All Posts By

Julia Rahman

IT&CM Asia and CTW Asia-Pacific 2024 Returns with New Innovation and Global Talent

By | 2024

The two-day event held in Bangkok Thailand, from September 24 to 26 took place with new initiatives and educational sessions, complete with an expanded networking session.

Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau announced that it will soon launch the Thailand MICE Visa Prepaid Card, crafted in partnership with VISA, said Mr Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, President, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau.

He added: “This card is designed to offer MICE travellers exclusive privileges and special discounts at various partnering establishments, including; shopping, dining, spa services, limousine services, and luggage storage.”
Singapore’s leading advancement in technology and business were this year’s focus in The Singapore Pavilion, which offered delegates and visitors a unique opportunity to engage with top innovators.

The Tech and Engagement Zone dedicated to tech exhibitors, explored the latest advancements in technology where delegates can learn how to integrate these technologies into their business meetings or events.

Sea and Air Zone spotlight on airlines and cruise industries. This zone brought key players together for focused business meetings, offering a comprehensive look at travel solutions that can elevate business events and conferences.

While the Corporate Zone was a hub, where corporate entities showcased their products and services, that are specially tailored for business events.

This year, IT&CMA and CTW APAC celebrates 32 years of fostering international MICE business in Asia-Pacific, and 27 years of cultivating Corporate Travel and Entertainment best practices among Asia-Pacific’s travel professionals.

The next ITCM&A & CTW will be held from September 23 to 25, 2025 in Bangkok, Thailand.

GoTo Group Partners with Tencent for Cloud Infrastructure and Digital Services Delivery

By | 2024

The collaboration will see Tencent Cloud providing a comprehensive suite of cloud infrastructure solutions and digital services to GoTo’s business.

As part of the five-year partnership, GoTo will leverage Tencent Cloud’s technology and platform and services to support its comprehensive ecosystem.

GoTo’s engineering team will join forces with Tencent Cloud’s in-house service and architecture experts to further develop its technology, allowing the company to improve its enterprise offerings, while also boosting its consumer-centric products and strengthening user experience.

As a leading Indonesian tech company, GoTo’s strong market presence and range of services will be further bolstered by Tencent Cloud’s strong local presence, underpinned by its locally domiciled Tencent Cloud servers.

Tencent Cloud with its comprehensive global infrastructure spanning 21 geographic regions and 58 availability zones, including two data centers in Jakarta, Indonesia will be able to deliver over 400 technologies and connectivity solutions designed to drive enterprise-grade digital transformation.

By establishing local data centers, Tencent Cloud can enhance service proximity, minimise data access delays, and foster rapid digital transformation for businesses and organisations nationwide. This strategy not only ensures compliance with regulatory standards but also offers robust disaster recovery options across the Asia-Pacific region.

PATA Forecasts a Strong Annual Increase in International Visitor Numbers for 2023 into and Across the Asia Pacific

By | 2023

The latest forecasts from the Pacific Asia Travel Association, predicts strong annual increases in inbound visitor numbers for the Asia Pacific, under mild, medium, and severe scenarios in 2023, set to continue each year until 2025.

Growth rates range from 71 percent under severe scenario conditions, to as much as 104 percent under the mild scenario.

The annual increase in the absolute number of international visitor arrivals in 2023 is predicted to range from 158.7 million to 437.5 million under the severe and mild scenarios respectively – lifting the total volume of visitor arrivals to between 382.9 million and 712.7 million under these scenarios.

Substantial annual increases in IVA numbers are also forecast for 2024 and 2025, under all three scenarios, although the volume of these gains will slowly reduce over the years, as the absolute volume base of foreign arrivals increases.

As IVA growth builds between 2023 and 2025, the source markets of Asia collectively generate the bulk of the additional annual increases in absolute numbers of arrivals across Asia Pacific each year. Under the mild scenario the annual increase in IVAs from Asia in 2023, are forecast to number 330.7 million and account for three-quarters of the net increase in total IVAs between 2022 and 2023.

Across the years and under all scenarios, the visitor footprint of the Asian source markets, at the aggregate Asia Pacific level, is predicted to remain very strong, although with significant differences at the destination regions and sub-regions.

“Now more than ever before, destinations need to work with host communities, operators, and visitors to deliver results and experiences that bring the best of the travel and tourism sector to the fore, across all involved parties and in a responsible, equitable, meaningful, and thereby sustainable manner. Such an approach will also create a certain resilience to future shocks as and when they appear, and rest assured that they will,” said PATA Chair, Mr. Peter Semone.

The PATA Asia Pacific Visitor Forecasts Full Report 2023-2025 is now available at www.PATA.org/research-q1v63g6n2dw/p/asia-pacific-visitor-forecasts-2023-2025-x8tpc

ITB India 2023 Conference to Unveil Major Trends in the South Asia Travel Market

By | 2023

The conference will bring together travel industry professionals on April 26 to 28 running alongside with ITB India 2023 at Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai, India.

Featuring three tracks, the conference will see more than 100 industry leaders in over 80 sessions exchange their insights into the future of the industry, powered by the motto ‘Connecting You to the Indian Travel Market’.

Knowledge Theatre is ITB India’s principal conference track, with C-level leaders and renowned industry experts sharing their perspectives on the future of the market. They will exchange their insights on a broad scope of topics, from the latest general trends to challenges and opportunities for sustainability in South Asia’s travel market.

MICE Show India will focus on corporate travel and tapping into innovative B2B solutions for meetings, events, and incentives. Speakers will give a comprehensive 2023 outlook of India’s MICE market, offer new angles on incentive travel, and discuss innovative strategies for travel program optimisation.

Travel Tech India will look at novelties in digital solutions that enhance travel experiences. Main highlights will include leveraging the power of analytics for a better understanding of consumer mindsets, meta-integration and the synergies it creates, as well as exploring contactless travel in the world still getting over the pandemic.

For more information on ITB India 2023, visit itb-india.com.

 

 

 

 

 

Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre Welcomes its First Conference

By | 2022

The inaugural conference was the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga Looking Ahead Symposium and this, kick starts for the centre, a full roster of more than 100 events scheduled remainder of the year.

According to Te Pae Christchurch general manager Mr.Ross Steele, of the events planned at the centre for the rest of this year, more than 60 are conferences, including eight international events – combined will bring over 67,000 people into the central city, and generate an estimated of NZD 37.2 million in direct economic value.

Mr. Steele further added that: looking beyond the end of 2022 the centre, has a solid pipeline of business. In total through to October 2024,146 events are scheduled, which will bring close to 150,000 people into the city; and generate more than NZD 74 million in direct economic value. This includes 88 conferences out of which 23 of are international.

Scheduled events in 2022 of the centre include:

  • Harcourts National Convention, May
  • New Zealand Dance Awards, May
  • Christchurch Art Show 2022, June
  • MEETINGS 2022, June
  • Roofing Association of New Zealand Conference, June
  • Bookeepcon 2022, July
  • House of the Year Awards, July
  • Maia Health Foundation FEAST 2022, September
  • Archipro – Meet, Greet & Eat 2022, September
  • Armageddon Expo, December

Bill Gates Visits Expo 2020 Dubai – Views Key Projects of Expo Live Innovation and Partnership Programme

By | 2021

Mr. Bill Gates the founder of Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist visited Expo 2020 Dubai, and toured key projects of Expo Live, the global innovation and partnership programme that supports innovators who develop extraordinary low-cost solutions.

Mr. Bill Gates accompanied by Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Expo 2020 Dubai tour Expo Live Pavilion.

During the 20 minutes he spent looking at projects at the Expo Live Pavilion showed keen interest in Ideabatic, a low-cost innovation developed by Ms. Kitty Liao of the UK, keeping vaccines and life-saving medicines fresh during long journeys to remote rural areas. The smart last-mile vaccine and cooling system is basically a low-cost battery-powered carrier designed to eliminate vaccine wastage. It is portable and light, and can be carried by health workers, drones and other delivery mechanisms.  The simple design of the Ideabatic requires almost no training to operate, and thus saves money on in-field deployment.

The former Microsoft chairman was also impressed by Desert Control, a new technology developed by Atle Idland of Norway, to help create an agricultural revolution for arid regions. The invention uses Liquid NonoClay, a technology that converts poor soil into fertile land and works more quickly, uses less water than conventional agricultural methods.

Mr. Gates also toured the Sustainability Pavilion, which highlights technologies that consume zero energy. Speaking to Expo TV, Gates urged the world to speed up the implementation of its commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, with the deadline just eight years away.

He also said that the world was going through a difficult stage in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the success achieved, and called for more efforts for a fair distribution of vaccines.

Expo Dubai 2020 Opens with Star-Studded Ceremony, Fireworks and Live Streaming

By | 2021

The opening ceremony took place on Thursday, September 30 and was streamlined live to more than 430 locations across the United Arab Emirates, and on screens in New York Times Square.

City dwellers in New York were able to watch Expo 2020 Dubai’s spectacular opening ceremony with the event shown live on over sized screens at Times Square.

Both the 37-metre-high Nasdaq screen and the Thomson Reuters display that spans 23 storeys, with seven separate screens, showed the opening ceremony for one hour from 2030-2130 Gulf Standard Time Zone, which is just after midday in New York.

This was followed at the site of the event with spectacular fireworks displays seen in Dubai – marking the first full day of the Expo in visual celebration commemorating, the journey from winning the bid in 2013 – to opening the first World Expo in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region.

Audiences were treated to performances from: world-famous tenor Andrea Bocelli; Grammy-nominated, Golden-Globe-winning actress, singer and songwriter Andra Day; platinum-selling British singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding; international mega-star pianist Lang Lang; and four-time Grammy winner Angelique Kidjo.

The Opening Ceremony took place at Expo 2020’s Al Wasl Plaza dome, which is the world’s largest 360-degree projection surface, measuring 130 metres wide and 60 metres high.

Considered to be the largest global event held since the start of the pandemic, the Expo Dubai 2020 was postponed by a year due to the outbreak of covid-19. It was eight years in the planning.  The six–month long extravaganza expects to draw visitors worldwide to Dubai.

 

Images by Dubai Expo 2020.

Business Events Sarawak has a New Chief Executive Officer

By | 2021

Ms. Amelia Roziman has been appointed the chief executive officer of Business Events Sarawak starting from August 1. She will lead Malaysia’s first convention bureau, which was formed in Sarawak in 2006.

Regarding Ms. Roziman’s background in the industry, she has more than 20 years of experience in branding and marketing with 15 years in business events.  She is also, one of the pioneer team members of BESarawak where, she began her career as a sales coordinator for the convention bureau.

“It is such an honour to be able to serve and work with a dynamic team in BESarawak,” said the new chief executive officer. Ms. Roziman added: she is thankful for the support and guidance from her team, family, former chief executive officers and board members, including the local, national and international industry and it’s stakeholders.

The new chief executive officer will continue with BESarawak’s approach of aligning itself with the government’s aspirations of developing the community, society, trade and investment from business events through to its ‘Legacy Impact’. Sarawak’s post covid-19 ten year Development Strategy 2030 places business events as an economic thrust to promote prosperity, social inclusivity and environmental sustainability.

While convention planners in Sarawak are guided in their strategic actions by the ‘Legacy Impact’ for their long term legacy goals.

UAE and Israel Establish Partnership for Trade Development and Large Scale Conferences and Exhibitions

By | 2020

Dubai World Trade Centre has signed an agreement with Israel Export Institute to facilitate participation of Israeli exhibitors in large scale exhibitions in the UAE by end of the year.  It is estimated that commercial potential from the agreement between UAE and Israel is at about USD 500 million per annum.

The framework of the agreement was created based on: cooperation and participation in international conferences and large scale exhibitions; organising and exchanging business delegations; as well as support of significant business partnership opportunities between the two countries.

It will be facilitated by Israel’s Export Institute and Ministries of Economy and Foreign Affairs, which are actively engaged in the promotion of Israeli industry following the recent signing of the peace treaty with the UAE. The Israel Export Institute responsible for Israeli participation in international exhibitions will now take on this role for the first time in the Gulf States.

Signing of the agreement is part of a new engagement between the UAE and Israel to further peace and stability in the region through dialogue and cooperation for sustainable development.

“The historic signing of the Abraham Accords agreement has opened new avenues for strengthened collaboration and exchange between the UAE and Israel. It has also established a framework for bilateral trade and economic ties to flourish between both states. Partnerships such as the one between the Dubai World Trade Centre and the Israel Export Institute will have a wide-reaching positive impact, as not only both nations stand to benefit, but so does the wider region, particularly through an inward flow of investment and trade, increased cooperation, knowledge sharing, and large-scale innovation,” said Abdulla bin Touq Al Mari, UAE’s Minister of Economy.

Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Center in Reykjavík Ready for Post-COVID-19 Era

By | 2020

The venue was temporarily closed when social distancing measures were put in place in Iceland on March 16.

Since April 5 however, there has been a steady decline in COVID-19 infections with only a handful of active cases in the country. On May 4, marked the start of substantial easing of the social distancing measures and on May 7, Harpa reopened becoming one of the first conference halls in Europe to do so during the pandemic.

When social distancing measures were put in place in Iceland on March 16, Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Center in Reykjavík had to close temporarily. Before the outbreak, 2020 was on track to be a record year for Harpa in international events.

“It was confusing and difficult for us, as for everyone in the event industry, to see things unfold when borders started closing down,” says Svanhildur Konradsdottir, chief executive officer of Harpa. “But we certainly appreciate that most of our clients chose to postpone their events rather than canceling them. That inspired us to start right away to plan for the post-COVID-19 era.”

The chief executive officer stated that the venue is working closely with the Icelandic health authorities to enable international conference guests to be safely brought together this summer.He added, the venue have implemented processes on dividing space into sections to fulfill current regulations on group size and social distancing.  Also cleaning procedures for the whole building with attention to frequently touched objects and surfaces such as microphones, pointers, keyboards and podiums are disinfected between speakers. Alcohol based hand sanitizers are available to all guest.

Last week Reykjavik announced that from June 15, the 14-day quarantine will not be mandatory for passengers arriving at Keflavik International Airport. Instead, tourists and Icelandic residents entering the country will be given the option of being screened for the novel coronavirus.