THE former Fullerton Building, first opened in 1928 and currently known as The Fullerton Hotel, has been gazetted as Singapore’s 71st National Monument by the National Heritage Board (NHB), concluding a series of gazettes in celebration of the country’s milestone 50th birthday.
This is the highest form of recognition given to sites or structures that houses great national significance.
“The former Fullerton Building is one of the most iconic colonial buildings in Singapore, standing at the mouth of the Singapore River and defining the Singapore skyline since the 1920s,” said Jean Wee, director, preservation of sites and monuments division, NHB.
“Beyond its grand façade and beautiful architecture, it is filled with many priceless memories of our nation’s growth throughout the years – from the former General Post Office to government offices, it has served multiple functions that mark the tumultuous times we have lived through, and the steps taken to build our country.”
An exhibition is being held at The Fullerton Hotel in commemoration of the building’s history, open to the public for free from 09.00 to 22.00 daily until February 28, 2016.
HOTEL Jen Tanglin Singapore, formerly Traders Hotel Cuscaden Road, has completed rebranding and renovation works costing S$45 million (US$32 million), begun since November 2014.
The 565-key hotel – with six room types ranging from the 26m² superior room to the 75m2 premier suite – features contemporary Singapore-inspired designs, with amenities such as free Wi-Fi, USB charger outlets, walk-in showers and king-sized beds. Executive suites also include a pull-out sofa bed, small pantry, microwave and SMEG fridge.
Facilities include a 17th-floor Club Lounge with open views of the nearby residential neighbourhood, J65 serving authentic South-east Asian cuisine, Jen’s Kitchen café and snack bar, a gym, health club, outdoor swimming pool, Jacuzzi, sauna, steam rooms and a pool bar.
Instead of a traditional concierge, Hotel Jen Tanglin has introduced a hand-drawn Heart Map where staff and guests alike can share tips and recommendations on the city.
Club rooms are now offered at an introductory rate of S$299 (US$212) per night until February 2016.
CTW China 2016 organised by TTG Events and Carlson Wagonlit Travel, China, revealed the 2016 trending topics that include 11 tailored content centered on Corporate Travel Fundamentals and Corporate Meetings & Events for the China market which will be held at the Shanghai Convention & Exhibition Center of International Sourcing from 6 to 8 April.
CTW China 2016 delegates can expect trending topics to include “Technology and The Future of Business Travel”; “2016 In The Eyes of Travel Managers”; “What 2016 Holds For Meetings and Events”; case studies on “Travel Management” and “Meetings Management”; experts-sharing sessions on “Data Intelligence” and “Compliance in China”; “Explore Open Booking in China” and “Building Strategic Supplier Relationships”. Over 20 industry professionals based in China or operating within the policy regulations of the country, are expected to helm the sessions.
Michelle Low, Director of Sales – Asia of Global Hospitality Services (G-H-S) shared of her 2015 experience, “CTW China is definitely beneficial in terms of knowing the key players and decision makers in the corporate sector plus networking with peers to share more ideas and experiences.”
Fellow conference delegate John Zhu, Director, Global Sales, Asia Pacific of Clarson Rezidor Hotel Group said, “I met corporate clients with future potential business opportunities, and gained new knowledge in the air ticket and airline fields.”
CTW China 2016 will be held at the Shanghai Convention & Exhibition Center of International Sourcing from 6 to 8 April. It is co-located with IT&CM China 2016, the leading international MICE event in China.
Conference delegates can now enjoy early bird savings of 10% by registering before 31 December 2015. Privileges includes access to all education sessions and selected networking sessions alongside 120 corporate travel buyers, planners, influencers and decisions makers. 80% of attending buyers are working in China, with the remaining based within the Asia-Pacific. Email sales.ctwapac@ttgasia.com for details.
MELBOURNE Airport has officially opened its 4th terminal, a three-storey, 20,000m² building which had progressively welcomed passengers since mid-August.
Terminal 4, which runs a complete self-service and automated bag-drop operation, is located to the south of Terminal 3 and has been home to Tigerair Australia and Jetstar since August 18 and November 10 respectively. Regional Express Airlines arrives at Terminal 4 and will move its check-in facilities there in early 2016.
The new terminal can accommodate up to 10 million passengers a year and has welcomed almost 1.1 million passengers since its soft launch.
Over 30 retail and F&B outlets are currently in operation at Terminal 4.
YEAR 2017 has been declared the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.
In a statement by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the resolution was made in recognition of “the importance of international tourism, and particularly of the designation of an international year of sustainable tourism for development, in fostering better understanding among peoples everywhere, in leading to a greater awareness of the rich heritage of various civilisations and in bringing about a better appreciation of the inherent values of different cultures, thereby contributing to the strengthening of peace in the world.”
Taleb Rifai, secretary-general of UNWTO, added that this “is a unique opportunity to advance the contribution of the tourism sector to the three pillars of sustainability – economic, social and environmental, while raising awareness of the true dimensions of a sector which is often undervalued.”
Leading to this decision was the recognition by world leaders at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development that “well-designed and well-managed tourism” can contribute to the three dimensions of sustainable development, to job creation and to trade.
THE lack of an adequate emergency and medical system in Asia three decades ago was what prompted Arnaud Vaissie, chairman and CEO of International SOS, and his childhood friend, Pascal Rey-Herme, to establish International SOS in 1985.
Some 30 years later, many countries have made significant strides in healthcare and technology has enhanced global connectivity, but the sheer number of travellers on the move today has brought other threats and risks to the forefront, said Vaissie.
Not only are the risks of epidemics more prevalent with accelerated international travel, the threat of terrorism is no longer “endemic” to any particular country or geography, as incidents from Bangkok to Bali to Paris have shown, he added.
Underscoring crisis prevention and management is hence the need for preparedness, a point that corporations are increasingly cognisant of with growing awareness of their duty of care. No longer lagging behind their western counterparts, more Asian companies are also investing in planning and reaping the benefits in return, Vaissie shared.
While technology has enabled International SOS to track and offer real-time information for their clients, the complexity and dynamics of the modern travel world today have made it even more paramount for the company to helm its expertise to provide “adapted” and “localized” advice for its clients.
Vaissie speaks to Xinyi Liang-Pholsena about mitigating travel risks and coping with crises in this Newsmaker interview:
Arnaud Vaissié. Photo by Ben Lister
You started International SOS 30 years ago with your childhood friend. What led you to launch the company in Asia?
At the time, Pascal, the co-founder of International SOS, was sent to Indonesia as the medical attaché of the French Embassy. After two years in Indonesia, he realised there was a real need for a medical system (straddling) private practice and (public) hospitals, which was also lacking throughout Asia at the time, so the ideal was to create a system that would fill this void and help employees around the world to have access to preventive care, emergency care, evacuation and transportation care.
How has the travel risk sector evolved since?
What has happened over the past 30 years is that globalisation and international travel have exploded. FDI has increased faster than GDP growth every single year and international travel by both business travel and tourism have multiplied – just look at the impact of Chinese tourism around the world. The risks have really changed in nature because of the enormous number of travellers, the huge number of people who are mobile and the fact that people go to any kind of location.
Today, one in eight in every company is travelling internationally, so travel has become mass market and this proportion is increasing in spite of new telecommunication means. One would think travel would be reduced but in reality travel has increased. Everyone is travelling, from people who know how to travel to people with absolutely no expertise, therefore the risks have been magnified because of a very large population travelling, inexperienced for the most part, and going into anywhere in the world including remote places.
Would you say there are more travel risks than before?
There are more risks because there are more travellers and more locations being visited. At the same time, it’s true that the geopolitics is making a number of countries in the world somewhat dangerous so it is of a different nature from 30 years ago, where there were many countries people were hardly visiting. If you look at Asia now, everyone is going everywhere inside Asia – this clearly was not the clear 30 years ago.
And you also have the health situation. The level of healthcare has improved everywhere, but because you have so many travellers travelling so quickly the risks and spread of epidemics today are far higher than it used to be. Ebola is a very good example; Ebola has been prevalent in Sierra Leone for a long time, just that you (now) have international travellers and therefore when there is an epidemic it spreads faster.
What’s the greatest challenge operating a medical and travel risk security service company? Are there any risks too?
(Laughs) Running any business, well, there is no reward without risk, let’s put it this way. Our business is of course to manage risks for our clients, but in doing so we are putting ourselves at risk. We had two managers dying in Bali’s bombing 12 years ago and often our staff are thrown into fairly risk situations – this is the nature of our business.
In addition, from a business management perspective, the issue for us is to be able to respond to more diverse situations with all the necessary resources, while at the same time manage our day-to-day operations, of which 80 per cent is to offer advice. Eighty per cent of the cases we manage are actually of advisory nature and are being resolved just through contact with our assistance centres around the world.
We have to balance out the day-to-day needs of our members with the exceptional needs in cases of major crises.
Would you say terrorism is a greater threat than before?
It’s very difficult to say if there is more or less terrorism, but the terrorism threat is endemic around the world. The experience of the past 10 years has shown that terrorism does strike in very difficult places like Afghanistan or Pakistan but it does strike as well in places like Bangkok or even in advanced places like Boston, London or Paris for that matter. The terrorist threat is around the world and it’s clear that it’s not going to go away.
So are companies getting more prepared or complacent about terrorism threats?
Corporations now are starting to have a clear idea of their duty of care, which means getting their staff prepared and supported during mobility. Whether it’s on the medical or security side, more corporations have plans in place to support their staff, prepare them before and during a trip, and manage them in times of crises.
Are Asian corporations faring well in this aspect?
Yes. Asian corporations were clearly behind a few years ago but now I would say Japanese, Singaporean and (South) Korean companies have caught up with the west. You are not going to find a well-organised company without a specific programme in place. It’s clearly linked to the development of your economy – the more developed an economy is, the more advanced the plans are going to be. Most countries are catching up quickly.
One thing that is being realised by corporations – whether government institutions, NGOs or scholastic organisations – is that duty of care is fulfilled through planning but there is also a return on investments in planning. The more you prepare your people for international travel, the less costs you incur in the end. There is both a social and financial message, so the returns is there – financial, HR, goodwill – on having in place a comprehensive system for both medical and security situations.
With an increasingly mobile workforce and more business travel than ever before, what trends do you see in the travel security risk sector?
People want far more access to information than before, to go beyond the headlines that you see on a TV broadcast. There is far more sophistication from clients on their requirements for information and advice; they want adapted advice tailored to the location and their industry. As a consequence, there is a requirement to access local information – people don’t want to call one centre in Singapore or London and get a one-word advice. (Travellers are seeking) more localised and distributed information.
Expertise (hence) cannot be centralized; the world has become so vibrant and complex that expertise needs to be locally based, and this is really what I’m pushing for our company to be more distributed around the world and less around hubs.
It’s been 30 years since the founding of International SOS, what’s the growth strategy for the company moving forward?
Former French prime minister Georges Benjamin Clemenceauonce said when he was nearing 80: “Everything I’ve learned in life, I’ve learned it after 30.” So there is still a great deal for us to learn since we have just turned 30. I myself too am trying to stick to 30 instead of my own age (laughs).
We have pioneered and developed a full industry in medical and travel security risk management, which did not exist 30 years ago. We have created the industry and the capability and we massively innovated this field and continue to innovate all the time. We see so many people copying us around the world.
The ideal for me is one, we need to keep expanding geographically. We are in 82 countries today, we still have a lot of countries we should expand into. For example, we just opened in Mexico and growing quite rapidly in Latin America. We have a (global) network with the capability to provide services everywhere, but we don’t have subsidiaries selling our services around the world.
Second is clearly technology, as healthcare is changing at a very rapid pace, so we are digitalising most of the customer experience with us, so customers can access us or our assistance centres as quickly as possible on the phone or in the digital world.
Can you share the most difficult situations or emergencies you’ve encountered?
Clearly the recent Sabah earthquake was a complex one, (due to) the extraordinary loss of life as well as the very complex set of people and logistics involved. The circumstances for deceased people and repatriate them to their home country is a very complex issue because you want to bring people back to their families as quickly as you can but at the same time the local authorities are always requesting administrative issues, so you have to manage these at the same time.
In cases where we have been involved, the biggest ever was 2004 tsunami, because it not only hit a large number of countries – Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka, etc – it also affected a very large area and population, and (the impacts lasted) for months and even years. This one was perhaps the most taxing one in terms of operations and emotional engagement for our staff, and complexity in terms of technical response.
BEYOND Resort Khaolak has unveiled the Palm Villa Elite, a collection of 24 new private luxury villas added to the resort premises.
Features in each of the 78m² villas include a garden with outdoor shower, loungers and a 3 by 8-metre pool or Jacuzzi. Inside each villa is a spacious bathroom with separate shower, double basins, walk-in wardrobe, king size or twin beds, flat screen TV with direct internet access and a complimentary mini bar.
Villa stays are offered as part of a three-night package for couples which includes daily champagne breakfast featuring smoked salmon, fresh fruit juices, coffee and selection of cheeses, while dinner, which includes a range of seafood, wine, beer and soft drinks, will take place by the beach. Round trip airport transfers to Phuket International Airport are also included.
The highlight of the tour is a trip to the nearby Similan Islands, a national park featuring rare marine life. The package is priced at 38,000 baht (US$1,059) and is available until March 31, 2016.
DIFFERENT government regulations across South-east Asia, specifically those governing bank loans, are expected to result in a bleak future for Indonesian convention and conference players as the ASEAN Economic Community is officially formed, predicted the president of the Indonesia Congress and Convention Association (INCCA).
Speaking at the 8th Indonesia MICE Outlook 2016 seminar on December 2 in BSD City, Tangerang, Iqbal Alan Abdullah said: “The way I see it, the business climate will be greyish dark as we enter the AEC era.”
Iqbal explained that the AEC will facilitate the entry of more foreign business event owners and organisers onto Indonesian soil, intensifying competition in the country. To compete effectively, Indonesian business event owners and organisers will need to grow their portfolio of events and to do so, they will require additional funding.
“The problem is, the bank interest rate in Indonesia is 13 per cent while in Singapore, for example, is only three per cent. Furthermore, Indonesian banks require a long list of supporting documents with loan applications. And after all that, companies can only loan up to 40 per cent of the event cost or 50 per cent (for rare cases),” said Iqbal, adding that some banks in other countries need only a letter of appointment for a large event and will grant up to 80 per cent of the event cost.
Ketut Salam, managing director of Pacto Convex, played down Iqbal’s concern, saying that financial institutions are naturally prudent and reputable event companies will have little trouble securing bank loans.
Iqbal’s cautious projections for 2016 also stems from the weakening Indonesian rupiah that has encouraged overseas MICE players to bring their shows to Indonesia, further intensifying competition for business in the country.
Effi Setiabudi, chairman of the Indonesia Exhibition Companies Association, too, expects a greater presence of international exhibition companies in Indonesia, drawn to the country’s “huge population and healthy economy”.
However, Effi has interpreted this development positively, describing it as “good times ahead” for Indonesia’s exhibition sector.
HONG Kong Airlines will increase flight frequency to Haikou from seven to nine flights per week come December 25 in response to growing market demand.
On Fridays, an added flight will depart from Hong Kong at 19.25 and arrive in Haikou at 20.50. Meanwhile on Sundays, a second added service will depart at 18.15 and arrive at 19.45.
The return flight will leave Haikou at 21.55 and land in Hong Kong at 23.15 on Fridays, while on Sundays, it will leave Haikou at 21.15 and land in Hong Kong at 22.35.
ONYX Hospitality Group has added two new developments – Amari Yangshou Guilin and Shama Daqing Heilongjiang – to its pipeline of properties in China.
The 75-room Amari Yangshou Guilin, slated to open in 2017, is part of an integrated commercial development located in the city’s downtown area. Facilities include a spa, Thai restaurant and more.
Shama Daqing Heilongjiang
Scheduled to open in late-2016 is the 110-unit Shama Daqing Heilongjiang located within the city’s CBD. Amenities at the serviced apartment include a Shama kitchen, lounge, fitness area and business centre.
Onyx’s seven other properties under development in China include Amari Dali Yunnan, Amari Huidong Guangdong, Shama Yanglin Beijing, Shama Tianfu Chengdu, Shama Pazhou Guangzhou, Shama Caojiadu Shanghai and OZO Shishi Xiamen.
It currently operates a portfolio of six properties in Shanghai and Hangzhou.
