is with thanks to the market demand and unceasing support of our clients, associates, and industry colleagues that motivated us to take this bold step just after 18 months of starting ETA,” said Jantasuwan.
In response to the political situation at home, ETA has looked beyond Thailand for business. The company has seen a 6,500-pax delegation from Herbalife hold an event in Macau in September, and recently held an 80-delegate Golf tournament in Taiwan last month. This is in addition to the more than 90 groups that the company managed in Thailand in 2014.
Max will be spending his time between the Thailand head office and Hong Kong and Singapore offices. He said: “With the new offices, my team and I can spend more time and build a stronger rapport with our Hong Kong- and Singapore-based clients.”
JW Marriot Hotel Hong Kong has introduced an Executive Meeting Suite package that is catered towards organisers of smaller scale business events.
The meeting suites in the package are able to accommodate up to 18 persons boardroom style and has natural light streaming in.
Prices start from HK$5,000 (US$644.90) for booking a meeting room inclusive of Internet access and LCD projector with screen for four hours and HK$8,000 for eight hours, lunch and refreshments are available as an additional request with extra charges.
The hotel is currently offering special room rates until December 31 2014.
A polished urban retreat designed for business travellers, Hyatt Regency Kuala Lumpur at KL Midtown combines thoughtful design, seamless service, and exceptional facilities.
The five-star property excels in backing its expansive facilities with seamless service and personalised attention, setting the benchmark for luxury in Bangkok.
Want your delegates or winners to take a taste of Cambodia home with them and earn good karma while doing so? Here’s the answer – Feel Good Cooking School, helmed by the young and energetic Sovannara “Nara” Thuon.
