THE Recognising Award Winning Results (rAWr) Awards, in its second edition this year, has fuelled competitiveness among local business event players and resulted in improved MICE standards, observed Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) chief, Zulkefli Hj Sharif.

“I’ve seen how the Awards has encouraged local players to raise the standards of their operations and events so as to win. Those who did not win the first round (in 2013 when rAWr was inaugurated) strove hard to make an impact this year,” Zulkefli remarked.

The Awards drew close to 60 submissions this year, and the presentation ceremony and gala dinner was held last Thurday evening at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. It recognised several business events and specialists including Food and Hotel Malaysia by Malaysian Exhibition Services for Best Trade Exhibition (15,000m² and below); ARCHIDEX by C.I.S Network for Best Trade Exhibition (15,001m² and above); Winning Together Sales Kick-off Meeting by Pacific World for Best Incentive Programme; and Pearl Holiday (M) Travel & Tours for Destination Management Company Award For Excellence.

Anthony Wong, group managing director of AOS Convention & Events, was bestowed the Minister’s Award For Business Events Industry, an award that recognises an individual’s invaluable contribution to the Malaysian MICE industry through successful event bids and training for students and peers.

The rAWr Awards is jointly organised by MyCEB and the Malaysia Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (MACEOS).

MACEOS president, Vincent Tan, said the Awards functions well as a membership driver for the association, as it is only open to MACEOS members.

CENDYN, which owns hospitality and event industry technology leaders Cendyn/ONE and Cendyn Arcaneo, is growing its global operations and has appointed London-based John Seaton to lead the charge as international managing director.

The company has opened a new office in Singapore to further establish the company’s strong presence in the Asia-Pacific region, and has expressed intentions to add eight more worldwide in 2016.

The Singapore office joins Cendyn’s current ones in Boca Raton, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia in the US, Toronto, Canada, and London, England.

“Launched over 19 years ago, Cendyn continues to experience exciting and elevated levels of growth, as our innovative, cloud-based SaaS platforms become critical to the success of the travel and hospitality and event planning industries around the world,” commented Cendyn CEO Charles Deyo in a press statement.

“The appointment of John Seaton, as well as the opening of our additional international offices in 2016, represent our much-demanded, growing presence in the global market.”

Seaton, who oversees the growth of Cendyn’s business within Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific, has more than 20 years of experience in the global technology arena.

He most recently served as vice president of sales & strategic account management EMEA & Asia Pacific for eRevMax. He was also principal consultant with Rickyard Solutions, co-founder of Business Meetings International which was acquired by Cendyn, and vice president of Enterprise Connectivity – Global with eRevMax.

He had also held executive positions with Global Hotel Alliance, Hotel Booking Solutions and Pegasus Solutions.

A WORKSHOP aimed at showcasing Naypyidaw as an ideal MICE destination and educating tourism players on ways to develop the destination’s full potential was conducted by the Myanmar Ministry of Hotels and Tourism last week.

Speaking at the Raising Awareness on MICE Development in Nay Pyi Taw Workshop at The Thingaha Hotel, Htay Aung, minister of hotels and tourism, remarked that the capital city has sufficient facilities and infrastructure to support business events.

Htay Aung pointed out that the ministry has been investing in the development of the local tourism industry and its efforts are supported by the public and private sectors.

The workshop featured a two-day/one-night trip that took “hundreds of participants from travel agencies, hotels, airline companies, tourism development firms and the media” to see local and foreign hotels as well as the Union Parliament building which is marketed as a new product in the city.

Describing the workshop as the ministry’s “first step” towards achieving its MICE ambitions, Htay Aung added that a website is being developed to provide event planners with a directory, available in 20 languages. Users will be able to send enquiries directly to the city’s hotels and conference centres.

According to the ministry, Naypyidaw has about 53 hotels with 5,100 rooms, and most of these properties have facilities and amenities of international standards.

However, Hasitha Manthriratne, hotel operations manager of ParkRoyal Nay Pyi Taw, opined that for Naypyidaw to truly draw international MICE interest, it needed to develop “the liveliness of a city” and improve transportation services.