THE 508-room of Grand Mercure Qingdao Nanshan Resort has opened adjacent to Qingdao International Exhibition Centre, boasting its own selection of venues that can support a variety of events.

Event planners can choose from eight function rooms, two boardrooms and two pillar-less Grand Ballrooms that can accommodate up to 1,000 guests.

Guestrooms spot contemporary interiors and are fitted with modern facilities, including a minibar, complimentary Wi-Fi connection and a flat-screen TV.

Dining options include Sunshine Global Western Restaurant, Linhai Xuan Chinese restaurant, the Lobby Bar and Cigar Bar.

Business travellers can choose to unwind at the resort’s fully-equipped gym studio or take a dip at the pool and sauna. The resort’s private stunning beach is located within walking distance, where guests can enjoy relaxing walks and breathtaking scenery.

PLANS for a major telecoms gathering in Bangkok at the end of the year are signalling renewed confidence in the Thai capital for hosting big meetings, sources have toldTTGmice e-Weekly.

The Geneva-headquarted International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is slated to host its ITU Telecom World 2016 at Bangkok’s IMPACT Arena, Exhibition and Convention Centre from November 14 to 17, said Negar Takesh, head, marketing communications service of ITU Telecom World.

Although Takesh has acknowledged Thailand’s “past political situations and natural hazards” and that these “could change quickly”, she told TTGmice e-Weekly in an interview that these risks were already factored in when planning the event.

While she shared that risk mitigation procedures were in place, Takesh did not detail what these were.

Thai MICE specialists are jubilant that ITU has decided to take its global gathering to Bangkok, and are expectant of busier days to come after years of political strife, bomb incidents and floods that have stunted the potential growth of the country’s MICE sector.

Ianic Menard, vice president of sales, marketing & distribution for AccorHotels, Upper Southeast Asia, which has more than 20 properties in the capital city, commented: “The event is a sign of increased confidence in Thailand as a MICE destination. We’re hopeful that ITU Telecom World, with its audience of public and private innovators and affiliation with the United Nations, will be followed by many such events in the Kingdom.”

Hosting the meeting is expected to generate some 400 million baht (US$15.8 million) for the country’s hospitality and tourism sector, noted Sumate Sudasna, president of the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association, who made this calculation based on the per capita expenditure of 100,000 baht for up to 4,000 participants staying an average of four nights.

Sumate added that the delegates could use an estimated 16,000 hotel rooms and extend their stay to other destinations in the country for pre- and post-show programmes.

“We believe decision-makers of events will be more confident in Thailand, and trust that ITU Telecom World 2016 will add weight to that perception,” said Sumate.

ITU Telecom World was held in Budapest last year. It drew 4,000 participants, 247 speakers, 238 exhibitors and 239 information and communications technology leaders from both the private and public sectors.

SWITZERLAND has recorded strong incentive growth from Indonesia last year despite the challenging global economic situation and Indonesians’ diminished buying power due to an unstable rupiah against the US dollar.

Explaining the increase in incentive group numbers, Ivan Breiter, Switzerland Tourism’s director of Southeast Asia, said: “There are many companies in Indonesia that have not done incentive trips before and are only starting to do so now. Switzerland is often chosen for top-tier (achievers) because of its reputation as a quality destination.”

Total arrivals from Indonesia, including MICE and leisure, grew by 20 per cent last year, a record increment for the market, according to Breiter. That made Indonesia Switzerland’s third largest South-east Asian source market, overtaking Malaysia.

Dominique Oi, MICE manager of South-east Asia, Switzerland Tourism, told TTGmice e-Weekly that the bureau was “happy to see the performance from Indonesia last year”.

Oi added: “We had groups coming in even until December, many of which had at least 100 pax. We are expecting another good year in 2016, as we have seen enquiries coming in as early as January.”

Switzerland Tourism was in Jakarta for a sales mission earlier this month, an exercise that brought 36 MICE sellers to meet with Indonesian outbound agents specialising in both MICE and leisure.

The bureau took the opportunity to introduced a new online tool for MICE planners, as part of its effort to entice business from Indonesia.

Oi explained: “This online tool provides information for planners to create their first proposal to clients. In the past, they needed to Google for information and sometimes had to go back and forth with tour operator partners on the ground for additional details. This tool (eliminates all that).”

The online tool can be found at www.MySwitzerland.com/meetings.