Sunway International Hotels & Resorts has appointed Lucia Franziska as general manager of Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat Ipoh. Franziska brings with her over 30 years of experience in a range of positions and institutions within the hospitality industry.
Tate Husband has moved from Swissôtel Grand Shanghai to Fairmont Jakarta, taking on the role of director of sales and marketing.
Destination Asia Indonesia has named Alysia Gilligan senior MICE manager, based in Bali. Gilligan has spent the last decade in the Middle East conceptualising and coordinating regional and international level projects, conferences, VIP events, incentives, gala dinners and press launches with multinational firms as clients.
Giulio D’Alberto, formerly on the pre-opening task force for GHM development projects, is now general manager of The Chedi Sakala, Bali.
Alain Bachmann is releasing his post as general manager of Chedi Andermatt, Switzerland to take up the same position at The Chedi Club Tanah Gajah, Ubud, Bali. His managerial experience covers stints at the Peninsula Chicago, the Mandarin Oriental Washington D.C., and the Ritz-Carlton Moscow.
Bernard Rodrigues is now general manager of New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel. Prior to this, Rodrigues headed The Charterhouse Causeway Bay Hong Kong. He has more than 29 years of hospitality experience across Asia.
Michael Murphy is now general manager of Six Senses Qing Cheng Mountain, scheduled to open in early 2015. He was recently general manager of the pre-opening team for Howard Johnson Hi-Tech Plaza Chengdu.
Edwina San has joined Park Hyatt Melbourne as director of sales & marketing. San was last with the Melbourne Convention Bureau, where she held the position of general manager commercial partnerships for seven years.
Clark’s fun surroundings and host city status for APEC 2015 will up its appeal as a MICE destination but access must improve, writes Marianne Carandang
Clark, a freeport zone in Central Luzon, about 90km north of Manila, has set its sights on international business events, counting on the region’s cultural heritage within the Pampanga region, and its relatively short distance from the beach and adventure attractions of
Subic, which already enjoys visibility as a MICE destination on its own.
However, Ronnie Tiotuico, regional director for Central Luzon with the Department of Tourism, admitted that “Clark cannot be a stand-alone destination on its own”.
Clark’s positioning, Tiotuico noted, becomes stronger when viewed as a “single” destination in conjunction with nearby Subic which has a convention facility of its own, the 12,000m2 Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Centre (SBECC) and a plethora of outdoor sports activities and natural parks.
Besides hosting this year’s edition of the Philippine MICE Conference in June, an event that drew about 500 trade participants, including international buyers, Clark is also starting to work closely with associations. According to Tiotuico, the destination has won two upcoming conventions – the Mother Butler Guild National Convention from November 7 to 9, 2014 at the Hotel Stotsenberg, which aims for 1,500 delegates, and the 40th Kiwanis International Asia Pacific Convention, which is expected to welcome 1,300 delegates from March 5 to 7 next year at Fontana Convention Center.
In 2015, the city will host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit.
To publicise the array of MICE venues in Clark and its surrounding region, Tiotuico’s office launched the Central Luzon Convention Planners Guide in March. In Clark, properties that can support business events include Holiday Inn Clark, Lewis Grand Hotel, Grand Palazzo Royale and Widus Hotel & Casino.
Conversations between TTGmice and representatives at SMX Convention Specialists Corp (SMXCC) in 2012 and 2014 revealed that an SMX Convention Centre, or at least a smaller trade hall facility at the nearby SM Clark mall, was under serious consideration. In June, SMXCC vice president and general manager, Dexter Deyto, confirmed that a convention facility remained in the works.
Meanwhile, parent company SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation is going ahead with plans to open a 150-key Park Inn by Radisson hotel in 2016.
On the access front, the destination is supported by Clark International Airport which services airlines such as Jin Air, Asiana Airlines, Dragonair and Qatar Airways. Arrivals through this gateway grew 71 per cent from 2011 to 2012, to reach 1,315,757 passengers.
In August this year, the Aquino presidential administration revived a US$400 million, 80km railway proposal aiming to link Ninoy Aquino International Airport to Clark, a project which stalled in 2012. If this had gone ahead as planned two years ago, it would have boosted the destination immediately.
Doubts over the project’s status almost certainly had an effect on Clark’s tourism and MICE prospects in the short-run. In 2013 arrivals declined 8.8 per cent to 1,200,592, when carrier pullouts began in earnest, starting with Airphil Express (February 2013) and Philippines AirAsia (September 2013).
While AirAsia is resuming flights between Kuala Lumpur and Clark on October 17, it is a far cry from the ambitious operations initially promised by AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes.
Meanwhile, Cebu Pacific, which operates flights to Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau, ran a short-lived service to Shanghai in end-2013.
Emirates’ attempt to mount daily flights between Clark and Dubai – a launched October 1, 2013, – likewise ended in May this year because of “intense competition” and jet fuel excise taxes, the carrier stated.
Despite these setbacks, Clark is still viewed as an intermediate destination, particularly for incentive travellers visiting northern Luzon from Manila, said Anna dela Cruz, account officer of Annset Holidays, who has brought incentive groups of 70 to 80 pax to Clark on the way to Baguio and Sagada.
Mitch Ballesteros, chief marketing officer at Ex-Link Events, recommends convention activities of up to 400 pax in Clark.
“I can see an ASEAN business conference being held here, or Rotary International events, because of the proximity of the airport and the absence of traffic,” she said.
While Gilda Padua, who operates two travel companies and is president of the Greater Clark Visitors Bureau, is planning to promote nearby Angeles as a destination, so as to strengthen Clark’s tourism appeal, she admitted that it would be a tough run.
“(Clark has) small convention facilities but there are still some components missing in the area,” commented Padua. She is working with a small but growing base of inbound tour operators and is sourcing for guides and licensed tour buses from Manila.
On the upside, however, Padua said short-stay MICE visitors could take half a day to play golf in Clark, either before or after business meetings, or be brought to neighbouring Subic for a day of post-event leisure activities or overnight stays.
She is also optimistic that Fontana Leisure Parks and Casino’s 200-million peso investment into expanding the Fontana Convention Center will grow Clark’s current capacity from 500 to 1,000 pax, in time for some of the initial APEC 2015 events in January and February.
Start the day of sight-seeing with a tour of Clark’s historical landmarks.
First stop, Clark Museum where well-preserved military artifacts dating back to World War II are on display. Appreciate Clark’s past as a military base under Japanese occupation.
After that, drive past the wide open Clark Parade Grounds, where many old-fashioned post-war homes have been converted into restaurants and corporate offices, as well as the sprawling Air Force City grounds, which displays old fighter jets no longer in use.
As lunch hour beckons, make a stop at Camalig Restaurant in downtown Angeles and indulge in Pampanga’s rich specialties which include pork sisig, stuffed frog, deep fried crickets and morcon.
Later, get onto the pristine highways of the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and enjoy a 45-minute drive into the port town of Subic, landmarked by high trees. Keep an eye out – and perhaps a camera ready too – for bats and monkeys that trail along the roads.
Continue onwards into the Subic Bay Metropolitan Area and walk down the waterfront, which has a lighthouse and great views of a yacht marina.
Spend the rest of the afternoon at the Zoobic Safari or watch dolphins perform to music and jump through hoops at Ocean Adventure.
The 119-keys Widus Resort and Casino in Angeles, Clark has completed an initial phase of guestroom and meeting room expansion. Works included the addition of a second hotel tower with 114 rooms in November 2013.
The hotel’s lobby was also renovated, while a new 120-seat dining room/function area was added in the casino.
By the end of this year, the property will debut a new casino.
The Greater Clark Visitors Bureau will soon launch a shuttle bus service connecting various business hotels in the Clark area to Metro Manila.
This will complement an existing Airport Lounge service in Trinoma Mall in Quezon City, which brings airport passengers to Clark. The Airport Lounge runs a thrice daily service from Trinoma Mall in Quezon City, and four services a day from Clark to Trinoma.
Kamana Sanctuary Resort and Spa has 48 beachfront rooms and over-water cottages overlooking Subic’s deep water bay, making it an ideal destination for incentive trips. Its location in the Nabasan Beach/Ilanin Forest district allows guests to easily partake in jet-ski and wreck dive activities, as well as hikes through Subic’s virgin forests.
Other facilities at the hotel include a restaurant with a well-stocked cellar, a function room for more than 100 people and a spa.
Visit www.kamanasanctuary.com for more information.
Clark International Airport in the Clark Freeport Zone recently completed a 417 million Philippine peso (US$9.6 million) expansion of its existing passenger terminal, which has expanded from 8,587m² to 18,573m².
The larger terminal now offers 34 check-in terminal counters and 24 immigration counters, and boasts increased baggage and passenger handling capacity. It can now tackle five million passengers annually, up from 2.5 million pre-expansion.
A new budget terminal is also underway, which will further expand airport capacity to 10 million per annum.
Hangzhou is hungry for MICE and the Hangzhou Tourism Promotion Centre (HTPC), which set up a MICE department in 2009 and China’s first MICE Association with more than 100 members from all sectors of the industry in 2010, wants to up the ante.
New high-end hotels in the CBD and resorts set amid tea plantations and forests is giving the city new breadth of accommodation options.
To boost MICE, Hangzhou has launched an ambassador’s programme to attract international meetings and conventions in industries the governments is targeting.
At a recent industry roundtable discussion co-presented by Starwood Hotels and Resorts and TTGmice, and held at the Sheraton Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort, Roger Shu, MICE manager, MICE Department of HTPC, said steps are being taken to add a second brand, the Hangzhou MICE Promotion Center (HMPC) which will act like a convention and exhibition bureau (CVB) to ensure the destination does not lose its number three ranking in China, especially to rival Nanjing.
Hangzhou also wants to be more appealing to international source markets and the message it wants to send is that China comprises not only Beijing and Shanghai.
In ICCA’s 2013 ranking of Chinese cities for international association meetings, Beijing takes top spot with 105 meetings, followed by Shanghai with 72. In joint third position with 17 meetings each are Hangzhou and Nanjing, and Hangzhou is determined to outpace its rival.
Roundtable attendees from the airline and hotel sectors agreed the creation of HMPC will benefit the destination.
Shu noted: “Hangzhou welcomed 10,000 delegates in 2013 and our target is to reach 25 international association meetings with more than 500 people each, in three years’ time.
“HTPC bid for 50 international association meetings this year and clinched three. With the HMPC, Hangzhou will be in a stronger position to influence decision-makers to hold association meetings (here) and to attract regional association meetings and incentive business.”
Shu hopes the HMPC will be ready by 2015. Meanwhile, a system to collate MICE data is also being set up.
While MICE group extensions from Shanghai, only about 90 minutes away by car and is served by several daily train services, are important, Hangzhou is eyeing more direct business.
With the support of HTPC’s MICE Department and the MICE Association, Hangzhou has been ramping up its promotions by launching media familiarisation trips with hotel groups, and trade familiarisation trips with scheduled table-top appointments for buyers from national associations, among others.
Air France KLM, as the first international carrier to launch direct flights from Amsterdam to Hangzhou in 2010, has also organised a familiarisation trip for European buyers.
Today, Hangzhou is served by 20 airlines, with 12 offering direct flights to several major Asian cities.
Tina Zhou, director of sales, Sheraton Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort, said: “Before the hotel opened in 2011, we invited 20 buyers from Beijing for a familiarisation trip. In 2013 we organised a MICE event for 300 trade professionals to showcase the hotel’s new meeting space (and) promote the wetland park for MICE activities (including teambuilding).”
Jackson Wang, deputy managing director, Hangzhou New China Travel Service, which has expanded into MICE, said incentive groups tend to stay three to four nights and the company is trying to encourage longer stays by combining the city’s classic and modern elements, its water heritage, and slower pace compared to other big Chinese cities.
Wang explained: “Hangzhou is an important tea centre and MICE groups can visit tea plantations and learn more about Hangzhou’s tea culture, hike and bike in its nature parks, and visit UNESCO World Heritage sites such as the Grand Canal and the West Lake.”
He noted that direct flights and attractive pricing have appealed to incentive groups from Malaysia and Singapore, who enjoy night attractions such as the Impression West Lake performance and local cuisine.
Starwood’s The Azure Qiantang, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Hangzhou, which opened in September, has added a new high-end dimension to the destination and is now offering the brand’s Gold Concierge Service.
General manager, Andy Wang, said the hotel’s 700m2 ballroom, seven meeting rooms, and signature restaurants are positioned for MICE.
“Our ample garden is ideal for theme parties for between 200 and 250 people,” he said, adding that Starwood’s Hangzhou room inventory, which now includes the Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton brands, will grow to 1,550 within two years.
While the industry acknowledges government support has boosted the destination, the wishlist now includes the development of more professional conference organisers, more exciting and exclusive quality products, better service standards, greater market awareness of the city’s MICE capabilities, and more international direct flights.
Begin the morning with a visit to the Longjin Tea Plantation and get a small workout climbing up the hilly terraces to 300m for the best view. On the way down, visit a farmhouse for tea tasting and snacks.
To know more about tea production and the different types of tea, the group can visit the China National Tea Museum on the West Lake as part of the afternoon itinerary if a lake cruise is to be included.
From the Longjin Tea Plantation, head to the famous Linyin Temple built in the 4th Century AD by monks from India, and rebuilt no less than 16 times. On the temple grounds are Buddhist relics and fascinating Buddha statues carved into the rock face.
A vegetarian meal can be arranged at the temple or at one of the restaurants at the exclusive Aman Fayun, located in a private area of the temple grounds.
After lunch, send the group to Hefang Street, popular for souvenirs and knick-knacks.
Around the neighbourhood in 95 Dajing Lane is Hu Qing Yu Tang, the most successful Chinese pharmacy. It opened in 1878 and still dispenses medicine today.
In August and September, viewing the tidal bores of the Qiantang River, where waves rise as high as 10m, is a popular activity. The well-located Azure Qiantang, A Luxury Collection Hotel, which opened in September, provides a vantage point from its Panorama Signature Restaurant and 22nd floor terrace.
Return to the hotel to rest and refresh and finish the day tour by watching Zhang Yimou’s production, Impression West Lake, when the sun sets. The hour-long dream-like performance starts at 19.45 and is based on two classical and legendary Chinese love stories.
Itinerary provided by Hangzhou New China Travel Service
Linyin Temple
Picture by Caroline Boey
Shanghai remains a hot MICE destination but meeting planners looking for new locations with easy access can turn to nearby destinations such as Hangzhou and Huzhou. Both are under two hours away by land or rail from Shanghai.
Starwood’s growing portfolio around the Yangtze River Delta throws up two options that can stand alone or twinned.
The 380-room Sheraton Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort, which opened in 2011, sits within the Xixi National Wetland Preservation Area, and the sprawling nature reserve can be used for outdoor activities, ranging from hiking to teambuilding programmes.
With its inventory of more than 1,900m² of function space, the resort has been picked for product launches or meetings for between 300 and 400 people.
General manager Kathy Ma told TTGmice: “MICE is our bread and butter (across the week). Although we didn’t reach our budget, business has increased 42 per cent year-on-year, while the market has been trading downwards this year. The corporate FIT weekday segment also expanded significantly from last year, growing 39 per cent.”
The property now wants to improve the five per cent contribution from longer-staying, higher-spending international MICE guests, and to book more corporate meetings.
Education, automobile, real estate, tourism, IT, financial, and pharmaceutical groups remain the segments the resort will continue to tap.
Aiding Ma’s business goal is Hangzhou’s improving global air access. Qatar Airways, for example, added a frequency linking Hangzhou to Europe earlier this year, SilkAir now flies from Singapore, and a new service linking Moscow was launched in June.
Travel time from the Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport to the resort varies and is 50 minutes or significantly less without traffic jams.
Hangzhou’s relatively good infrastructure compared to other second-tier cities has attracted large fairs, such as the Xihu International Expo, according to Ma. Its natural tourism resources also provide a good fit for MICE programmes incorporating outdoor activities.
Starwood’s portfolio in Hangzhou includes the Sheraton, Luxury Collection and Four Points by Sheraton brands, with two more Sheratons opening in 2015 and another Four Points by Sheraton in 2020.
In contrast to the Xixi wetland park, Taihu Lake provides the backdrop for the 321-room Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort which opened end-2012.
Huzhou is 75km north of Hangzhou and 160km west of Shanghai, and the resort is about 90 minutes away by car from the Sheraton Hangzhou. The destination has a long history, is one of China’s four major silk-producing cities, and is the birthplace of calligraphy and the writing brush.
Sheraton Huzhou’s modern classic architecture – an incomplete doughnut-shaped glass structure – is a sight to behold. Referred to as the Ring of Happiness and nicknamed Moon Hotel, the reflection of the building in the water creates the vision of the moon, which is symbolic in Chinese culture.
At night, state-of-the-art lighting technology, which can be themed with music and display a company’s logo for corporate events, turns the building into a light and sound show for guests and local residents.
The luxury resort is the only international hotel brand in Huzhou, and Mystic Spa, with 101 hot spring pools, is the largest hot spring resort in China.
The resort has 2,200m2 of indoor meeting space. The 300m² Taihu Meeting Room on the 27th floor provides a panoramic view of the lake filled with sailboats.
Outdoors, the 1,600m2 floating Rose Garden and sprawling grounds provide ample space for unique incentive events or teambuilding activities around the lake. The hotel is planning to introduce fishing trips next summer.
Close to the resort are Fisherman’s Wharf with F&B options, Capital Outlets, which opened in October last year and stocks mid-range brands, and the fascinating Wood Museum housing naturally formed, but strange-looking wood pieces.
For golfers, the 18-hole Huzhou Hot Spring Golf Club is located about 20 minutes away.
Jonathan Kuss, Sheraton Huzhou hotel manager, said: “Not many people, including those in China, know about Huzhou perhaps because there is no airport and there are no direct flights. Huzhou is a beautiful destination with a country town feeling. There is a real opportunity for the Sheraton Huzhou, with what it offers, to put the destination on the map.
“Of the 10 per cent international markets the resort caters to, the majority of guests are from Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong.”
The resort is intensifying its MICE marketing and kicked off with a major domestic and international media event for 82 journalists in May.
Kuss said: “We want to target the international MICE market, specifically senior management and upmarket meeting groups. Our strategy is to offer a ‘very negotiable’ weekday approach, and to cater to very creative events from Thursday through Sunday.”
– Caroline Boey
Sheraton Huzhou’s architecture
is a stunning sight on Taihu Lake
Azure Qiantang, A Luxury Collection Hotel, Hangzhou, which opened in September, is offering a special package until end of this year. Its deluxe room package at RMB1,300 (US$211.50) a night is inclusive of breakfast for two, and high-speed Internet access.
The hotel caters to meeting groups with its 650m2 Grand Ballroom and the 312m2 foyer. F&B options include Lan Ting Chinese Restaurant which serves a variety of local Chinese cuisine and signature dishes reflecting the “five water” elements that surround Hangzhou.
The 151-room Millennium Resort Hangzhou, which opened in 2Q2014, is the first Millennium & Copthorne resort property to open in China.
The city resort boutique hotel sits south of West Lake and along the Nine Creek, nestled among tea plantations and ancient forests. Its serene location makes it suitable for corporate retreats.
Millennium Resort Hangzhou has a 400m2 ballroom that can cater for up to 280 people, and four smaller function rooms. Besides an all-day dining restaurant, there are seven private dinning rooms, authentic Longjing tea service, and a large bar with live music.
Nearby are world-renowned attractions such as Liuhe Pagoda, Lingyin Temple, and the Song Dynasty Town.
Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort opened its signature Mystic Spa and Hot Spring Village in March.
The 20,000m² spa and hot spring village complex, adjacent to the resort’s main building, has 101 hot spring pools, 39 private guest villas, eight spa chalets for private treatments, and 21 treatment room. It is billed at the largest and most sophisticated natural hot spring resort in China.
Central to Mystic Spa is a large glass dome pool complex featuring 28 hot spring pools of various shapes and sizes, and privacy access overlooking the resort’s private lake.
The red wine spa pool, with a wine bottle-shaped spring pouring wine into the pool to provide antioxidant benefits, is a unique feature.
