Events: Singapore River Festival 2016

October 28, 2016

A girl wearing headphones at a Silent Disco. Credit: Silent Disco Asia

Singapore River Festival is returning this year from November 4-5 with a new theme, River Connections.

The headline act, Crossings, will be performed by French performance group Underclouds Cie on a tightrope that will be extended across the Singapore River. It will be the group’s maiden performance in Asia, with showtimes at 20.00 and 21.30 on both nights at Clarke Quay.

A variety of other performances and activities will also take place along the riverside at Clarke Quay, Boat Quay and Robertson Quay. Visitors to Clarke Quay can party at a silent disco event, or head to Boat Quay to partake in a street festival with roving performances and live bands. Meanwhile, Robertson Quay will sport an open-air cinema and mass workout area for workshops such as Barre Bootcamp and Pound Workshop.

For the younglings, there will be puppet-making and face-painting workshops, as well as a cardboard and chalkboard playground.

Also as part of Singapore River Festival, 21 dishes – handpicked by four local chefs – will be awarded the Singapore River Signatures accolade. Restaurants will also be running promotions on these dishes during the festival.

Organised by Singapore River One, manager of the Singapore River precinct, the Singapore River Festival is a free-for-all event with some ticketed workshops and activities.

Thailand to hold record breaking prayer event for mourners

By Chadamas Chinmaneevong

October 28, 2016

Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports plans to turn the Kingdom’s sorrow into a world record event during the 2017 New Year countdown.

Conventional countdown activities will be replaced nationwide by religious and praying ceremonies to mark the New Year with at least 20 million participants expected. While such events aren’t new, there is greater impetus now to hold prayer gatherings rather than parties. About 10 million people took part in such sessions last year.

Tourism and sports minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul told the press earlier this week that organisers are working closely with the ministry to make sure events held are appropriate as the country mourns for the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

“This year, countdown events at main tourism locations will be proper, grand and beautiful. Fireworks will be replaced with lit candles, for example,” explained Kobkarn.

She adds that life goes on for people despite the country’s loss. Therefore, tourism activities and events should run as usual, albeit with tweaks.

The number of foreign arrivals in Thailand grew four per cent to 1.61 million visitors in the first 22 days of this month and tourism income stood at 82.22 billion baht (US$2.3 billion) with a growth of 7.78 per cent year-on-year.

With this positive momentum, Kobkarn said she is confident that 2016’s tourism revenue target of 2.4 trillion baht will be achieved. The country will welcome at least 5.81 million visitors in the last two months of this year, bringing total foreign tourists in 2016 to more than 32 million, she adds.

New hotel openings: October 24 to 28

By TTG Asia

October 28, 2016

The latest hotel openings and announcements made this week.

Songbei Shangri-La, Harbin
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts’ second hotel in Harbin, a 344-key property with 32 serviced apartment units, is scheduled to open in December. For meeting and event needs, the hotel boasts Songbei’s largest pillarless ballroom – a 1,616m2 space – in addition to a 408m2 ballroom and two function rooms. F&B options include upscale Chinese restaurant Shang Kitchen; all-day dining restaurant Café Song; Grab & Go, which offers a selection of gourmet pub food for takeaway; the Lobby Lounge which serves classic high tea and refreshments; and De Drunk’n Pig for evening entertainment and live music. A spa, indoor swimming pool, Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna and fitness centre are also available.

Hilton Garden Inn Zhongshan Guzhen
Hilton has opened the 246-room Hilton Garden Inn Zhongshan Guzhen. Hotel features include a 24-hour fitness centre, a self-service laundromat, a flexible meeting room and a board room. The property also boasts all-day dining restaurant Garden Grille and Bar; the 24-hour Pavilion Pantry, stocked with snacks and drinks; noodle bar Mian Tan; and the Garden Bar, which provides a relaxing space for cocktails and informal meetings. The property is located in the commercial district of Guzhen Town, adjacent to Lihe Lighting Exhibition Center and 1.5km from the Guzhen Convention and Exhibition Center.

Ramada Japan Niigata
Wyndham has brought its Ramada brand back to Japan with the opening of the Ramada Hotel Niigata. Formerly the Niigata Tokyu Rei hotel, renovations were completed over the past year to revitalise its 300 guestrooms and facilities. The full-service hotel is equipped with five F&B outlets and a bar, including El Dorado restaurant, which serves Japanese-fusion cuisine and accommodates up to 105 diners. To cater to business travellers, the hotel offers six meeting rooms, complimentary Wi-Fi and an on-site laundromat. The property is a three-minute walk from the Niigata train station, close to the Toki Messe Convention Centre and the Niigata City Aquarium.

Aichi draws on samurai roots to boost foreign arrivals

By Kathryn Wortley

October 28, 2016

Aichi prefecture in central Japan is drawing on its history as the homeland of the famed samurai to attract tourists, culminating in the inaugural World Samurai Summit to be held from November 19-20.

Activities there include dressing up as samurai, a traditional battlefield demonstration and taking part in samurai performances.

This builds on the prefecture’s launch last year of a drive to promote Aichi as the ‘Home of Samurai’ to mark 400 years since the death of Tokugawa Ieyasu, a renowned shogun who originated from the region.

Organisers hope the festival, which is open for the first time this year to foreigners, will attract both international and domestic tourists.

Earlier in May, seven ninja performers were also hired by the prefecture to boost the destination’s appeal. The project has been successful, according to Keno Kano, director general of tourism in Aichi, who revealed that arrivals for 1H2016 was four per cent higher than national numbers.

The ninjas welcomed visitors at Chubu International Airport and performed at a castle in Nagoya. They also ran a ninja school, attracting participants from the US, China, Taiwan and Indonesia. Every session held was full, said Kano, pointing out that some tourists even came to watch the shows everyday of their stay.

Fumito Sasaki, CEO of tour operator Japan Wonder Travel, believes the interest is likely to stem from popular culture. “While in Japan, they want to have experiences with ninja and samurai in the same way tourists want to go to England’s Abbey Road because of The Beatles,” he said.

Jarrod Stenhouse, managing director of Destination Asia Japan, says that Aichi’s initiative is sure to appeal to younger visitors. While he says it remains to be seen whether it will attract tourists who wouldn’t have normally visited Aichi, he points out that other regions are also embracing the theme.

He said: “Matsue castle in Shimane prefecture often has a samurai greeter, which has been very popular with our cruise groups.”

Learning on the go

By TTG Asia

October 28, 2016

Qooco’s David Topolewski shares how mobile learning will make an innovative, cost-effective way to transform training delivery in the hospitality sector

Governments and companies are embracing mobile learning today, reflecting an effort by society to support and accommodate populations that are increasingly more mobile.

In fact, one of the earliest forms of mobile learning still exists today – reading a book while travelling – although back then it was just called ‘learning’, as the acquisition, transference or sharing of knowledge was traditionally done in the classroom.

The invention of the first mobile phone in 1973 and the surging use of the Internet since 1995 by businesses, students and individuals set the foundations for the arrival and subsequent evolution of mobile learning, which has come a long way since the 1980s.

The first modern instances of mobile learning were conducted through cassette tapes and CDs. Between 1983 and 1987, Singapore telecoms companies even offered Mandarin lessons via telephone.

In the early 1990s, software companies such as Apple and Palm Corporation started developing mobile learning software and European universities started evaluating mobile learning for their own students.

Since these early days, mobile learning has boomed and is afforded much greater attention by institutions and policymakers alike, yet it is still in its infancy. With an already high and still fast-growing smartphone penetration rate and highly developed mobile infrastructure, Asia is in the perfect position to benefit from this phenomenon.

As more smartphones enter the market and infrastructure continues to develop, this trend is set to grow with more governments and companies realising the value and cost-effectiveness of mobile learning over the time-consuming and expensive methods of traditional teaching.

The Ministry of Education in Singapore has already begun mobile learning pilot projects in one of its schools and Malaysia’s YTL is providing 4G wireless access, a countrywide online education system and tablet computers to over 10,000 schools.

Faced with ever-increasing staffing costs and continuous challenges of finding qualified employees, mobile learning has emerged as a low-cost yet highly effective way to train hotel staff, improve service and drive revenues higher. While continued growth in international travel has been a boon for hotels and resorts, it also means that more people from diverse backgrounds and speaking different languages are checking into hotels.

This is where mobile learning comes in to play. Rather than disrupting staff schedules with lengthy classes and forcing employees to attend study sessions for a few hours a week, hotels are subscribing to mobile learning programmes. Mobile language learning has evolved to provide specialised speech interactive content for each department, providing a near-real simulation of guest interaction with immediate actionable feedback. So, for the first time, hotels have both scale and performance information on the competencies of their employees in real time.

It doesn’t stop at language learning either. Hilton Worldwide has recently announced a complete F&B training course that, supported by a mobile learning company, is available online for their staff worldwide. Courses have been developed for a variety of hotel scenarios, including housekeeping, spa, F&B and front office, with even solutions that train a user on how to upsell in a hospitality setting.

But it is the future of mobile learning that poses even more exciting opportunities. Today, militaries around the world use virtual reality (VR) to train their troops, testing them in a variety of realistic battlefield situations and accurately gauging their ability to cope with pressure and stress, and develop their leadership skills. While the front office is a million miles from the battlefield, the same principles can be applied to hotels.

There is no reason why a typical hotel scenario – an overbooked hotel, irate guests, children playing in the lobby, etc – can’t be replicated through VR, with entire teams working together to fix the problem. This would test the leadership skills of the team leaders, as well as provide a realistic introduction for new employees.

Qooco’s developers are working with Microsoft’s HoloLens to apply mixed reality to staff training. HoloLens blends digital content with the world around us, projecting three-dimensional graphics around the wearer of the lens. We are exploring how this augmented reality (AR) platform can be used to enhance staff training by incorporating digital scenarios into real-life training situations.

Linked to mobile learning is the effective use of artificial intelligence and big data. Once you have an accurate picture of the individual strengths and weaknesses of your employees, you can better place them in situations where they excel. For example, should a large group of Chinese tourists be due to check in on a certain date, the system will automatically assign the employees who are strong in Mandarin (based on their mobile learning scores) and who have shown strong organisational and teamwork abilities during the VR training.

In its purest form hospitality is about cultivating an attitude of great service, teamwork and leadership; it is about having initiative, curiosity, flexibility and care for others. Mobile learning provides a way for individuals who are truly serious about hospitality to take the initiative to continuously cultivate those values.

David Topolewski is CEO of Qooco, which provides mobile language learning and vocational training solutions for employees in the hospitality and service industries.

This article was first published in TTG Asia October 2016 issue. To read more, please view our digital edition or click here to subscribe.

By David Topolewski

IHG appoints Singapore, regional GM

By TTG Asia

October 27, 2016

Michael Martin

Michael Martin has been named general manager of InterContinental Singapore and regional general manager, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) Singapore, Malaysia and Batam.

In his new role, Martin will be responsible for driving strategic growth and operational excellence across 14 hotels and resorts spanning five brands including InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express in Singapore, Malaysia and Batam.

Michael brings with him over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry out of which over half was with IHG. Prior to his move to Singapore, Michael took on several leadership roles in IHG properties, and oversaw the growth of a portfolio of hotels across key markets including the United Arab Emirates, China and the UK.

World Routes 2019 bound for Adelaide

By TTG Asia

October 27, 2016

ADELAIDE has won the right to host World Routes 2019, the world’s largest aviation industry conference. This will be the first time the event will be held in Australia.

The three-day event is expected to bring to Adelaide more than 3,000 delegates from major airlines, airports, tourism and aviation businesses around the world.

The South Australian capital in 2010 hosted the Routes Asia conference, and a number of airlines such as Qatar, Emirates and China Southern had since instigated direct flights into Adelaide, according to a statement by the Adelaide Convention Bureau.

“Having hosted the Routes Asia 2010 conference and seeing the airline partnerships that have come to fruition since then highlights the enormity of hosting this event,” said Damien Kitto – CEO, Adelaide Convention Bureau.

Said John O’Sullivan, managing director of Tourism Australia: “(World Routes 2019) is a huge opportunity for Australia to show the world’s route planners why our country is such a great investment proposition for future international aviation development.

He added: “Destination marketing is a complex and highly competitive business and these are the professionals who play such an important part in deciding where international airlines choose to point their aircraft.”

TCEB intensifies MICE backing for Khao Yai

By Rachel AJ Lee

October 27, 2016

Kirimaya Golf Resort & Spa’s Atta Lakeside Resort Suites

THIS year, the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TCEB) is heavily promoting Khao Yai as a new destination for international business events groups by organising more international fam trips to the region.

Despite Khao Yai’s distance from Bangkok – 200km north-east of the Thai capital and main gateway into the country for international travellers – a TCEB spokesperson feels that corporate groups have many reasons to desire the destination.

The spokesperson pointed out that accommodation options are aplenty in Khao Yai – numerous four- and five-star properties such as dusitD2 Khao Yai, U Khao Yai, and Kirimaya Golf Resort & Spa’s Atta Lakeside Resort Suites have sprung up over the past year.

The spokesperson added: “Khao Yai has eco-friendly and boutique accommodation, state-of-the-art event facilities, and both natural and man-made attractions that are ideal for corporate groups. Pre- and post-tour options include wine tasting, wildlife spotting, farm tours and hot-air ballooning.”

Khao Yai’s offerings will “give MICE visitors – both local and overseas – even more choice when it comes to organising their business events” in Thailand, the spokesperson opined.

Marcus Lee, co-chairman of International China Investment Forum, who took part in TCEB’s fam tour to Khao Yai, told TTGmice e-Weekly that while the destination “may not be the first option for Chinese MICE groups, but for those who have seen enough, this will be something new for them to discover”.

On the other hand, fellow fam tour participant, Ivo Van De Velde, professional travel planner with Belgium-based Advivos, felt that Khao Yai would be a harder sell for his European clients as they have similar activities in nearby destinations such as France and Italy.

In 2014, Khao Yai recorded a total of 3,808,476 Thai travellers and 359,953 foreign visitors, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Kabuki café in Nagoya targets MICE groups

By Kathryn Wortley

October 27, 2016

NAGOYA-ZA, a kabuki café in Nagoya, the capital of Aichi Prefecture, has launched a package that includes dinner and accommodation for MICE groups.

The kabuki performance relates a traditional Japanese myth about three gods who laid the foundation of Japan by fighting dragons. The audience is encouraged to take part in the story by cheering and throwing provided objects onto the stage. Guests will be seated traditional-style on cushions placed on tatami matting.

“The theatre is specially built for this show,” said Hiroshi Furukawa, theatre manager. “And our show does not require the audience to understand Japanese so we’d like to welcome more guests from overseas.”

The package will include a dinner of famous local specialities and accommodation at Nishiasahi Café Restaurant and Guest House through Nagoya-za’s booking agent, Tourism Designers Co.

“In the future, we plan to have a greater variety of packages available as we collaborate with shops at our base, Endoji Shopping Arcade,” added Furukawa.

Performances, plus a talk session after the final curtain, are on every afternoon and evening on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and are 90 minutes in duration.

UFI appoints new managers at Paris HQ

By TTG Asia

October 27, 2016

UFI is bringing on board two new hires to help deliver and improve the association’s growing roster of events, committee activities and other industry initiatives.

Elia-Beissel, new programme manager at UFI

Nicolette Elia-Beissel is joining as programme manager. She was most recently operations director at the Durban International Convention Centre for four years, after being promoted from the roles of acting operations director and exhibition manager.

In the earlier stages of her career, she was with Rai Exhibitions and Events (now known as Thebe Reed Events & Exhibitions) based in Johannesburg, South Africa. As project manager, she worked on international shows as well as her own show in Sandton Johannesburg, Meetings Africa.

Jana Hofmann, new events manager at UFI

Meanwhile, Jana Hofmann is joining UFI as events manager. For the last six years, she worked as a project manager for the German-based trade show organiser fairtrade Messe, managing various projects in an international exhibition environment with a focus on emerging markets such as Ghana, Iran and Nigeria.

The new hires join the global exhibitions association as it continues to organise numerous events, ranging from the UFI Global Congress to the UFI Global CEO Summit.

Both Elia-Beissel and Hofmann will be involved in the 83rd UFI Global Congress in Shanghai from November 9-12.