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Mission Hills China (comprising of properties in Haikou, Shenzhen and Dongguan), is already recognised as having the world’s largest golf club by the Guinness World Records, as well as winner of multiple international awards with a total of 22 golf courses. On each property is a five-star resort with luxurious accommodation and dining experience, as well as offering leisure recreation and spa and wellness. The facilities in Mission Hills China also extend to include a host of first-class MICE venues.

All three Mission Hills resorts have a full range of meetings and conventions spaces, with large ballrooms that can hold events, banquets, weddings, exhibitions, conferences and concerts. The resorts have the advantage of the prestigious golf course setting and natural green surroundings. At the same time, to help you plan your events, meetings and conventionst the experienced Mission Hills MICE in-house team is on hand to advise.

The editorial team from MICE in Asia publication was invited to visit the Mission Hills in Haikou, Shenzhen and Dongguan to familiarise themselves with all three resorts and facilities available there.

Golf Course
Altogether there are 22 golf courses stretching across Mission Hills in Haikou, Shenzhen and Dongguan. Each course has been designed by and named after top golfers and PGA tour professionals from Greg Norman, David Leadbetter, David Duval, Annika Sorenstam and Jose Maria Olazabal to name a few including China’s Zhang Lian Wei. While the Ernie Els and Jumbo Ozaki courses in Shenzhen are fitted with floodlights that allow golfers to play until 2.00 am. Among the region’s most important tournament that Mission Hills China has hosted are the World Cup of Golf, Tiger Woods China Challenge and the Asian Amateur Championship.

Resort accommodation
Guests staying at Mission Hills will definitely find the view from their suites and rooms of the golf course breathtaking. The resort in Haikou has about 518 suites and rooms while in Shenzhen and Dongguan totaled 500. Each resort has restaurants, a fully-equipped fitness and recreation centre, and a swimming pool.

MICE facilities
All three properties of Mission Hills, are equipped with first-class MICE facilities ranging from multi-function rooms with flexible set-up options to ballrooms which can fit any kind of events – small meeting to large events and conferences. The grand ballrooms in Haikou, Shenzhen and Dongguan resorts are elegantly decorated with a backstage, dressing room and a pre-function foyer.

Mission Hills Haikou Five-Continent Mineral Spring Villa
Haikou itself is home to several natural mineral spring reserves with water drawn from 800 metres below the ground of volcanic in origin. Only available at the Haikou Mission Hills, the golf resort has created an extensive area of about 950,000 square feet of 21 acres, as a destination for mineral spring and spa. Several spring reserves are found here, and are defined by the features of countries from the five continents – Asia, Oceania, America, Europe, Africa and the Middle East with distinctive themes of Tropical Orient, Native Maori, Ancient Roman Pool, American Wild West, Lost City and Exotic Turkish Bath.

Movie-Themed Town at Haikou Mission Hills
Is a commercial venture between Mission Hills, the Huayi Brothers and Feng Xhio Gang on an area of 1,400 acres have been set for a movie-themed town. It features the setting from some of Feng’s famous movies, and when completed, there will also be dining and entertainment outlets, shopping, cinema and hotels. This will establish Haikou as the leading entertainment, cultural and leisure destination in China.

The publisher of MICE in Asia would like to thank: Mr Yum Siew Wah, General Manager of Mission Hills Haikou; Sundi Shi and Mona Li of Mission Hills Shenzhen; and Manshun Zhu of Mission Hills Dongguan for the familiarisation tour of the resorts. Our special thanks go to Sundi Shi, Mona Li and Kitty Wu for organising and making the trip a memorable one.

Registrations for IT&CM China have risen in recent months leading up to the international MICE event in China. Spurred by growing interest in international buying demand for China and the other destinations in the Greater China region, IT&CM China is experiencing its largest record of buyer registrations in its eight year history.

German buyer Bernd Maesse, Managing Director of Maesse Marketing Consulting Limited estimates that, the total volume of MICE business that he will be buying into China this year alone, will reach some 1 million Euros. “As China is the number one trading partner in Asia for Germany, the destination, will be the most important MICE destination in the region for us and our clients.”

Meanwhile Shital Rajan, president and chief executive officer, Meeting and Incentive Department of Air Safety Equipment Inc. USA, expects an increase of at least 10 to 12 percent for their incentive and meeting programmes in China. “Our experience with incentive programs, meetings and new product launches in China, has been extremely successful and popular. The destination has become very important for my clients in the advanced aircraft industry.”

The region is also on the top of the list for many other end-user clients across diverse industries including automotive, agricultural, computer hardware, construction engineering, fashion and lifestyle, finance and insurance, manufacturing, software technology, steel and production, and pharmaceuticals.

Rachel Dobbs, manager of Global Accounts of Helmsbriscoe, USA, attributes this uptrend in China’s popularity to the growing partnerships between Chinese companies and foreign companies. She elaborates, “Whenever there is an increase in such collaborations, those industries are going to see a growth in the number of foreign companies bringing their meetings, conventions and programs there. As such, I think that China is going to be popular for educational trainings, and for organisations and associations that have growing numbers of members and constituents who are China based.”

Buyers of IT&CM has showed continued interest in popular cities within China and the Greater China region including Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Sanya, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Up and coming destinations such as Dalian, Fujian, Guilin, Guizhow, Hunan, Tianjin, Tibet, Xian and Yunan are already on the radar of attending IT&CM China buyers from Europe and America.

For more information on IT&CM China, visit www.itcmchina.com

International Congress and Convention Association have forecasted that China is likely to become a primary MICE destination in the 21st century. Although China’s MICE industry is in the infancy, it is rapidly growing, and considered the most valuable sector in the tourism industry of the country. The Guangzhou MICE and Leisure Tourism Fair -a thematic show of the China Guangzhou 11th International Leisure & Recreation Expo (GILE) is specifically organised to meet the market demands of Guangzhou’s industrial development

This year, GILE covering 100,000 square metres of planning area with up to 500 booths is estimated to attract over 200 related enterprises to participate in the fair. China Import & Export Fair of the Pazhou Complex shall again be the venue for the Guangzhou MICE and Leisure Tourism Fair which will be from March 1 to 3.

The fair is being sponsored by Guangdong Enterprises Association for Foreign Economic Cooperation, GD-HK Economic & Information Exchange Association, Hong Kong Grandeur International Exhibition Group Limited and Asian Association of Entertainment Venue Owners.

Several exciting events and festivals are lined up in Kuala Lumpur for 2914 combining art, culture sports and shopping. Visitors worldwide are invited to the city to experience the beat and energy of this sprawling metropolis of Malaysia.

To begin with the celebration, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, ushered in the New Year with a live concert at the Dataran Merdeka (Independence Square) of performance by Malaysian rock stars and artistes, hosted by the Mayor, Datuk Seri Haji Ahmad Phesal.

The concert to usher in 2014 was backed by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall Orchestra.

Malaysian Rock Star Amy of Search urging his fans to join him in a chorus of his hit song ‘Isabella’.

Below are the happenings you can expect throughout the year in the city.

 OCBC Cycle Malaysia from January 17 to 19
 KL Chinese New Year Open House on February 13
 KL Grand Prix City Festival from February 28 to March 20
 Earth Hour on March 29
 Malaysia GP Sales from March 15 to April 6
 KL International Towerthon Challenge on May 17
 KL Bonzai & Orchid Show from May 16 to 18
 Colours of Malaysia on May 24
 KL Fairground from May to June
 Malaysia Mega Sale from Jun 28 to September 11
 KL Hari Raya Open House on August 14
 National Day Celebration on August 31
 KL Samrah Festival from September 4 to 6
 KL Tower International Jump Malaysia from September 26 to 29
 Arts in the Park in October
 KL Standard Chartered Marathon in October
 KL Deepavali Open House on October 23
 Malaysia Year End Sale from November 15 to January 4, 2015
 KL Christmas Day Open House on December 25
 KL Car Free Morning every Sunday of the first week of the month

Organised by the management of the hotel and hosted by Ian Hurst, the general manager a number of the hotel’s clients and the media were invited to a party at the poolside of the hotel. This is in appreciation of the support shown by the hotel’s clients, and also to celebrate Christmas together.

Programme for the evening included a cabaret performance with guests participating in the hula hoop competition for men and women category followed by, testing ones flexibility and endurance in a limbo rock game. The evening ended with lucky draws with attractive prizes of one to two night stay at Best Western properties in Asia, and dining for two at the hotel’s restuarant.

Poolside of the Best Western Premier Sentral Dua in Kuala Lumpur.

Taiwan has begun a MICE industry pilot programme with the long-term objective of elevating the quality and efficiency of the country’s MICE services, as well as sharpening its international image and competitive edge as a MICE brand. In conjunction with this, a new logo has been created with several international marketing campaigns and domestic promotion to boost the visibility of Taiwan’s MICE industry. An international press conference on MICE was held on December 5 to announce and introduce this programme to representatives of Taiwan’s external trade development council worldwide and media members from Asia and Europe.

Meet Taiwan international press conference and 2013 Taiwan MICE awards held at the Taipei International Convention Center.

Visit to 101 Tower formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District of Taipei – one of the world’s tallest buildings.

Members of the media having a lesson on making Chinese dumpling, trying their hands on folding and crimping the dough which contains meat and bean paste.

Tour of the Taiwan Design Museum which was once a tobacco factory located at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in Taipei.

A trip to Kaohsiung which is about one and a half hours by high speed rail, to visit the International Convention Center Kaohsiung and newly-built Kaohsiung Exhibition Center. While in Kaohsiung a stop-over at a handicraft village just outside the city that has a cottage industry of making hand-painted oil paper umbrella.

MICE in Asia would like to thank Meet Taiwan for organising the familiarisation trip to Taipei and Kaohsiung.

From the success of this year’s event with exhibitors from 39 countries, the GITF will, once again be held at the China Import and Export Fair next year from February 27 to March 1.

Exhibitors, delegates and visitors can expect an exciting show with new layout and innovative features by the orgnisers Hannover Milano Fairs Shanghai Ltd.

The exhibition area next year, will be divided into International Trade and MICE Hall Domestic Hall and Travel Service Hall. Several enterprises from countries and regions worldwide which include America, Britain, Brazil, Sweden, South Africa, Scotland, Czech Republic, Iran, Maldives, Malaysia and Cambodia have reserved their booths. The proportion of international exhibitors has according to the organisers exceeded 60 percent.

Brazil has confirmed its participation in GITF 2014, as the guest of honour – taking the opportunity to promote and publicise the World Cup 2014 and the Olympic Games of 2016.

Also with China’s favourable policy of granting “72-hour transit without visa” have motivated domestic and international travel agencies and enterprises to take part in the fair.

GITF 2014 will continue to apply the PSA reservation system to match exhibitors with potential buyers. The system enables both exhibitors and buyers to arrange their schedule in advance for the three-day fair.

There will also be the special-buyer plan where the organisers conduct comprehensive examination and evaluation of buyers with high procurement power. This plan was first started in July 2013, and has so far attracted more than 700 special buyers to visit this industry event.

As regards to travel trends, China reported the organisers, has already surpassed Germany and America to become the biggest outbound market. Now with the favourable policies of the government in China coupled with fast growing tourism resources, has also boosted the growth of domestic tourism.

The Guangdong province for example intends to build several high-speed railways connecting Xiamen and Shenzhen, Nanning and Guangzhou, Guiyang and Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Maoming, Shaoguan and Ganzhou, Meizhou and Chaozhou-Shantou region. This transportation system will connect with that of the Pearl River Delta – an economic zone centre of the province. High-speed travel as a tourism resource will be showcased in the GITF 2014.

The theme on ‘Honeymooning and Overseas Wedding’ was popular in the ITE MICE 2013, with many of the exhibitors in the show offering the full service of organising a wedding from arranging the wedding ceremony and banquet to accommodation, sightseeing and shopping.

Hong Kong citizens according to the organiser of the expo, have been spending more on weddings especially those that are held overseas. In a recent survey by the expo revelaed that marrying couples from Hong Kong, on the average, spend HK$300,000 (US$38,500) on weddings. This was up seven percent over last year with nearly two thirds spent on banquet and honeymooning.

Occupying 16,000 square metres with separate days for trade and public, the expo in 2013 drew from 46 countries and regions, 680 exhibitors some 85 percent of which are from outside Hong Kong. Meanwhile 72 percent of its 11,872 trade visitors and buyers came from Hong Kong and China, especially Guangdong and 74 percent of the 73,200 public visitors preferred travelling as FIT.

The ITE & MICE 2014 which is the 28th International Travel Expo Hong Kong and the 9th MICE Travel Expo will be held from June 12 to 15 in 2014 at Halls 1A to 1E of the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre. The expo is supported by China National Tourism Administration, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Macau Government Tourist Office and the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong.

Located just outside Kuala Lumpur city on 160 acres of lush tropical green, is The Saujana Hotel. Adjacent to it, is The Saujana Golf and Country Club, an 18-hole golf course with a club house and chalet complex.

Recently the management of the hotel celebrated the re-opening of its pillar less ballroom. After 26 years, to keep the ballroom fresh, was recently renovated to give it a new look and feel to reflect with the times. In the past, the ballroom has been a hectic venue of a number of events, conferences and weddings.

It’s an ideal place to have your meetings with The Saujana’s location away from the city and the golf course next door.

Julia Douglas with Karen Tan (right) Public Relations Manager, The Saujana Hotel.

Confidence in the exhibition was seen through the support from industry exhibitors, notably from new participants, destination and convention and visitor bureaus. This year’s showcase featured 122 new exhibiting companies, with many of these new companies coming in under the various convention bureaus and national pavilions, including new participating countries of Jordan, India and New Zealand.

Japan’s private MICE sector has also chosen IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific to stage a comeback to the MICE scene. To help position the destination to international buyers, event organisers have clustered all participating Japanese exhibitors on the show floor. Similarly Singapore is represented by 15 private sector organisations, 10 of which were clustered into a dedicated Singapore pavilion to promote the destination. Taiwan has also doubled their confidence in the event with twice the booth space this year coinciding with their exclusive MEET TAIWAN networking event, to maximise their reach to local buyers and media.

There was also an increase in MICE visitors with the bulk of arrivals coming from Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.