2020

Actions taken by the Thai government and private agencies since the outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) have raised the confidence within the MICE industry as 24 international and regional conventions and exhibitions involving more than 40,000 participants will proceed as planned over the next three months.

According to Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) president Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, key MICE events will proceed as scheduled. These include 18 global and regional conventions scheduled to take place from February to April in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya and Phuket with a combined total of 17,800 delegates. In addition, Thailand is also set to host six international exhibitions from now until March with an expected turnout of 24,546 visitors.

He said, ” Thai authorities and business operators have strictly followed the guidelines set by the UN’s World Health Organization and will continue to do so in the fight against Covid-19.

The Covid-19 only reminds us that we have tackled the spread of other viruses before so we are again working closely with all relevant parties to manage this situation. We are aware of WHO’s recommendation – to control the spark before it becomes a fire. So we are taking measures to control both the outbreak and the panic to achieve that goal.”

Stringent screening has been in place at all international airports in Thailand since January 3, 2020. Thermoscan surveillance and health checks are ongoing at Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket and Krabi airports. Healthcare personnel are on standby to render emergency support.

Standard operating procedures already implemented include separation of flights and passengers from an infected origin country and other special arrangements such as the despatch of suspected patients to a Ministry of Public Health hospital for treatment stated TCEB’s president.

Airports of Thailand have stepped up their maintenance regime with more frequent disinfection of high contact areas such as door knobs and counter tops. All arriving passengers now receive a “Health Beware Card” in Chinese, English and Thai.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Tourism and Sports have also issued advisories to travel agencies and airlines, instructing them to monitor and scale up health checks to ensure the safety and well being of all visitors to the country.

Event venues, hotels and establishments with international visitors have been taking additional measures to prevent infection and transmission. Venue owners are installing thermoscan cameras at the entrance to their properties and providing more alcohol-based sanitisers throughout their premises.

The six TCEB-supported international exhibitions scheduled up to March 2020 are Future Energy Asia by DMG Events, Thailand Coffee and Bakery 2020 by Kavin Intertrade, CPhl SEA 2020 by Informa Markets, VIV Health & Nutrition Asia 2020 by VNU Exhibitions Asia Pacific, VICTAM Asia by Victam International BV and The Road & Traffic Thailand by Terrapinn.

VIV Health & Nutrition and VICTAM Asia are among the nine new exhibitions to debut in Thailand this year, which is expected to increase net space sold by 49,464 sqm. The other new shows are Maintenance and Resilience Asia, ASEANBIKE, Thailand Marine Offshore Expo, The Road & Traffic Expo, Cosmoprof CBE ASEAN, LOGIMAT and Medialab Asia Pacific.

Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) reinvented the way associations collaborate in the Asia Pacific region by introducing the Round Table, bringing together associations attending the 2020 event to engage in discussions of common challenges facing its members.

It was by invitation only meeting connecting C-suite executives from some 40 organisations across the Asia Pacific region and worldwide.  The Round Table

was designed exclusively for associations which included lively debates and workshops to create new community and business models to drive association innovation.

Introduced in collaboration with Melbourne Convention Bureau, whose chief executive officer, Julia Swanson said that there are not many business events who have invested in the development of strong networks and communities, and the Round Table, is a testament to AIME’s development and understanding of what the industry needs.

The intention of launching this Round Table for associations according to Jay Martens, event director of Talk2Media and Events, is to leave AIME with business models that can be applied to associations in their region.

AIME 2020 wrapped up its three-day event on February 19 at the Melbourne Convention Centre with more than 2,000 visitors, 300 exhibitors and over 10,000 meetings took place over the three days.

While registration of this year’s AIME,  saw a 20 per cent uplift despite, the current reduced levels of international travel due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak.

Reed Travel Exhibitions announced it has postponed the inaugural edition of IBTM Asia Pacific in Singapore to April 13 and 14 in 2021.

The decision has been taken following the latest advice from partners regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19) and, as a result of in-depth discussions with customers and hosted buyers from the region and globally.

Commenting on the announcement, Shane Hannam, portfolio director of IBTM Events said that the decision made by the organiser was not taken lightly for its customers, partners and team in Singapore, have worked hard on the event.  While it is disappointing to postpone, it’s imperative that the organiser prioritise on the health and safety of everyone involved.

The decision to reschedule the show is also supported by the Singapore Tourism Board. Its executive director of conventions, meetings and incentive travel, Dr Edward Koh mentioned STB, will continue to work closely with Reed Travel Exhibitions and other partners, to provide the assistance required during this time.

IBTM he added is a valued partner and the Asia Pacific show remains a key highlight in Singapore’s event calendar and look forward to extending a warm welcome to all attendees and exhibitors in 2021.

ICCA’s Research Division is monitoring the status of all 1,065 meetings in the ICCA Association Database currently scheduled in Asia Pacific for 2020: Only 44 meetings scheduled for Asia Pacific are affected by COVID-19 (4.1 percent) – 44 meetings, 34 are postponed, five cancelled and five relocated. Outside Asia Pacific, two meetings in Europe and one in Africa are postponed.

James Rees, ICCA president said: “When facing uncertainty or crisis, identifying reliable and timely sources of information is critical to making responsible decisions. We have put together our COVID-19 liveblog to help global meetings industry professionals to find reliable information about the novel COVID-19 outbreak and to share meetings industry-related resources with the global ICCA community of meeting suppliers and associations.”

“We believe the international meetings industry can play its part in finding a solution to the current COVID-19 outbreak. International meetings represent the best possible vehicle for addressing this and many other global issues. As an industry, we must demonstrate resilience and confidence by maintaining to the greatest extent possible our ongoing schedule of activities – and where this is not possible, by working collaboratively to develop alternatives that help maintain the exchange of information and insights that account for the benefits we believe to result from this kind of engagement.”

COVID-19 Meeting Solutions

ICCA has received requests for alternative meeting facilities from associations, is reaching out to associations who are looking to relocate their meetings, and to help them find new meeting facilities.

The annual China Conference & Business Travel Fair (CCBTF) organised by the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism received full endorsement from ICCA. The decision was made during a meeting in Shanghai between Patrick Chen, director of marketing and promotion department of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism with Senthil Gopinath, chief executive officer of ICCA and Noor Ahmad Hamid, ICCA’s regional director for Asia Pacific.

This endorsement marks the culmination of efforts to further position Shanghai as a leading hub for conferences and, supports Shanghai’s local Business Events industry in its transformation to become an international B2B event with strong business appeal.

CCBTF is a primary educational forum for local industry professionals to stimulate knowledge exchange, business development and networking. The forum attracts over 500 meetings industry stakeholders from across China and brings together a line-up of global speakers and delegates from the meetings industry to discuss key issues, exchange industry ideas and create business and networking opportunities.

It features travel experience designed TED Talks, knowledge-sharing, buyers-meet-sellers sessions and the release of the annual China Business Travel Report, which is a highly anticipated industry report. The event also includes trending meetings industry topics such as meetings technology, destination promotion, digital strategy, and experiential design as well as, a training programme specially catered to young meeting industry professionals.

CCBTF 2020 will be held on September 23rd and 24th at Shanghai International Convention Centre.

ICCA’s Chief Executive Officer Senthil Gopinath (left) and Patrick Chen, Director of Marketing and Promotion Department, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, shake hands in Shanghai to confirm the extended partnership.

Study by Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) reveals face-to-face meetings the most effective way to conduct business.  The meetings and incentives event has unveiled a new report that shows 93 percent of business event delegates find human interaction and connections important across business events, with 48 percent declaring them to be critical.

The new study, conducted by Talk2 Media & Events in the lead-up to AIME 2020, surveyed over 200 buyers and exhibitors from across the Asia Pacific region (87 percent) and wider world (13 percent) – looking at industry challenges and the most valued attributes.

The study revealed that the biggest barriers to business when attending an industry trade show were lack of quality buyers and exhibitors (33 percent), followed by insufficient networking opportunities (24 percent), poorly organised appointments and meetings (20 percent), lack of educational opportunities (13 percent) and poor timing of the industry event (10 percent).

The study also found that over 60 percent of buyers and exhibitors continue to find face-to-face connections the most effective way to conduct business, followed by email (32 percent) and phone call (4 percent).

Interestingly, when asked about the rise of digital in the industry, the two biggest concerns lay in losing touch with human relationships (48 percent), followed by online communities replacing physical communities (26 percent).

Matt Pearce, chief executive officer of Talk2 Media & Events said, “This industry report provides real insight into what makes delegates tick – and is another way we’re continuing to listen to the community.

At AIME 2020, expect to be challenged both professionally and personally. We have sharpened our focus on creating more meaningful and human moments, with greater opportunities to drive positive business results.”

It was also revealed that the Asia Pacific region was critical (34 percent) to driving business growth, with 42 percent stating that the region had significant influence and only 16 percent stating it had partial influence.

When it came to the best time to place business, 37 per cent of buyers and exhibitors stated the first quarter (Januart to March) was most important, followed by 23 per cent for the third quarter (July to September), 25 per cent for the second (April to June) and 15 per cent for the fourth (October to December).

AIME is scheduled to run in Melbourne February 17 to 19 February.

Visit aime.com.au for final registrations.

The business events industry in Sarawak, a state located in East Malaysia considered to be a second-tier conference destination, has secured the highest number of business events in a single year in 2019 – estimated to anchor more than RM90 million in direct delegate expenditure (DDE) from the spending of flights, accommodation, meals and entertainment.

Aside from assessing the economic value to Sarawak, the secured collective of meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions were also assessed under its Legacy Impact Assessment which pointed 965 potential impacts for Sarawak.

The Legacy Impact Accessment introduced by Business Events Sarawak or BESarawak, the state’s convention bureau is for the business events industry to fulfill a bigger purpose than just putting value on business and financial benefits, but also to leave a legacy.

Events are assessed against the 7 Key Focus Areas (7KFA) of urban development and re-development, industry development, social, environmental, agricultural and service and digital economy.

In addition to celebrating the triumphant wins and scoring, BESarawak has also announced that the figures associated with the bid wins such as delegate attendance, days and expenditure has surpassed the bureau’s expectation and target. According to their survey, 72.4 percent of delegates extended their stay post-convention with a satisfaction scoring of 98.4 percent.

Stated by the chairman of BESarawak, Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr. Muhammad Leo Toyad last year’s success in securing the highest number of business events indicate the actual strength of this industry on the state’s economy and is confident that the figures will increase exponentially.

The Thailand Chapter of Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) won the Rising Star Award for 2019 at SITE’s 2020 Global Conference held in Vancouver, Canada. The annual awards honour individual members and chapter organisations that have contributed to the association and the world’s incentive travel industry.

SITE Thailand was established last year during the SITE Global Conference 2019 in Bangkok with 22 members. Its membership has since grown to 30 – comprising destination management companies, hotels, event planners and trade associations.

The Rising Star Award recognises SITE Thailand’s steady membership growth, varied activities and strong support for SITE’s Young Leaders Program and defined leadership structure. Also for its timely submission of reports during the qualifying period overall resilience and performance.

Thailand’s other winner at the conference is Max Boontawee Jantasuwan, founder and chief executive officer of Events Travel Asia in Bangkok, and SITE Thailand Chapter president. He won the Kevin Forde Spirit Award 2019, which is given each year to individuals who best exemplify the generosity of time and energy that Kevin Forde had for fellow incentive travel professionals and volunteerism.

Membership is open to all stakeholders in association meetings throughout the world. According to ICCA, by joining the community, associations have access to education, connections, tools and resources to organise more effective meetings.

Also through the ICCA Association Community, associations can make their voice heard in ICCA’s global community for the international meetings industry on: how their association and their meetings will make a difference in the future.

Associations will have access to ICCA’s Association Meetings Intelligence as well as to ICCA’s events and enjoy peer-to-peer networking, expertise and education.

“The launch of the ICCA Association Community will integrate associations with our membership, helping to shape ICCA’s future and provide opportunities for ever-closer collaboration,” remarked ICCA president James Rees.

While, Thomas Reiser, executive director of the International Society on Thrombosis and Homeostasis (ISTH) said: “Networking with international associations among each other is critical for the success of our activities as the peer-to-peer sharing and learning is one of the most powerful aspects.”

He added by doing this on a well-established platform like ICCA and, combining it with the community of destination partners is even more beneficial for ISTH particularly, in their joint efforts to professionalise the way to collaborate in planning and executing successful events.

This is why ISTH said the executive director, is happy to be part of the ICCA Association Community and look forward to the benefits such as access to data, sharing new ideas, thought-provoking education and peer to peer networking.

Associations can sign up through a form on the ICCA website.

Citing the business events industry’s vast potential for taking care of people and communities, PCMA president and CEO Sherrif Karamat announced a pan-industry initiative to raise USD 250,000 to help those affected by the bushfires in Australia and the earthquakes in Puerto Rico.

“Doing good for people and communities in crisis is doing good for all of us,” Karamat said. “The business events industry has a rich legacy of stepping up and coming together to do good when disasters strike. This is another way of demonstrating how business events can be a catalyst for economic and social transformation.”

Three years ago, the PCMA Foundation created the Industry Relief Fund to unify the business events community to aid of members of the industry who were suffering from disasters wherever they may be.

In addition to direct financial support through the Industry Relief Fund, PCMA will also collaborate with leaders in the affected communities to provide messaging support through PCMA’s global networks and channels.

Donate and find out more at:foundation.pcma.org/industry-relief-fund.