MALAYSIA Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) wants to encourage meeting and incentive groups from Singapore to travel beyond popular destinations Johor, Malacca and Kuala Lumpur, and to stay longer in the country.

Towards this end, it organised a half-day roadshow at Marina Bay Sands Singapore on Tuesday which comprised product briefings by Sarawak Convention Bureau, Langkawi Development Authority as well as MyCEB. The event also featured a mini travel mart where 10 Malaysian sellers had business appointments with 60 meeting and incentive planners in Singapore.

Tan Lay Teng, MyCEB’s senior manager – corporate & incentive, noted that Singapore is a major market for Malaysia, contributing an average stay of three days/two nights.

“We want them to stay longer and experience Malaysia’s diverse offerings,” declared Tan.

“Penang is rich in food and heritage while its state capital, George Town, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Langkawi has beautiful islands and beaches, Sabah is great for diving, adventure and teambuilding, while Sarawak has lots to offer in terms of heritage, culture and soft adventure.”

Meanwhile, MyCEB has extended its Malaysia Twin Deal++ (TTGmice e-Weekly, August 1, 2013) incentive programme for planners and delegates. To qualify, groups must confirmed their bookings and arrive in Malaysia by December 31, 2014.

According to Tan, the programme was extended due to overwhelming response. It was supposed to conclude on June 30 this year.

KEEN on drawing more US meetings while also equipping Singapore’s associations with know-how, the Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau (SECB) teamed up with the US-based Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) to educate key industry members in an inaugural conference on Tuesday.

During the half-day Meeting Advisory Forum, PCMA’s key senior personnel delved into issues facing the industry such as association business models, sponsorship generation and technology adoption.

Neeta Lachmandas, assistant chief executive of business development, SECB, said: “The global meetings industry is a very competitive one. We need to continue building local association capability and keep abreast of global meeting trends and best practices.”

Explaining the choice of collaborator, she said: “PCMA is a very good partner to work with because it has a very strong education curriculum and also because it is one of the leading associations for meeting planners in the US; (it also has) a very big database for meeting planners that are looking to come to Asia (TTGmice e-Weekly, June 19, 2014).”

While yesterday’s session was the forum’s debut, Lachmandas said SECB has already been working closely with PCMA over the past two years. More collaborative projects between both parties are in the pipeline.

She said: “The US associations are looking to come to Asia today, and there are a lot of opportunities for these meetings to be held in Singapore.

“But this is a symbiotic relationship because it will not just be us who benefit but (US associations) will have a lot to gain from working with us as well,” she added.

However, as PCMA is largely US-centric, Lachmandas said the SECB is also expanding its efforts to reach out globally by working with the Union of International Associations (UIA).

For instance during TravelRave last year, the UIA held a two-day conference in Singapore on raising associations’ capability development.

Lachmandas said: “At the end of the day, we want to build the capabilities of our associations, and specifically their ability to bring events to Singapore, because that is in our interest.”

AS A signal of returning confidence in Thailand’s MICE sector, major international conferences and events scheduled to take place in Thailand from 2H2014 to 2015 will go ahead as planned even as Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) bags new wins.

Among these include the 74th FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 2014, which will draw 2,000 attendees; the Harmony World Puppet Carnival in Bangkok for 30,000 attendees in November; and the Unicity Global Convention, to welcome more than 50,000 guests in October.

Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, president of TCEB, remarked: “Stability is a key consideration for MICE travellers, and the confidence shown by international organisers is proof-positive that Thailand is again ready to host MICE events of any size and scale.

“We look forward to extending our famous warm Thai hospitality and world-class MICE services to 157,930 high-quality business travellers during the final quarter of the 2014 fiscal year.”

Thailand’s other confirmed major MICE events include IT&CM Asia and CTW Asia-Pacific 2014, the 10th International Mycological Congress, Food & Hotel Thailand 2014, INTERMACH 2015, and ProPak Asia 2015, among others.

These come on top of the 15 other bids Thailand has recently won that will draw almost 10,000 international visitors in total.

TCEB revised its forecast for Thailand’s MICE industry this year, predicting 87.2 billion baht (US$2.7 billion) in revenue and 888,210 MICE travellers.

AN ADDITIONAL 50 million yen (US$493,412) has been added to Chiba Convention Bureau and International Center’s (CCB-IC) 2014 budget, bringing its spending power this year to 250 million yen, in an effort to boost its sales and destination promotion capabilities.

In an email interview with TTGmice e-Weekly, Takeo Katsura, director of convention division with CCB-IC, explained that the bureau does not usually enjoy a yearly budget increment, and the booster fund was a result of Chiba Prefecture’s renewed focus on the business events industry.

“Chiba Prefecture (wants to) take advantage of the opportunity presented by the national government’s goal to increase the number of overseas visitors to 20 million per year by 2020 and Tokyo’s successful bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics,” said Katsura.

“Chiba Prefecture is in a good position to take advantage of this opportunity because it is right next to Tokyo, is home to Japan’s main international airport (Narita International Airport) and has the Makuhari Messe Convention Complex.”

CCB-IC has since established a new international business development office and hired two staff to seek out new business leads. The convention bureau will also be expanding its activities beyond participation at international trade conventions to include more destination marketing shows around Asia and sales trips with the prefecture governor.

Some of the market outreach activities planned for this year include the Narita City Thailand Tourism Mission in Bangkok later this month and a seminar in Taiwan this October which will coincide with the Top Sales Tour led by the prefecture governor.

In January 2015, CCB-IC will organise a seminar at PCMA Convening Leaders in Chicago.

CCB-IC has raised its sales target by 40 per cent and hopes to win enough event bids this year to drive an additional 6.7 billion yen into the local economy. While association meetings will remain the focus of CCB-IC, Katsura said opportunities in corporate meetings and incentives, especially from South-east Asia, will be sought out.

Chiba Prefecture, which ranks 294th on ICCA’s list of global meetings cities and 10th in Japan on UIA’s charts this year, already welcomes a number of notable international events. Some of them include the 1,200-pax Asia Pacific Physics Conference in July 2013 and the 1,200-pax JASCA 50th Anniversary Conference IUAES Inter-Congress 2014 in May.

LUXURY colonial estate The Sanchaya Bintan is rolling out full- and half-day meeting packages ahead of its opening on September 1.

The Dahlia function room can host up to 75 people in theatre-style or 48 for a banquet. It opens up to a colonial-style terrace and lawn, suitable for both cocktails and outdoor events.

Other event possibilities include cocktails by the beach or by the pool, as well as private wine tastings with The Sanchaya’s sommelier.

The estate’s Full Day Meeting Package is priced at US$110 per person, based on a minimum of 10 persons with at least a full-day room rental of US$1,100.

It includes full-day use of the Dahlia function room including one hour pre-set up, between 09.00 and 17.00; conference set up; in-house audiovisual equipment; two themed coffee breaks with a choice of menus; lunch in the Dining Room with a choice of menus; free stationery set up; and still or sparkling water bottled on the estate.

A Half Day Meeting Package costs US$95 per person, based on a minimum of 10 persons with a minimum half-day room rental of US$950.

This covers half-day use of the Dahlia function room, between 09.00 and 13.00 or 13.00 to 17.00; conference set up; in-house audiovisual equipment; one themed coffee break with a choice of menus; lunch in the Dining Room with a choice of menus; free stationery set up; and still or sparkling water bottled on the estate.

Meeting packages are available from September 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015.

For accommodation, the estate’s 21 bespoke villas and nine suites are up for booking, starting at US$390 a night for a one-bedroom villa in the Thai-style Lawan Village. With every 10 paying rooms, with a minimum of five required for group rate, fees for one room will be waived.

The Sanchaya can also be bought out for exclusive use.

For more information, contact Kris Marthin at sales@thesanchaya.com or visit www.thesanchaya.com.

HEALTHCARE Meetings Forum (UK) and Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre have come together to launch a forum this month to shed light on how current global regulations on the healthcare sector will impact international medical meetings held in Asia.

The one-day forum, titled The Future for Medical Meetings in Asia, will be held on August 1 at Suntec Singapore, Room 331-332. It aims to provide key stakeholders an unbiased view of medical meetings, placing on record the views and evidence of experts to better understand and deliver meetings and events in the healthcare sector.

The programme, targeted at senior level professionals from related sectors such as healthcare companies, medical societies and PCOs/suppliers serving this industry, will feature a mix of presentations, panel discussions and audience engagement sessions.

Featured speakers and panellists include Mark Handforth, founding director of Compliant Venue; Ronald Yeoh, consultant eye surgeon and medical director, Singapore National Eye Centre; and Lisa Sullivan, managing director of INVIVO Communications.

This forum is free. Visit www.healthcaremeetingsforum.com/asia/ for more information and to register for the event.

INDONESIA International Expo (IIE) and Media Sinar Global (MSG) have signed a contract with Hannover Fairs International, a subsidiary of Deutsche Messe, to operate Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) centre, which is opening early 2015.

ICE, currently under construction in BSD City on the outskirt of Jakarta, will be the biggest convention and exhibition centre in Indonesia spanning 50,000m2 in indoor space, 50,000m2 in outdoor space, and 33 meeting rooms that can accommodate up to 10,000 people.

A whopping Rp3.8 trillion (US$317 million) has been invested in the facility.

IIE is part of Kompas Gramedia Group that also owns and operates three other venues in Indonesia including Bali Nusa Dua Convention Centre.

Speaking at the contract-signing ceremony in Jakarta on July 8, Danny Budiharto, president director of IIE, said that the growth of MICE and economic stability in Indonesia is drawing a lot of convention and exhibition operators to the country, who will in turn bring international shows to the country, in addition to local exhibitions and conventions.

“Jakarta needs more convention and exhibition space to cater for these shows as the existing Jakarta Convention Centre and Jakarta International Expo are already very packed with events.”

On the choice of operator, Danny said Deutsche Messe was one of the 10 biggest convention centre operators in the world and had successfully managed the Shanghai International Exposition Centre.

Andreas Gruchow, member of the managing board of Deutsche Messe, said: “A key objective of our foreign strategy is to grow our expertise as an operator of exhibition facilities abroad and Indonesia offers the ideal prerequisites for expanding our tradeshow business. The economy continues to grow, international industry is actively involved and the investment climate remains stable.”

The partners are also establishing a joint venture company called Deutsche Messe Venue Operations Indonesia, with Hannover Fairs International holding a 51 per cent stake.

Speaking at the event, Mari Elka Pangestu, Indonesia’s minister of tourism and creative economy, welcomed the 25 per cent increase in exhibitions space for Indonesia and noted the correlation between exhibition area and GDP size.

She said Indonesia aims to “triple the amount of exhibition area in Indonesia by 2019”.

FINANCIAL year 2013/14 has been good for the Western Australian city of Perth, which broke its own target and record for revenue generated through conferences.

According to Perth Convention Bureau (PCB), conference delegates will stay for 201,147 days and spend A$108.0 million dollars (US$101.6 million).

The CVB had initially aimed to make A$104 million in direct delegate expenditure.

Ian Laurance AM, chairman of PCB, said: “These results indicate that PCB continues to punch above its weight in the business events industry despite new infrastructure and increasing competition across Australia and around the South-east Asian region.”

The CVB’s CEO, Paul Beeson, added: “The value of conferencing and business events is increasingly appreciated by governments worldwide, as it is here in Western Australia.”

Conferences are the highest-yielding tourism sector, with a single international delegate spending five times more than a leisure tourist.

ASIA’S first-ever international travel bloggers conference (TBC) will be held in Colombo this year, jointly hosted by John Keells Group’s Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts and the Professional Travel Bloggers Association (PTBA).

Cinnamon TBC Asia will run from November 14-18, focusing on the themes of travelling, writing, and technology.

It will feature high-quality educational sessions and networking opportunities, while representatives from the BBC, Facebook, TripAdvisor and Google are slated to speak.

Participants include travel writers, photographers, videographers and food writers who will be hosted free with full board and air tickets sponsored by SriLankan Airlines, the official travel partner for the event.

THE new Courtyard by Marriott Boluo in Huizhou, China, will look to Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong as its main markets for business event bookings.

In an email interview with TTGmice e-Weekly, Kevin Gong, general manager of the 234-key hotel which is outfitted with seven meeting rooms, said his team will pursue corporate clients such as Samsung, LG, Sony and Coca-Cola based in Huizhou.

Gong also expects to “see interest from local government agencies”.

However, Gong admits that the pursuit of corporate events will be a challenging one in the first year of operations, as “Boluo is still more of an agriculture-focused county, as opposed to a more event-heavy industry like manufacturing”.

Currently, the hotel’s event facilities receive more bookings for weddings.

“That said, Courtyard by Marriott Boluo enjoys a prime location, and coupled with the city developments in the area, it has great potential in becoming a business event destination. The current airport in Huizhou is slated to open to civilian flights at the end of 2014, while the Shenzhen-Guangzhou MTR (expected to be complete within the next two years) will soon provide connectivity between the two cities. We certainly expect more bookings in time to come,” he added.

He also revealed that the hotel might expand its sales and marketing efforts in the corporate market should there be further city and industrial developments by the government.

Besides offering 1,405m2 of meeting venues that are equipped with modern audiovisual technology and high-speed Internet access, Courtyard by Marriott Boluo also houses two restaurants, a well-equipped fitness centre, an indoor swimming pool with a dry steam room, and an outdoor pool, among others.