July 2024

The Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event, has made key executive appointments, as it expands the team in preparation for AIME 2025 to be held in February next year.

John Wilson with more than 25 years of experience in event marketing is designated as the new marketing director of AIME.  This is after having led teams at international event and trade fair organisers such as Informa, Deutsche Messe and Foundry.

He will be responsible for AIME’s global marketing communications, as the event gets ready for its 32nd show in 2025.

While multi-disciplinary creative storyteller Kayla Elliott joins in the role of marketing executive, and will be creating content that connects with AIME’s global audience.

Appointed as director of operations and content is Clair Graham. She brings with her more than 20 years of event management experience.

Also joining the operations team is Nissa Ni as event and systems coordinator, who comes to the role after almost 15 years at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, the home of AIME.

“We are so excited to welcome John, Claire, Kayla and Nissa to the AIME team. They are already making their impact felt, bringing new ideas and inspiration as preparations for AIME 2025 continue at pace,” said Silke Calder, event director of AIME.

The 2025 event is set to be a blockbuster. Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, AIME has enlarged its footprint to 15,000 square metres, with over 10 bays to accommodate more than 600 exhibitors, 650 hosted buyers and the 20,000 meetings that are set to take place on the show floor.

Ms. Calder stated AIME has cemented its position as the leading events host for the international business events community in the region.

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust who operates the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre have taken, a significant step towards inclusivity with the launch of their latest Accessibility Action Plan – welcoming visitors from diverse backgrounds.

MCET adopts the social model view of recognising these barriers are due to social systems and structures, rather than the individual, and the new Accessibility Action Plan seeks to address both physical and non-visible barriers.

The Plan focuses on four key goals: improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities; improving access to goods, services and facilities at MCEC and Nyaal Banyul; collaborating with event organisers to ensure everyone can meaningfully participate and engage in events; and changing discriminatory attitudes, behaviours and practices.

MCET has already made significant progress towards accessibility and inclusion across both venues.

The iconic Melbourne venue, MCEC has a range of accessible features available to support visitors with mobility needs, vision impairment and assisted hearing.

MCEC’s new website launched last year was designed with inclusivity in mind, complying to WCAG 2.0 Level AA Accessibility Guidelines, and providing information about accessible features as well as virtual tours of the venue, allowing visitors to easily explore, navigate and plan their visit. Over the next three years, MCET has committed to further enhancing accessibility at the venue.

Construction of Nyaal Banyul, which is set to open on the Geelong waterfront in 2026 is currently underway. MCET is working closely with the Victorian Government and the consortium led by Plenary Conventions to ensure Universal Design principles are embedded throughout the venue, ensuring accessible gathering spaces for all who visit.

In addition, a Positive Impact Guide was launched last year to provide event organisers with tangible resources to embed corporate social responsibility into their events. The guide includes information on accommodations that can be made to support attendees, as well as partnerships with leading disability service providers, Travellers Aid and Alkira.

MCET’s Accessibility Action Plan was developed with input from people with lived experience along with expertise from accessibility consultants in the tourism industry. This included support from the City of Melbourne Business Capacity Program.

While the Accessibility Action Plan has been designed specifically with accessibility and reasonable reading levels in mind is available in plain language and easy English format at https://www.mcec.com.au/our-impact/accessibility-action-plan

ICCA Asia Pacific, MPI and IAPCO are supporting partners for the inaugural IBTM Asia Pacific, which will take place from March 19  to 20 in 2025. AsiaWorld-Expo, one of the major convention and exhibition facilities in Hong Kong has been confirmed as the venue for the spring tradeshow.

The show provides a gateway to the Asia Pacific MICE market bringing together a high calibre group of international, APAC regional and local meeting planners and exhibitors for two days of pre-scheduled one-to-one business meetings, education and networking.

An opportunity for global destinations and suppliers to showcase their products and solutions to over 250 pre-qualified buyers and 1,500 visitors from over 20 countries within Asia Pacific.

IBTM Asia Pacific event will be supported by IBTM’s innovative matchmaking technology and pioneering hosted buyer programme, which creates personalised appointment diaries for buyers and exhibitors.

The region’s only double-bill event in MICE and corporate travel returns to Bangkok, Thailand this September 24 to 26. What you can expect from the show are:

Structured On-Site Appointments

Pre-scheduled appointments with buyer profiles of your choice such as  associations, MICE and corporate buyers.

Brand Showcase Presentations

Share your brand’s latest highlights and developments with MICE, Association, Corporate Buyers and Media.

Keynote Lecture

Experts take the stage to present their perspectives on the industry’s most pertinent talking points.

Association Day Forum

Helmed by Association professionals for Association professionals this ever-popular forum curates the current talking points in Association management with interactive discussions.

ASEAN MICE Forum

The only one of its kind in the world that advances ASEAN’s latest MICE development and insights on an international scale through promotion, awareness and conversation between the region’s key players and the global community.

Corporate Travel World Conference

To cultivate travel and entertainment best practices among Asia-Pacific’s corporate travel professionals.

Future Leaders Forum

Organised in strategic partnership between IMEX, Meeting Professionals International  and MCI Group, FLF is a crucial platform to hone the future of the country’s MICE industry by inspiring Thailand’s brightest students studying in the field.

Finally, there is the Asia-Pacific’s prestigious travel industry awards to look forward to. Reputed as the most coveted and influential awards to be won in the region’s travel industry.

Chief Privacy Officer for Asia, Ms. Meida Wong of FCM travel management company, shares ways business travellers can safeguard their data while travelling.

Here are some essential steps you may take to help you keep your personal information safe:

Secure Your Devices and Accounts

Before embarking on your journey, ensure all your devices, including smartphones, laptops, and tablets, are adequately secured. Set up complex passwords, PIN codes, or even better, biometric authentication methods to prevent unauthorised access.

Turn on the encryption features such as device encryption and encrypted messaging apps to protect your data from prying eyes.

Use a unique password for different accounts. This way if one is compromised, the rest are less likely to be affected, limiting the impact of a data breach.

Where possible, biometric authentication method can also prevent password or PIN theft from shoulder surfing.

Treat your password like your toothbrush and keep it private. Do not share it and change it often.

“In today’s digital age, the volume of personal information we share for various activities has exponentially increased. You may be online shopping, ordering food delivery, downloading mobile applications, playing an online game, or simply browsing the web and your personal data is at play. In a world where such information commands high value, it’s vital to secure it, particularly when travelling,” said Ms. Wong.

Use Secure Networks

Avoid connecting to public Wi-Fi, such as those in airports, cafes, and hotels, especially so when conducting banking activities, such as checking account balances, making transfers, or entering sensitive financial information.

Instead, use a secure and trusted network, such as a personal mobile data connection, or a virtual private network (VPN).

Ensure the websites you use for banking or payment purposes use HTTPS encryption, indicated by a padlock icon and https:// in the uniform resource locator (URL).

Always log out of your sessions when not in use to prevent session hijacking and only provide passwords and PINs at trusted locations – be aware of social engineering.

Use Caution When Sharing On Social Media

Exercise discretion and limit the personal details you disclose, when sharing photos and updates on social media platforms during your travels.

Avoid posting real-time updates about your location and itinerary, as this information could be used by cybercriminals to target you for theft or surveillance. Wait until you have returned home to share your travel experience to minimise the risk of becoming a target.

Here are some tips to consider when it comes to safe social media use. Review your privacy settings to ensure your social media profiles are private. This makes it easy to directly control who has access to your accounts and posts. This is how you can make sure no strangers can view your content.

Remember that stories and Snapchat do not disappear. Many travellers assume that their stories are only available for twenty-four hours which is not the case.

Even with privacy settings turned on, photos contain information cybercriminals are looking for. For example, if a cybercriminal gets access to a photo’s metadata, it can contain your location information which can let the criminal know that your home is vacant.

To avoid this, share your photos once you return home.

Minimise Location Sharing

It is common for travellers to update their social media accounts when they are travelling. The problem with this type of excessive sharing is that it creates a security threat at home.

By sharing your every location, it allows criminals to determine that you are not in your hotel room or home, leaving both your home and personal property vulnerable.

Disable Bluetooth Connectivity

Similar to your phone’s automatic Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth connectivity can present problems as signals can come from anywhere. If your Bluetooth is left on, nearby assailants can connect to your phone and potentially hack into your device hence it is wise to keep Bluetooth disabled as much as possible.

Protecting your personal data is an ongoing process that requires constant vigilance and proactive measures so remember to keep your personal data as you travel.