2016

A performance presented by the award winning artistes from the China National Acrobatic Troupe (CNAT) wowed an audience of about 2,000 people at the Sunway Amphitheatre. The show was specially brought to Malaysia by the Sunway Lagoon, a theme park operated by the Sunway Group who invited its corporate clients, travel and tour agents, event organisers and the media to attend the show on the first night.

The legendary acrobatic troupe from China is known for their extraordinary aerobatics and gymnastics which are staged with ballet movements and positions. Cirque Panda is a show created to focus on the agility, balance and motor coordination of members of the troupe.

It begins with a story about a panda named Wenwen, who was born different from the other pandas living in the village all of whom have amazing acrobatic skills. She meets a panda master, who became her mentor that inspired and helped her change her life. Finally Wenwen mastered some impressive and difficult tricks which eventually surpassed the skills of the other pandas.

This story was portrayed throughout the show with a series of stunts and gymnastics executed with daring high jumps and leaps that leave you breathless. Also featured are acrobatic acts that defy gravity which require extensive human body performance.

Members of the China National Acrobatic Troup are multi-disciplined, enthusiastic and highly professional. The troupe has over the years won 60 golden awards from all over the world.

Cirque Panda has won Golden Clown Award at the 37th International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo and the President Award at the 26th International Circus Festival of Tomorrow, France. For the gymnastics sequence performed on vertical poles of five meter high the show won the Golden Award at the International Youth Circus Festival of Saint Petersburg, Russia.

It was an evening of fun, entertainment and scrumptious food at the ballroom of the Sunway Putra Hotel Kuala Lumpur. The host was the Sunway Group, one of Malaysia’s leading property-construction conglomerates in appreciation of the support by the media over the one year. Tapping on the Group’s talented staff, they performed a dance routine in Halloween costumes and sang on stage of everyone’s favourite evergreen songs.

Colombo, capital of Sri Lanka is again the venue for the conference which will be held on February 7 and 8 of 2017. Hosted by HVS – one of the world’s leading hospitality consulting and services organisations – THINC Sri Lanka aims to be the region’s premier event for the hospitality and tourism industry.

MICE in Asia is a media partner of the 2nd THINC Sri Lanka Conference.

A leading travel trade show which is now in its ninth edition, the ITB Asia will continue to be held in Singapore for the next three editions. The partnership of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser with Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has been extended from 2017 until 2019. ITB Asia is once again set to bring in a full range of innovative travel products, services, as well as high powered content that caters to new and growing segments in the corporate, leisure and MICE travel.

At the same time, ITB Asia has entered a milestone partnership with the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) of Singapore. After a five year absence, the JNTO has returned with a booth at this year’s show.

“Tourism is a vital part of Japan’s growth strategy and our partnership with ITB Asia to attract international MICE travellers is one of the many efforts that further open our doors in achieving the government’s growth trajectory target of 40 million by 2021,” said Susan Ong, deputy director, Japan Convention Bureau/Japan National Tourism Organisation of Singapore.

Next year, ITB Asia will celebrate the show’s 10th anniversary. According to Dr. Martin Buck, senior vice president, Messe Berlin GmbH visitors, delegates and partners can expect a dedicated Corporate Travel Day and Hotel Day lined up together with an exciting full day of conference programmes.

Meanwhile the ITB Asia 2016 came to a close at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, with 846 exhibitors from 110 countries, and 895 buyers. The show also attracted more than 10,876 attendees. ITB Asia will return in 2017 at the the same venue from October 25 to 27. For more information, please visit www.itb-asia.com

According to the China National Tourism Administration, almost six million Chinese chose to travel to other countries for their vacation.

Among the cities in China, Chengdu has leapfrogged over Guangzhou and Shenzhen to become one of the top three sources of outbound Chinese tourists. Shanghai and Beijing took the first and second place respectively showing that, the residents of these cities enjoy travelling the most.

Hot favourites destinations among Chinese travellers are Korea, Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, USA, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Maldives and Russia. Also now that a number of countries have introduced visa-free policy for Chinese travellers, there have been a significant increase in the number of Chinese visiting Morocco, Tonga and Tunisia. Morocco in particular, saw an increase of 350 percent in Chinese arrivals.

Encouraged by the growth of outbound tourists from Chengdu, the various international exhibitors will be looking to showcase their tourism destinations, products and services at the Chengdu International Tourism Expo 2016.

The exhibition to be held at Century New City International Convention & Exhibition Center from December 2 to 4 is expected to feature more than 400 exhibitors from over 40 countries as well as,  attract some 6,500 trade visitors and 400 hosted buyers.

Sri Lanka has been confirmed as the Country Partner, in their bid to attract more travellers. Sri Lanka will be joined by exhibitors from other countries such as Africa, Austria, Brazil, Denmark, Greece, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates.

For more information, you can contact Conference & Exhibition Management Services Pte Ltd at (65) 6278 8666 or email cite-sales@cems.com.sg and media enquiries at bryan@cems.com.sg
MICE in Asia is a media partner of Chengdu International Tourism Expo 2016.

Yogyakarta or Jogja as its often called,is the city of the Yogyakarta Special Region of Indonesia located on the island of Java. This region is known for its traditional arts and cultural heritage. Historically the region was the Mataram Kingdom between the 8th to 10th centuries and after a series of civil war, became the Yogyakarta Sultanate in 1756.

On October 7 this year, marked the 260th year of the formation of the city. People of Yogyakarta of all walks of life, gathered at Golong Gilig Monument or Tugu Yogyakarta to celebrate the momentous occasion of the city’s anniversary on that day.

During the celebration, the streets along Jogja from the popular Malioboro was turned into a carnival area with musical performance, wayang or shadow puppet, classical Javanese dance shows, gamelan music together with decorative and artistic processions. Thousands of people throng to the streets to watch participants from 14 districts of the Yogyakarta Special Region showcased their creativity in promoting the arts, culture and tradition of their districts.

To officially launch the celebration was the Mayor of Jogja, Bapak Haryadi Suyuti and the Governor of the Yogyakarta Special Region, His Majesty Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X.

The editorial board of MICE in Asia would like to thank the Tourism and Culture Office of Yogyakarta City for inviting our media representatives to attend the celebration of 260th anniversary of Yogyakarta City on October 7, 2016.

Media and tourism stakeholders from Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam were given a taste of what Yogyakarta can offer to the world from historical sites, attractions, arts and culture, local cuisine and hospitality – a familiarisation trip of the city, also known as Jogja, was organised for four days from October 5 to 8.

On the evening of the first day, a dinner was hosted by the Mayor of Yogyakarta City. It was also an opportunity to network with hoteliers and tourism stakeholders from Yogyakarta as well as, sample Indonesian cuisine.

The trip began on the second day, with a journey on four-wheel drive up to Merapi Mountain at Kaliurang where a village was recently devastated by a volcanic eruption. In memory of what has happened, a Merapi Volcano Museum was established on the mountain which has become a centre of information, research, education and tourism on volcanoes.

This was followed by a visit to the Keruntuhan Istana Ratu Boko (Ruins of Queen Boko Palace), where you are able get a panoramic view of the city, and experience sunset from the top of the hill. In the evening, dinner was held at a restaurant near the ancient Hindu Prambanan Temple. Later the group watched the Ramayana ballet performance at the Prambanan.

Not be missed on the third day, was the climb up the ancient Candi Borobudur (Borobudur Temple) at dawn, for the best spot to enjoy the spectacular sights of Jogja’s natural beauty and watch the sunset.

In the afternoon, was a visit to the royal garden of the royal palace called Istana Air Taman Sari. It is an enchanting heritage site that will allow you to explore an ancient royal garden with water pools and admire centuries’ old architecture of a castle.

On October 7 is the Jogja Night Carnival, in celebration of the city’s 260th anniversary. The event included a parade, cultural dance, wayang or puppet show and musical performance throughout the streets of Jogja city.

The editorial board of MICE in Asia would like to thank the Tourism and Culture Office of Yogyakarta City for inviting us on the familiarisation trip to discover Jogja, as a destination for MICE.

The three-day IT&CMA and CTW ended on September 29 with over 10,000 business appointments on the show floor. This is the 24th event held and is said to to be one of the best shows yet according to attendees. Delegates across the board complimented this year’s highlights which included quality exhibitor showcase and buyer profiles with excellent knowledge opportunities and conducive networking platforms.

For the Monaco Government Tourist Bureau who is exhibiting for the first time, has seen a lot of energy at the show, and the selection of international buyers is amazing, said Benoit Badufle, the Regional Director Asia.  The bureau is promoting Monaco as a luxury travel destination and had managed to garner some valuable contacts and buyers.

At the same time, the show’s education programme’s focus, depth and poignant topics as well as, relevant speakers drew nods from attending delegates. As the industry continues to evolve and attract a demographic of veterans and new-comers to the trade, participants at the conference and knowledge sessions concurred that the learning experience are evidenced that the show’s organisers have their pulse on the marketplace.

While the  most anticipated event of the last day was the 15^th Sticky Awards Ceremony that celebrated the efforts of exhibitors, corporates, buyers and corporate travel managers who stood out amongst participants at the show.

This year, Korea took home two of the 12 awards for Stickiest Marketing and Gold for the Stickiest National Booth. Among the other winners to name a few are: TCEB for the Stickiest Function in hosting the Opening Ceremony & Welcome Reception; Philippines (Stickiest National Booth, Silver); Thailand (Stickiest National Booth, Bronze); Thai Airways (Stickiest Corporate Booth, Gold); and Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (Stickiest Social Sharing).

Main objective of the Memorandum of Understanding was to collaborate on the education and training of MICE professionals and strengthening of business platforms for the development of MICE industry in Korea and Thailand. The agreement was signed in Bangkok on September 29 by Eung Su Kim, President of KMA and Sumate Sudasna, President of TICA.

The collaboration involves KMA and TICA to invite members of each other’s association to attend educational meetings and sessions. This is followed by cooperation to promote both associations’s internship programmes and send speakers to events and MICE meetings organised and sponsored by KMA and TICA.

KMA was established in 2003 in Korea with members such as the convention and visitor’s bureau, destination marketing organisations, convention and exhibition centres, professionals convention and exhibition organisers, hotels and resorts and other companies related to the MICE industry in Korea.

TICA, is a non-profit organisation which was set up in 1984 jointly by the government of Thailand and the private sector – comprising of key practioners in the business events industry. The main function of this association is, to promote and market Thailand as leading business events destination and to develop expertise among members in servicing meeting planners and event organisers.