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.

BESTCITIES Global Alliance has announced its new brand positioning and strapline – When the world wants to meet, we set the standard.

The new position will be officially launched at Convening Leaders – organised by BestCities’ strategic partner Professional Conference Management Association – which is taking place in Chicago from January 11 to 14.

John Donnelly, chief executive of marketing Edinburgh from BestCities, said: “BestCities is a strategic collaboration between the world’s premier meetings destinations. Our commitment to delivering the highest possible standards and achieving the best results for our clients ensures we maintain our position as leaders in global conferencing.

“Having evaluated the values, goals, objectives and vision of the alliance, we feel that this positioning statement neatly captures both the unique features and benefits of the organisation. It says what it does, why it does it and what that then results in for clients and the wider industry.”

Jonas Wilstrup, congress director of Wonderful Copenhagen, who heads the alliance’s brand task force with Donnelly, added: “Alongside a dynamic strapline which (encapsulates) the positioning, it provides a stronger presence for the brand and positions BestCities as the top DMO alliance globally.”

BestCities will also announce its newest partner ­– the 12th partner after Tokyo who entered the alliance in May 2014, at the event.

The alliance is the first global alliance to create its own quality management system to ensure service excellence from partner cities. BestCities’ partners are in Berlin, Cape Town, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Edinburgh, Houston, Melbourne, Singapore, Tokyo and Vancouver.

THE two-year old Setia City Convention Centre is planning to build a new 6,000m² hall adjacent to the main entrance to cater to large conventions.

The hall, which can be divided into two, will be connected to the main convention centre via a covered walkway.

Setia City Convention Centre head, Francis Teo, said the extension was necessary to cater for exhibitions of up to 350 booths and big conventions with up to 8,000 people in theatre style.

Upon completion in mid-2016, the total floor space at Setia City Convention Centre will be close to 10,000m².

Teo said: “There aren’t many venues in Klang Valley that can accommodate large conventions. We are building this extension as we see demand for space for exhibitions and large banquets.”

Ganneesh Ramaa, manager, Luxury Tours Malaysia, said: “This new development is good for the industry. There are many hotels within the vicinity of Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya and Shah Alam to support the convention centre and to attract international events here. I predict rental will also be cheaper as it is located outside Kuala Lumpur city.”