Positioned as the exclusive platform for Qatar’s travel and tourism industry, Qatar Travel Mart 2023 anticipates the participation of up to 200 exhibitors, and over 9,000 visitors from more than 60 countries.

Attendees can look forward to engaging in the event’s illustrious three-day international conference, global village, gala dinner and awards ceremony with business-to-business opportunities of the Hosted Buyers’ Program. There also media familiarisation trips and cultural tours of Qatar.

Qatar Travel Mart (QTM) 2023 is organised by NeXTfairs for Exhibitions and Conference under the patronage of H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar.

Qatar’s status as a flourishing tourism destination has been solidified with the recognition by The Arab Tourism Organization (ATO) – designating Doha as the Arab Tourism Capital for 2023. This notable title is poised to draw innovative investment projects aimed at harnessing the potential of Qatar’s natural, cultural, and historical resources while also elevating human capital capabilities in the region.

While selecting Doha as the Arab Tourism Capital is a testament to Qatar’s progress; exemplified by its exceptional development, luxurious hotels, resorts, pristine beaches, vibrant entertainment hubs, and inviting public parks.

For those attending Qatar Travel Mart three days of international conference, will be able to look forward to a gathering of a diverse lineup of experts and industry leaders to share invaluable insights and best practices. The conference attracts senior-level executives and decision-makers from the tourism sector, including academics, researchers, policymakers, consultants, government officials, students, and professionals from complementary industries in the tourism sector.

The Hosted Buyer Program organised in collaboration with Qatar Tourism, offers exhibitors and visitors the opportunity to meet with over 100 international buyers. Through pre-arranged face-to-face meetings, participants can explore potential investments and forge joint ventures with tourism experts, paving the way for numerous fruitful business deals.

Highlight of the event is the prestigious QTM Awards Ceremony and Gala Dinner, celebrating excellence within the travel and tourism and hospitality industry – recognising and rewarding professional and corporate achievements.

The Global Village at QTM serves as a melting pot of diverse cultures, connecting different parts of the world under one roof, showcasing heritage, traditions, and philosophies. Here, visitors can immerse themselves in Qatar’s rich traditions and heritage through entertaining cultural tours, providing a deeper appreciation of the country’s unique offerings.

Qatar Travel Mart 2023 takes place from November, 20 to 22 at Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre.

If  you would like to reserve exhibition space at QTM 2023 or for more information, please visit www.qtmqatar.com or call 00974 5514 1188.

Asian incentive meeting planners and corporations are choosing Melbourne, with Melbourne Convention Bureau securing 17 Asian incentive groups across China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and India since the start of the new fiscal year of the bureau.

These wins will bring 2,345 delegates to Victoria, filling 4,033 room nights across the city’s hotels and injecting AUD9.6M into the economy.

The chief executive of Melbourne Convention Bureau, Ms. Julia Swanson stated, the bureau has always had a strong presence across the Asia Pacific region, with team members in China, Malaysia and India working with planners to create unique programs.

“MCB’s efforts to grow this market back to its full potential, has been rewarded with 19 per cent of wins in this segment to date hailing from China,” Ms. Swanson added.

Australia has once again join China’s list of Approved Destination Status (ADS) nations. At the same time, Melbourne’s aviation capacity expanded with seven out of eight carriers from Mainland China has resumed operating to Melbourne.

Across the 17 incentive groups arriving, delegates will visit an array of attractions in Melbourne and regional Victoria. The exciting line-up includes some of Victoria’s most popular regions, the Yarra Valley, Goldfields, Mornington Peninsula, Phillip Island Nature Park for the iconic Penguin Parade as well as, enjoy a trip across the splendour of the Great Ocean Road.

Installation of the system is expected to be completed end of July and are, conducted in phases with 10 accessible toilets in the convention centre, already equipped with the system,

The system can detect a toilet user’s posture (active or static; seated or lying down) and collect motion value for AI-enabled analysis to identify if a fall or accident has taken place or the toilet user has become motionless.

In the event of an identified accident, the system will send out an alert within five seconds via hand-held devices such as mobile phones or tablets. Staff will be able to locate the toilet and get there as soon as possible.

At the same time, the security control room will also receive the alert to allow for rapid additional manpower deployment.  The system will facilitate provision of assistance to visitors in need within the critical life-saving golden timeframe. The AI Life Sense Alert System has already been introduced in public hospitals in Hong Kong.

“Investing in and applying technology to upgrade HKCEC’s hardware and software has been a continuous focus of HML. With safety of our visitors being our first and foremost priority, we have taken the precautionary move to introduce the AI Life Sense Alert System so that our staff can provide timely assistance to visitors in distress during an emergency. The key is to reach the visitors in need as soon as possible so as not to miss the golden hour between life and death,” said  Ms Monica Lee-Müller, managing director of HML.

The AI Life Sense Alert System also provides humidity, temperature and air quality readings, facilitating monitoring of the environment in the accessible toilets and adjustment of cleaning frequency to enhance visitor experience and efficiency.

HML has been pioneering the application of artificial intelligence and robotics to continuously enhance its operations and service. In addition to offering 5G service with 100 percent coverage of the entire HKCEC, HML has introduced 5G smart security robots and smart cleaning robots also a green measure in light of its water conservation feature.

Sarawak’s business events performance in the fiscal year of 2022 was nothing short of remarkable as the destination’s industry led by Business Events Sarawak surpassed targets on both economic and legacy impact returns. This was announced at BESarawak’s 17th Annual General Meeting on June 28.

In FY2022, the State Convention Fund was revised to the Sarawak Business Events Fund to accommodate all types of business events, enabling Sarawak to secure 100 business events with a projected total economic impact of RM325.3 million, including a direct delegate expenditure of RM177.3 million and tax revenue of RM19.6 million.

Ensuring that the local community benefit from these events, an additional 25,896 jobs are expected. The secured events target exceeded 111 percent while other economic returns exceeded 196 percent.

Face-to-face meetings are back in full swing, and Sarawak hosted 100 business events in the same year fetching RM230.3 million in total economic impact. Direct delegate expenditures injected another RM125.1 million into the economy while 18,275 short- and long-term jobs were created within the last 12 months.

Sarawak also achieved remarkable success in international bidding, securing 100 percent victory in all bids with a projected total economic impact of RM179.4 million and over 14,000 job opportunities on the horizon — making FY2022 the most successful bidding year in the last two years.

FY2022 marked the business events industry’s third year in executing the Post Covid-19 Development Strategy (PCDS) 2030. One of the industry’s objectives is to align the PCDS 2030 on securing sustainable, legacy-driven business events from the six priority economic sectors namely manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, forestry, mining and services; and seven enabler sectors such as digital transformation, innovation, education and human capital, basic infrastructure, utilities, transport and renewable energy.

“We stayed on track in securing events of key interests aligned with the Sarawak Government’s objectives of stimulating economic and social growth, while growing our core business, optimising costs and opportunities and strengthening Sarawak’s stakeholder collaborations and talent pool to boost industry competence,” stated BESarawak’s chairman, Dato Sri Abang Haji Abdul Karim bin Tun Datuk Abang Haji Openg.

“Through business events, Sarawak is laying the foundation for sustainable development with the intention of leaving a transformative impact on local communities for years to come,” continued BESarawak’s chaiman.

Sarawak is becoming widely recognised worldwide as a legacy impact destination. In FY2022 Sarawak’s legacy performance recorded an 82 percent success rate with 91 out of 100 secured events. A total of 485 impacts were identified with the highest on the services, tourism, agriculture, education and human capital, innovation as well as, digital transformation sectors.

In terms of hosted events, all 100 business events were marked as legacy driven, achieving a 100 percent success rate and a total of 553 impacts were recorded.

Between 2006 and 2022, Sarawak hosted 1,082 business events with a total economic impact of RM3.23 billion providing more than 258,000 job opportunities to the local communities.

This year, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau has set its target for the UK and European market at 91,200 visitors. This is more than three times the 27,080 recorded in 2022; and makes up 12 per cent of the total number of overseas MICE visitors, 760,000 are targeted for the year.

Thailand’s top five European markets in 2022 were; Germany, the UK, France, the Netherlands, and Italy.

At the recent IMEX 2023 in Frankfurt, Thailand netted 120 leads that may yield 61,141 overseas MICE visitors, of these 109 were for meeting and incentive groups, and 11 for convention groups.

Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau revealed that over the three-day show, Thai suppliers recorded 866 appointments with prospective overseas buyers, while TCEB had 94, bringing the total number of appointments to 960.

The leads are from over 10 countries including; Germany, UK, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, USA, Mexico, and India.

At IMEX 2023, TCEB highlighted two upcoming events, these are the ICCA Annual Congress to be held from November 12 to 15 this year at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, and the Annual Meetings of International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank Group scheduled for 2026 in Bangkok.

These are high-profile global business events that will boost Thailand’s credential as one of the world’s leading MICE destinations.

In a regional survey conducted by Marriott International in Asia-Pacific reveals, young luxury travellers are ditching long-haul travel to explore their own backyard.

Marriott International has coined a term to describe a new generation of travellers set to disrupt the industry over the next few years.

Native Explorers recognises a tribe of affluent millennial and Gen Z travellers in Asia-Pacific who are, bucking the trend by travelling in reverse order to generations before them.  Native Explorers are already well-travelled at a younger age, with one in four, notching up no less than two continents outside of Asia-Pacific by the time they hit 26.

Despite having the means, Native Explorers claim they will be spending their travel dollars closer to home for at least, the next two years, as 85 percent believe, that they have yet to fully discover all the region has to offer.

The survey across Australia, China, Japan, India, Singapore, and South Korea was commissioned to better understand the attitudes of affluent millennial and Gen Z travellers and help luxury brands meet their evolving aspirations.

Now with their sights firmly set on holidays closer to home, Native Explorers rank Japan (52 percent), South Korea (42 percent), and New Zealand (39 percent) as their top three travel destinations.

They are also seeking out the new in familiar hotspots such as Australia (39 percent) and Thailand (32 percent) through a culture-centric lens.

Although one in four Native Explorers would prefer to beat the jetlag and pick nearby, fuss-free holidays, their sense of adventure shouldn’t be  underestimated: 43 percent look for nature escapes and wellness experiences; and 36 percent are looking for hidden cultural gems they have yet to discover.

Native Explorers are redefining what luxury travel means from elusive and exclusive to meaningful connection and experiences. As they transition towards understated and authentic holidays, one in three respondents (37 percent) called out human connection, genuine hospitality, and being part of a community as critical components of luxury travel.

Majority (58 percent) believe once-in-a-lifetime experiences and pinch-me moments are what make the luxury travel experience.

Top picks include VIP access to sold-out concerts of their favorite artists (52 percent) and exclusive culinary workshops with celebrity chefs (36 percent).

While excellence and state-of-the-art facilities are key tenets. Personalisation remains a key deciding factor in choosing, a luxury hotel, with 32 percent expecting bespoke services such as a dedicated travel advisor with 32 percent preferring to stay with hotels that offer tailored itineraries and customized amenities.

Caught between their desires to discover and luxuriate, a staggering nine in 10 respondents prefer to explore the destination with assistance from their luxury hotel, rather than research and hire a local guide of their own.

Almost half (45 percent) prefer to sample local cuisine through the property’s gourmet dining, 39 percent want to experience the local culture through the hotel’s curated programming, and 34 percent are keen to try local wellness rituals available at the hotel spa.

Native Explorers’ thirst for cultural discovery extends to their accommodation choices, with a majority (76 percent) of respondents opting for hotels and resorts with destination-inspired concepts.

Brand affinity remains key for Native Explorers with approximately one in three opting for destination-inspired abodes under an established luxury brand.

Today June 7, is the Global Exhibitions Day, and is the eighth edition of GED since it was first set up in 2016.

This year, the GED has adopted the theme of: We run the meeting places and marketplaces for everyone.

Held annually, the Global Exhibitions Day is celebrated on the first Wednesday of June. Its open to everyone who wants to increase the visibility of the exhibition industry locally, regionally or on a global scale.

In recent years, Industry players in over 100 countries and regions around the world, have keenly participated in activating the Global Exhibitions Day.