October 2017

A combination of Five Happiness platter of dishes is on the menu designed, to showcase the Centre’s special Chinese banquet for its clients.

Alan Pryor, the general manager mentioned that the Centre, place great emphasis on client engagement and on providing customised flexible innovative meeting and event solutions of which an important part of this is the culinary offerings created by the Centre’s award winning chefs.

The special eight-course Chinese banquet menu at the same time exhibits the creativity of the Centre’s chefs in crafting versatile menus – hot on the heels of the amazing performance by the Centre’s culinary team at the Culinaire Malaysia 2017. They were awarded the Most Outstanding Team in Culinary, Most Outstanding Chef, Most Outstanding Artist and Most Outstanding Apprentice. The team brought home a total of 10 gold, 11 silver and six bronze medals from the competition.

Due to be completed in mid 2019 is the extension of the Centre which will see an additional 11,000 square metres of flexible and multi-purpose space, which means more room to comfortably accommodate larger exhibitions and international association meetings.

A welcome addition to luxury hotels in the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur is the Sofitel brand of the French multinational hotel group Accor. The first in the city, the Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara opened its doors in August.

While the décor of the hotel reflects the local Malaysian culture with a French touch; prominent among which is the use of the Wau Bulan motif, one of the country’s national symbol – an intricately designed moon kite traditionally flown by men in the Malaysian state of Kelantan. The hotel’s banquet room is aptly named the Wau Bulan Ballroom and can accommodate 600 for a reception.

Seated are Steffany Boak (left), Director of Sales & Distribution, Pugeneswary Mudukasan (right), Marketing & Communication Manager, both from Sofitel Hotels & Resorts. Standing are Julia Douglas (centre), Managing Editor of MICE in Asia and Winkie Loh (right), Journalist.

Agnes Tan (left), Regional Director, Digital Marketing, Loyalty & Partnership, Accor Hotels, Julia Douglas (centre), Gaynor Reid, Vice President Communications & CSR Asia Pacific and Karen Chang, Communications Manager Asia Pacific, both from Accor Hotels.

Braised Treasure of Vegetables with Chicken Sauce.

Steamed Grouper with Garlic and Onion Sauce.

Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) in June, hosted media representatives from Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore who were invited, to experience first-hand new tourism products, MICE facilities and destinations in key cities of the country beginning from the capital city Taipei to Kaohsiung and Taichung. Highlight of the trip was, to witness the official opening of the 27th Taiwan International Food Show 2017 (Food Taipei) and visit the expo at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.

In Kaohsiung, members of the media had the opportunity to visit the first British Consulate office established in Taiwan at Takow in 1879, is now a historical museum open to the public. The Kaohsiung city government began restoring the building of the consulate office in 1985. It is now considered to be a cultural heritage site and a popular tourist attraction.

While in Taichung, the media was introduced to the city’s newest MICE venue, the National Taichung Theater designed by Japanese architect Toyo Ito in collaboration with Cecil Balmond. The free-form structure has become the latest landmark in Taiwan. It houses three theatres of various capacities within its organically sloping halls: the Tutu gallery is shaped like a ballerina’s tutu is suitable for all types of exhibition; Playhouse is a multi-faceted space that accommodates 796 seats including 20 seats for the physically challenged; and Black Box has 200 seats which is linked to the outdoor theatre. The total estimated area of the structure is about 57,685 square metres sculpted into an irregular form that resembles a coral reef.

The fam tour itinerary includes meeting with professional exhibition organiser of Food Taipei, a visit to the Taipei World Trade Center and  Kaohsiung Exihibition Center.

New Tourism Product – Sightseeing in Taipei on board a Hop-On-Hop-Off Bus

Historial Site of the First British Consulate Office in Taiwan at Takow

National Taichung Theater – Taiwan’s Cultural Landmark

Media Representatives from Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore

The editorial board would like to thank TAITRA for once again inviting MICE in Asia for the familiarisation tour of Taiwan.

www.itehcmc.com/en/register/trade-vistior.html

Organised by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI), Malaysia’s independent, private and not for profit think tank, the purpose of the Summit was: to provide industry updates; expert insights; and practical knowledge on tourism. As well as, a platform for networking, sharing and forming strategic partnerships amongst thought leaders, business owners and senior executives of public and privates enterprises in tourism and supporting activities.

The one day event entitled ‘Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in the Digital Era’ was held on Thursday, August 10 at the Sunway Lagoon Resort & Spa in Kuala Lumpur, and had a full turn-out of participants.

Among the speakers included Dato Chong Yoke Har, Deputy Director General (Planning) of Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, Professor Dr J.S. Perry Hobson , Pro Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement at Taylor’s University in Malaysia, Professor Datuk Seri Dr Victor Wee, Professor at Taylor’s University in the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary Arts, Dato Yean Yoke Heng, Deputy Secretary General (Management) of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, Edwin Raj, Senior Vice President Business Development of GOASEAN, Dr Tan Awang Besar the Undersecretary of Tourism Policy and International Affairs Division of Ministry of Tourism and Culture Malaysia, Datuk Irene Benggon Charuruks, Technical Adviser (Tourism), Ministry of Tourism and Culture and Environment Sabah, Anthony Wong, Group Managing Director of Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners, Phua Tai Neng, Chief Executive Officer of Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents and Granda Anak Aing, Vice Chairman, Malaysian Tropical Environment Adventure and Fellowship Society.

Katrina leung, Executive Director of Messe Berlin (Singapore) with Yoon Seung Hwan, Director of Korea Tourism Organization sealed the signing of the memorandum of cooperation with a hand shake.

ITB Asia has secured a major partnership with the Korea Tourism Organization of Singapore (KTO). The memorandum of cooperation with Messe Berlin (Singapore) Pte Ltd looks to boost Korea’s appeal as a key destination place in Southeast Asia.

“Korea’s first-class transport infrastructure, world-class readiness, as well as the popularity of Korean pop culture and fashion have, boosted the country’s appeal as one of the leading destinations for today’s business and leisure travellers. We are pleased to be working in partnership with the Korea Tourism Organisation of Singapore this year and delighted that ITB Asia has been chosen as the key platform of choice for KTO in bridging more visitor and buyer connections, and boosting awareness of Korea’s thriving tourism industry,” said Katrina Leung, executive director of Messe Berlin (Singapore).

“Looking at the global business trends, growth in corporate travel and MICE, it is clear that Asia will be the most strategic market for us in the next decade. Our partnership with ITB Asia will expand our presence and strengthen our proposition to the Asian and Southeast Asian market. Singapore is a hub for the region, and being located here, ITB Asia is a great platform for us to reach a large number of participants who clearly recognise the benefits of attending. We are excited about the potential opportunities that the show can open up for us,” said Yoon Seung Hwan, director, Korea Tourism Organization.

According to the latest edition of the International Meetings Statistics Report released by the Union of International Associations (UIA), Korea now ranks in the first spot for global congresses. This result is a reflection of the strong growth by established Korean meeting cities such as Seoul and rising destinations of Busan, Jeju and Incheon contributing to the country’s increasingly diverse business events portfolio.

www.itb-asia.com

MICE in Asia is the media partner of ITB Asia 2017.

In conjunction with its pop-up store at the Suria KLCC, the luxury timepiece distributor Cortina organised a preview of the latest BR-X2 Tourbillon Micro Rotor watch by Bell & Ross to invited guests and the media on July 27. The evening event was held at Kuala Lumpur’s latest venue, the Element Kuala Lumpur- a modern and trendy hotel on Level 39 of Ilham Tower – located in the up market district of the city.

Several speakers consisting of academicians, diplomats from ASEAN countries, heads of associations in the field of tourism, hospitality and MICE will converge at the capital city of Malaysia on August 10 for a one day conference. They will be discussing on promoting sustainable tourism within the region, and how to capitalise on technological innovation in tourism. At the same time, the speakers will address key issues that affect the future of tourism in Malaysia and ASEAN.

Participants of this summit can expect to acquire some expert insights of the tourism industry in the ASEAN region, as well as industry updates. Also, an opportunity to network and establish strategic partnerships with industry leaders, business owners and senior executives of several public and private enterprises who are involved in tourism and related activities.

For more information on the tourism summit, please visit www.asli.com.my

The one day event was hosted by the Japan National Tourism Organization with the aim, to introduce from Japan, local governments, hotels, resorts, destination management companies and associations to Malaysian partners and clients in the travel and MICE industry.

In the morning, convention bureaus from Sapporo, Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kobe and Aichi-Nagoya MICE promotion council held a presentation to promote their cities as MICE destination. The spotlight was on Tottori Prefecture famous for its sand dunes, the largest found in Japan covering some 30 square kilometers. Other attractions highlighted are the Kannonin Buddhist Temple and ruins of former feudal castle. While Okinawa featured meetings and conventions facilities available on the island.

Later buyers from Malaysia met sellers for two hours of table top meetings without appointments to find out new travel and MICE products and services from Japan.

Facilitating the seminar was Susan Maria Ong the MICE director Asia Pacific of JNTO based in Singapore. JNTO plans to conduct more of such seminars and workshops to market Japan to industry partners in the Asia-Pacific region.