New infrastructure, stronger government support to clinch more business will hopefully help the city maintain position in China. By Caroline Boey

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.

Ideas

One-day tour of Hangzhou

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

Starwood’s sister act

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

Need to know

An appealing opening offer

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.

M&C operates first China resort in 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.

Huzhou’s natural hot spring destination

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.