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The venue now boosts total 5G coverage spanning event spaces, restaurants to backstage area and facility users can now have simultaneous access, to data-intensive applications and content. The 5G network infrastructure will empower exhibitors to integrate physical and online marketing and sales efforts to a more stable and better real-time live-streaming of events. It also includes the application of new technologies such as, hologram and augmented reality in engagement with visitors and streaming of high-definition videos to visitors’ mobile devices.

Marking a new page in the venue’s installation of the 5G infrastructure is the introduction of a “futuristic staff member” to the HKCEC team – Captain C a 5G smart robot who recently, completed its apprenticeship, as a security captain at the Hong Kong Computer & Communications Festival

Captain C combines 5G network and artificial intelligence technologies. It is equipped with a 360-degree 4K high-definition surveillance camera, infrared detection camera, and a sensor system for detecting smoke and fire. While its role at the venue is versatile, it can implement crowd management and at the same, undertake pandemic prevention measures through broadcast of social distancing reminders.

Capital C  HKCEC’s first 5G smart security robot.

When a person exhibits a high body temperature, or does not wear a mask, Captain C, will instantly transmit real-time images to the security control room so that appropriate follow-up actions can be taken.

The five-year advancement project to upgrade and refurbish HKCEC’s facilities began in 2019, and over several stages. The introduction of Captain C is a benefit of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region government’s subsidy scheme for encouraging early deployment of 5G, to improve operational efficiency.

Live from Bangkok, Thailand on September 2 from 2.30pm, the ceremony witnessed the Asia Convention Alliance’s founding members: TCEB, TICA, Seoul Tourism Organization (STO), Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MYCEB), Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) join forces in signing a series of bilateral MoUs that will mark the establishment of Asia Convention Alliance.

The parties involved signed on September 2, three Memorandums of Understanding:  Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) and Seoul Tourism Organization (STO); TCEB and Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB); and between Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA) and Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).

Mr. Chiruit Isarangkun Na Ayuthaya, president of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau stated: “The idea of TCEB and TICA to form the alliance with our Asian counterparts was initiated in December 2020, when we foresaw that the convention market in Asia is most promising and expected to be on the real verge of recovery sooner, due to preceding readiness for short-haul travel and economic stimulus policies of the governments in the region.

Mr. Sumate Sudasna, president of Thailand Incentive and Convention Association said,  “We are ready to share our resources and market expertise with every member of the Asia Convention Alliance. Together, we can give Asia’s convention industry a deserving reboot.”

Mr. Ki Yon Kil, president and CEO of Seoul Tourism Organization mentioned “We expect the MoU with TCEB in building further collaboration and cooperation among Asian cities will serve as an important step toward the recovery of the business events industry amidst the difficult time.”

Dato’ Sri Abdul Khani Daud, chief executive officer of Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau commented ” We are committed to strengthening cooperation with the alliance. MyCEB aims to facilitate knowledge exchange and rebuild the business events industry in the region.”

Ms. Leonor F. M. Lin, president and chief executive officer of Taiwan External Trade Development Council expressed: “During the trying times of the covid-19 pandemic, TAITRA is certain that this cooperation is greatly beneficial to the MICE industry in Asia and brings together the best for the MICE industry around the world.”

“Globally, one third of all edible food produced is thrown in the bin, and with one in every nine Australian unsure where their next meal is coming from, OzHarvest and their goals are relevant to all of us as a community,” said chief executive of MCEC Peter King.

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre is supporting OzHarvest in their commitment to fight food waste through food rescue, education programmes and sustainability work.

The venue’s contribution will be through ongoing food donations, resources and service provision with workplace giving, fundraising and advocacy programmes.

MCEC will also provide a commercial kitchen space to OzHarvest for the food rescue organisation’s ‘Cooking for a Cause’ Programme for three days in a week. Participants can learn from OzHarvest chefs zero-waste cooking skills and how to, transform rescued ingredients, into gourmet meals, ready for distribution to communities in need of food.

OzHarvest is Australia’s leading food rescue organisation with the driving purpose, to ‘Nourish Our Country’. In Melbourne, it has diverted over six million kilogrammes of quality food from landfill to people in the state of Victoria.

It also run education programmes to create positive change through its Nutrition Education Skills (NES) training of educating adults, to cook healthy meals on a budget; and Food Waste Education (FEAST) where, curriculum on food waste and sustainability are included in primary schools.

Each year in Australia, food waste costs AUD20 billion, while five million people experience food insecurity.

To find out more about rescuing food from events, you can go to www.ozharvest.org

NeXTfairs for Exhibitions & Conferences announced that, Qatar Travel Mart 2021 will be held from November 16 to 18 this year, at Doha Exhibition and Convention Center. The event, is expected to provide insights and new perspectives to the future of tourism, while also offering most sought-after travel destinations, real estate development projects and up-to-date luxury, business, medical, sports, MICE, halal tourism, leisure and cultural tourism trends.

Qatar Tourism is the strategic partner of QTM with Discover Qatar and Qatar Airways Holidays as leisure partners. International participation are from countries such as Italy, Cyprus, the Maldives, Azerbaijan, Rwanda and the Dominican Republic among others and countries, that are looking at to enhance their presence in the Qatari market.

Mr. Rawad Sleem, co-founder and general manager of NeXTfairs for exhibitions and conferences highlighted that QTM will be under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Qatar.

Mr. Rawad Sleem, Co-Founder and General Manager of NeXTfairs.

He also stressed that only fully vaccinated people will be allowed into he exhibition whether staff members or visitors.  All precautionary measures will be applied to ensure the health and safety of the participants, exhibitors and visitors during the exhibition.

The measures include regular and consistent disinfection of the halls and the public and private places as well as, ensuring thorough disinfection of areas that entail meeting and communicating with visitors, especially reception halls, and other common places. The disinfection process will be carried out by highly trained technicians in accordance with international safety standards wearing appropriate personal protective equipment and using the latest spray technology

This is the first international film win for the Malaysian business events industry produced by Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) as part of its Tribe Legacy Sarawak marketing campaign. The short film of which the category fell under was entitled: ‘Sarawak – New Normal in Business Events’.

The award winning short film opens with a traditional Iban headhunter chasing down an international delegate through a rainforest. What seems to be a dangerous encounter is, in fact, a figment of the delegate’s imagination as he gets his temperature scanned at the conference venue, among other protocol procedures.

While the film targets a specific audience, the storyline is widely applauded by the local community for its creative and rather humorous demonstration of covid-19 precautionary measures – making it relatable to an audience outside of the business events industry.

Sarawak’s creative flare is no stranger to the Los Angeles Film Awards panel musician Alena Murang and production house Sarawak Eye, also bagged awards at this year’s LAFA.

You can watch the award winning short film on BESarawak’s Youtube Channel – BESarawak  at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saUxR8KpyDw.

The expansion of the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center once completed will be five times larger, with a total event space of 78,500 square metres, two main exhibition halls with over 45,000 square metres, two large conference halls with nearly 10,000 square metres, 50 flexible meeting rooms and additional retail zone.

It will when opened in September 2022, have a daily capacity of over 100,000 visitors, reaffirming QSNCC’s position as Thailand’s largest convention centre within the commercial business district of Bangkok.

TCC Assets (Thailand) Co., Ltd, the investment holding and real estate company responsible in revamping the venue, stated QSNCC will be able to accommodate, all types of world class events on a global scale.  Already, the venue has begun to take in bookings for events, and has had positive response from MICE operators in the country as well as,  from merchandisers and food businesses for retail space.

“Despite the covid-19 challenges globally, we managed to follow our long-term investment plan to complete the QSNCC remodeling successfully,” said Mr. Panote Sirivadhanabhakdi, director of TCC Assets (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

Queen Sirikit National Convention Center is a key element in the development of Rama IV district landscape which range from commercial, retail, hotels, hospital, residential and convention and exhibition venues.

N.C.C. Management & Development Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of TCC Assets manages the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.

This initiative and partnership is a world first for Malaysia. Sarawak joins the Global Destination Sustainability Index for Business Events and Tourism by launching the GDSI Partnership Programme-Sarawak Region.  The GDSI-Sarawak partnership comprises of 30 committee members; consisting of local government ministries and agencies, academia, associations, and industry partners.

GDS Index is globally recognised as a bench marking system that will rank Sarawak’s business events, and tourism sustainability performance. The assessment will be based on 71 indicators across four key areas which are: environmental performance; social progress performance; destination supplier performance; and destination management performance.

The Index is fully aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and Global Sustainable Tourism Council Destinations. Sarawak has, in its development strategy of post covid-10 to be a leading destination in ecotourism and sustainable business events by 2030, based on the criteria set by the United Nations’ GSTC.

Kuching has been selected for the pilot project of the GDS Index programme, which positions the city, as one of the 75 progressive destinations in the world to undertake the GDS Index. It will later expand to other cities such as Sibu, Miri, and major towns in Sarawak.

The two powerhouses have united to leverage on the collective expertise of both organisations, to help businesses sharpen their competitive edge through immersive event experiences.

Hubilo is rapidly emerging as the most trusted and scalable hybrid and virtual platform for event organisers recently unveiled, an improved version of its platform, with additional robust engagement features placing greater emphasis on attendee experience streamlined and minimal navigation.

Constellar Venues on the other hand, provide an integrated services model that includes: fully equipped state-of-the-art hybrid studios for high-quality content production and seamless broadcasting; digital project management with live event support; and event management for virtual and hybrid engagements.

“Digital transformation is all we speak about these days and there is a good reason for this. Unlike so many other business buzz phrases that come and go, digital transformation, especially in the event management space, is fundamental to business success,” said Vaibhav Jain, chief executive officer and founder of Hubilo.

While the chief executive of Constellar Holdings, Aloysius Arlando reiterated that virtual and hybrid events like what Hubilo and Constellar offer will be key to restarting MICE events and travel in helping to sustain economic growth in the region.

According to Allied Market Research,  as the events industry moves towards hybrid engagement models in a post-pandemic world, the industry’s size which  initially valued at USD1,135.4 billion in 2019,  is expected to reach USD1,552.9 billion by 2028, registering a compound annual growth rate  of 11.2 percent from 2021 to 2028. The Asia Pacific region will exhibit the highest compound annual growth rate of 13.3 percent during 2021 to 2028.

Some 350 speakers from across the globe convened at the inaugural of Asia Tech x Singapore together with government and business leaders, to engage in conversations, on trends, challenges, opportunities and the role of technology play in society.

Considered to be Asia’s flagship tech event, it was organised by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority and Informa Tech supported by Singapore Tourism Board.

After four days of discussion, the panelist of speakers  who came together at the event to solve global challenges on technology, addressed several issues on governance and trust as well as, ways to promote innovation, diversity and inclusion in technology.

The inaugural event was forged based on the foundations of Singapore’s Smart Nation Innovation Week and Informa Tech’s ConnecTechAsia, culminating into a single flagship tech platform led by the four main segments of:  ATxSummit; ATxEnterprise; ATxImpact; and ATxPlus.

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.