Press Room

Seoul provided a compelling backdrop on July 5 to help encourage nationwide youths to join the meetings industry at Seoul MICE Future Day 2019, held at Floating Island Convention within the city’s Hangang River. The event is the latest of Seoul’s efforts to upscale its support for home-grown meetings industry providers, in particular small-to-medium business events companies as well as college students and young jobseekers trained in related fields.

Hosted by the Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) and sponsored by the Korea MICE Association, the inaugural MICE Future Day attracted 200 MICE supporters from convention bureaus nationwide. MICE supporters are trained by regional convention bureaus to provide operational assistance at events hosted by their host destination. The Seoul MICE Supporters program in particular assist around 100 business events a year, with an average of 20 supporters assisting at each event – all part of the city’s PLUS Seoul support program.

The Seoul MICE Future Day included a keynote speech on the topic of ‘Trends in the Digital Age and Effective Marketing’ by Kim Taewon, Managing Director of Global IT Group. Also featured was a quiz show, talks by other industry experts and a competition challenging teams of supporters representing each convention bureau to come up with creative ways of promoting inter-regional cooperation.

Describing the motivation behind Seoul MICE Future Day, STO head of MICE marketing Lee Gyeongjae said the event “established a place for talented people who are interested in, and passionate about, the MICE industry,” adding also that it “will expand upon our interactions with academia and related businesses to grow tomorrow’s professional labor force.”

The initiative follows the June 25 opening of the new Seoul MICE Small Business Support Center, designed to provide expert consultation for small-to-medium-sized business events enterprises on a range of matters, including judicial, tax, labor affairs, and key management issues. SMEs account for 85 percent of Seoul’s meetings industry providers, some of which are members of the Seoul MICE Alliance.

“We aim to make the Seoul MICE Small Business Support Center a gateway for SME companies to become empowered contributors to business events in our city” said Ju Yongtae, director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s tourism and sports department. “In so doing, we will actively help MICE companies to create a business-friendly environment for our meetings industry.”

Seoul currently ranks in third place worldwide for the number of meetings hosted the previous year, according to the latest UIA International Meetings Statistics Report – a position it has now held four years’ running. The same report places Korea second worldwide in the country rankings category.

More information about PLUS SEOUL, along with the Seoul MICE Alliance, which includes over 300 city-approved local event venues and service providers, is available at www.miceseoul.com.

This year sees, Thailand hosting the 86th UFI Global Congress, from November 6 to 9 in Bangkok welcoming more than 400 of the global exhibition industry’s movers and shakers. In total, 22 international exhibitions held in Thailand during 2018-2019 were certified by UFI the global association of the exhibition industry, representing the highest number of UFI-certified exhibitions in ASEAN.

TCEB also supported and won bids for 17 new international exhibitions in 2019 – a record number with more than half being focused on Thailand’s 10 S-Curve industries. They include: four events on smart devices from China, Singapore and Malaysia; one event on digital from Germany; an event on energy from Singapore; two food events from Thailand; and one each on logistics and health from Thailand.

In the pipeline, TCEB-Business is also eyeing an additional 22 possible events, mostly focusing on the 10 S-Curve industries including three digital events, two food events and two events each on energy, smart devices and logistics.

According to Nichapa Yoswee, TCEB’s senior vice president-business, new trends are emerging where international organisers are utilising Thailand as a gateway to the ASEAN region and are, keen to explore the many business opportunities provided by the Thai government’s ‘Thailand 4.0 – EEC’ (Eastern Economic Corridor) initiative; which is considered ASEAN’s largest in terms of investment values and development potential.

These include prestigious events such as CEBIT ASEAN Thailand (Digital) from Germany, Infocomm Southeast Asia (Smart Devices) from Singapore, ANDTEX (non-woven material for the manufacturing industry) from the United States and SILMO (Optical) from France.

New events that are returning for the second consecutive year in 2019 include CEBIT ASEAN Thailand, Bangkok Beauty Show (Health Tourism) and Medical Devices ASEAN (Integrated Medical Service).

She added, this record setting performance is driven partly by TCEB’s ‘360 Degree Exhibition Success’ campaign. The ‘Exhibiz in Market scheme’ has so far supported six national pavilions at various exhibitions in Thailand, including in China at CEBIT ASEAN Thailand, LED Expo and METALEX; South Korea at Propak Asia, SILMO and Medical Devices ASEAN; Singapore at Infocomm Southeast Asia; Malaysia at CEBIT ASEAN Thailand; Taiwan at Propak Asia and Medical Devices ASEAN; and the United Kingdom at Propak Asia.

The ‘ASEAN+6 Privilege’ element assists business missions in bringing trade visitors from ASEAN+6 countries, including China, to Thailand for business meetings during exhibitions held in the Kingdom.  Recently TCEB confirmed 250 trade visitors from Vietnam for business meetings at trade shows on food and agriculture, construction, infrastructure, health, retail, lifestyle and automotive events. Also confirmed are 70 trade visitors from Myanmar for business meetings at trade shows on medical and pharmaceutical, food processing and packaging, retail, logistics, sports and tourism.

Under the new initiative, ITB Asia will provide complimentary hosting to partners that recommend 15 successful buyers to attend the show. This gives partners a platform to develop stronger trade ties with recommended buyers and secure more business opportunities together. The show has seen an increase in number of MICE buyers following the launch of MICE Show Asia earlier this year.

To uphold the quality of buyers at this year’s show, ITB Asia has been working closely with industry partners old and new from the MICE, Corporate and Leisure segments.

Corporate partners this year include the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE), new partner Corporate Travel Management (CTM), and the United Networks of International Corporate Event Organisers (UNICEO).

ACTE will be returning with its Corporate Travel Day once more this year, while CTM will be hosting a conference for corporate travel, providing curated content for the corporate buying segment to learn and network with industry leaders.

ITB Asia has experienced a boost in partners from the MICE segment and with the launch of the new MICE Show Asia to take place alongside ITB Asia this year, it has attracted a pool of quality MICE buyers to attend the show.

MICE partners under the Buyers Elite Partner Programme (BEPP) include the likes of Advantage Meetings and Events, EVINTRA, Helmsbriscoe, who will be bringing the largest contingent of MICE buyers this year, Korea MICE Association (KMA), Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB), Philippines Association of Convention Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (PACEOS), and the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), who is taking part for the first time.

Building on the success of 2018’s Buyers Programme, this year’s ITB Asia has already seen about 35 percent increases in approved buyers. Buyers are coming from across the world but specifically from high-growth markets such as Southeast Asia, China and India.

“As the leading travel trade show, we want to provide a dynamic and diverse platform for our stakeholders to forge strong business relationships. We are pleased to have attracted a greater number of buyers to this year’s show, specifically from markets which have shown to have huge growth potential in travel and tourism. By working closely with our exhibitors and through the new Elite Partner Programme, we hope to spur more business opportunities for both parties,” said Katrina Leung, managing director of Messe Berlin (Singapore), the organiser of ITB Asia.

http://www.itb-asia.com/

The European Film Academy has announced that the European Film Awards will be hosted in Reykjavik in December 2020.  About 1,400 industry people and journalists from other European countries are expected to make their presence in and around the capital city during the ceremony.

Myriad of events have been planned to add a fun art buzz to the event rubbing elbows with European talent and producers alike and, Iceland’s most known director, Baltasar Kormákur.

The awards ceremony will take place at Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre, as will various events and functions related to the European film industry. It will be a grand addition to all the events that Harpa has produced over the years.

Designed by Olafur Eliasson, Henning Larsen Architects and Batteríið Architects, Harpa Concert Hall is an ideally artful and statuesque venue situated by the Atlantic Ocean and graced by the juxtaposition of mountains and city life.

Reykjavík competed against two other European cities for the event and Meet in Reykjavík led the bidding process alongside stakeholders from both the public and private sectors in Iceland. Excited to win the prestigious honor of hosting the event is Thorsteinn Orn Gudmundsson, the Managing Director of Meet in Reykjavík, as he commented: “We can add this to a long list of Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre success stories. This unique architectural gem is the main reason why we can compete for events like the EFA awards.”

If you’re thinking about visiting Reykjavik in December next year, you might like to know that it’s going to be bustling with European film elite.

Influential thought-leader, disruptor and marketer, Kevin Jackson, is the first in the line-up of exciting speakers for its 2019 event, which will take place in Beijing from 28-29 August 2019.

Kevin will present a session on day one of IBTM China’s Knowledge Programme titled: ‘Growing your business: work less, win more’.  He will be taking a creative approach to driving business growth through his innovative methods focus on engagement, participation and action and, ensuring that every communications solution involves a memorable and meaningful brand experience.

Nicole Ci, event manager, IBTM China, says: “We are delighted to announce Kevin Jackson as one of our keynote speakers for IBTM China this year. Kevin has a vast amount of knowledge and experience to share, as well as fresh and novel approaches to solving business challenges.”

“We’ve put together a packed programme of inspiring educational content for IBTM China this year. As ever, it includes a high calibre mix of speakers drawn from a diverse range of backgrounds, with topics specifically tailored to the Chinese meetings and events industry. We’re looking forward to some lively discussions and to continuing to further knowledge and discussion around the Chinese MICE industry.”

Other speakers include: Jin Peng, senior director at Mafengwo Travel, who will discuss product innovation for destination bureaus and future tourism trends; Zhang Fan, CEO at Mioji, who will explore how to create ‘must visit’ destinations; and Steff Berger, MD of VOBE, who will discuss the importance of effective communication in crisis management.

Some of the international exhibitors signed up to attend so far are Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, Melia Hotels, Visit Las Vegas South Africa National Convention Bureau, Busan Metropolitan City, Tourism New Zealand and Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute. Domestic exhibitors include Beijing Tourism, SIP Service Industry Development Bureau, Dalian Crowne Plaza Hotel, Jinling Hotels & Resorts.

https://www.ibtmchina.com/.

During the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau’s annual event TIME 2019, the bureau announced new campaigns and reiterated existing ones.

TIME to MEET campaign which offers up to 500  baht subsidy per traveller or 500,000 baht per group for companies with MI groups of 50 people or more that stay in Thailand at least three nights.

M & I Reward campaign provides a subsidy from 100,000 to two million baht for customers who hold MI events in Thailand a minimum of three times a year.

ASEAN MaxiMICE campaign has group privileges for 40 people or more from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, who travel on THAI and staying two nights or more in Thailand.

Fly and Meet Double Bonus Redefined campaign is for MI groups of 30 people from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam with a 300,000 baht subsidy for those who travel on Bangkok Airways and staying a minimum of two nights in Thailand. There are also souvenirs, traditional Thai welcome ceremony and MICE lane service as other forms of support.

TIME or Thailand Incentive & Meeting Exchange is an annual event and this year, was held from June 10 to 15 organised through the collaboration with Thai Airways International (THAI), Bangkok Airways and BMW (Thailand) under a ‘Togetherness Concept’.

The event is a joint business strategy that focuses on Asian culture, which generally values companionship and congeniality as a basis for strong business relationships.

In the first half of the 2019 fiscal year (October 2018 to March 2019), overall MICE arrivals for MI events held in Thailand totaled 348,645 – representing 58 percent of overall international MICE visitors – generating approximately 25.7 billion baht for Thailand which is, 57 percent of total MICE revenue.

Tonya Almond is the vice president of knowledge and experience design of PCMA, and has twenty years experience in business events. She stated that relevant, engaging and memorable are three elements that participants expect, and the challenge is providing that environment in a way, that seems personalised to hundreds or thousands of individuals.

Business event strategists according to Tonya, must dig deep to create relevant, engaging and memorable events that also fulfill a participant’s professional and personal goals.

Below is her take on the best practices in business events gleaned from her research and experience:

Visual, auditory, kinesthetic

Content tracks are a popular and proven approach to ensure educational programs deliver innovative and insightful industry trends. But that is just half of the formula for a successful program that truly creates engagement and retention. Understanding and accommodating different learning styles is equally necessary to generate value and ROI for business events participants.

There are more than 70 learner classifications, but the most common is the Dunn & Dunn VAK style of visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Visual learners respond best to demonstrations, videos and info graphics. Auditory learners engage best with explanations, podcasts and keynote presentations. Kinesthetic learners embrace hands-on learning via workshops and interactive sessions.

Identifying the most prevalent learner types in your audience, is an important first step, and you can do so by analysing how past sessions have fared, or creating fun and interactive learning style quizzes or surveys. You can also design your education sessions, to align with the more popular learning styles and provide business events participants a choice of where to focus their learning efforts.

 Learn from experience

Introspection is another key component to designing an event experience that resonates with the broader audience. PCMA recently partnered with Steelcase Inc.’s Event Experiences to conduct an honest, transparent self-examination of its own signature ‘Convening Leaders’, an annual flagship event to better understand the participant journey and experience. Hundreds of conversations and observations about content, experience, signage, venue, seating options and more yielded a set of event experience insights that PCMA and Steelcase will share during its 2019 EduCon event June 25-28 in Los Angeles.

The answer is within

PCMA also collaborated with Marriott International, to produce another key research piece ‘Future of Meetings & Events’ ‘ to identify the macro-trends affecting the business events industry in the next three to five years. Trends included orchestrated serendipity, creating unexpected, meaningful connections for participants and, bigger than oneself is creating events that also benefit the communities and societies.

These concepts can provide a strong foundation for event experience designed, as they put the customer, at the heart of events. One size no longer fits all for business events design therefore, as an industry we must endeavour to deliver more customised experiences.

The trade show is ahead in its  target for exhibitor confirmations with over 60 domestic and international exhibitors already confirmed to attend the event at China National Convention Centre (CNCC) in Beijing on August 28 and 29.

Part of IBTM’s global portfolio of meetings and events industry trade shows, and the most established event of its kind in China, over 9,000 pre-planned meetings are expected to take place this year between over 380 exhibitors and 400 hosted buyers – an increase of 37 percent compared to 2018.

International exhibitors signed up to attend so far include Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board, Melia Hotels, South Africa National Convention Bureau, Busan Metropolitan City, Tourism New Zealand and Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute. Domestic exhibitors include Beijing Tourism, SIP Service Industry Development Bureau, Dalian Crowne Plaza Hotel, Jinling Hotels & Resorts.

Meanwhile, over 3,500 trade visitors are expected to attend and an estimated 50 percent of hosted buyers are expected to be new to IBTM China this year.

To ensure attendees are kept on the cutting-edge of industry trends, several education sessions have been added to this year’s Knowledge Programme, taking the total to over 50 sessions on topics such as tailor-made tours, cruises, aviation, incentive travel and business travel.

The event itinerary also includes several networking sessions to help renew old connections and forge valuable new business relationships, and this year a Happy Hour has been added to the last afternoon of the show.

New Technology Zone for 2019 show

It will see IBTM China partnering with DAHLIA+ Agency to deliver an interactive educational experience for exhibitors, hosted buyers and visitors for its 2019 event.

The Technology Zone will feature a tech stage for event technology and event design experts to share their latest concepts and ideas. It will also include a tech bar run by the professionals at DAHLIA+ Agency –  a go-to area for event attendees to get answers to questions about professional branding, social media usage, digital marketing and tech solutions.

Selected technology-focused exhibitors will be able to display their products in the zone and deliver presentations showcasing their latest concepts and ideas. There will also be guided event tech tours specifically tailored towards the needs of hosted buyers to help them plan and execute outstanding events and establish strong business modules.

www.ibtmchina.com.