THE 15^th International Peat Congress in 2016 will be held in South-east Asia for the first time come August.

It will be hosted by the Malaysian Peat Society in partnership with the International Peatland Society and supported by International Union for Soil Science (IUSS) and International Union for Forest Research Organisation (IUFRO). It will also be the first edition to be organised with the support of a foreign chapter – Peat Society of Indonesia.

The theme of the congress, Peatlands in Harmony – Agriculture, Industry & Nature, will relate to an integrated global perspective for the responsible use of peatlands and the preservation of their unique dynamics and natural biodiversity.

Lulie Melling, congress general, told TTGmice e-Weekly: “The Congress will also provide for researchers, academics and practitioners an ideal platform to congregate, share information and discuss their scientific results and experiences with particular reference to peat and peatlands in the tropics.”

“We are honoured to host this congress which will be in Asia for the first time. Previous congresses were always in Europe and America and the downside of this was the prohibitive costs, especially for Asians from developing nations.

“This event is very important for Malaysians and Asians in general as it will allow more delegates from Asia to attend and benefit from scientific, industrial and governmental discussions. They do not have to spend a lot on travel. It’s an opportunity for the people in the Asia Pacific to attend an International Congress and be able to listen to talks by leading authorities in the field and also to be able to know more about temperate and boreal peat especially in relation to sustainability issues, all at reduced rates.

“Previous congresses held in Europe and US were really too expensive for Malaysians and Indonesians and the numbers that went were small. This will be a good platform to present scientific papers. It also gives a chance for the participants a chance to have international network, exchange and sharing of ideas and have personal discussions with light-minded delegates from around the world. Finally, we hope to be able to build up greater awareness to the world on what is tropical peat and at the same time as a platform to build research collaboration.”

The event is expected to draw the largest number of Asian delegation, at least slightly more than half of the total delegation of 1,500.

SYDNEY will be injecting another A$1.5 million (US$1.1 million) into Business Events Sydney (BESydney) between 2017 and 2021, after a stong return from their initial investment of the same value from 2014 to 2016.

“The City of Sydney’s initial investment supported BESydney to secure 24 events worth more than A$70 million in direct expenditure,” said CEO of BESydney, Lyn Lewis-Smith, in a release.

“The funds drawn on to date have achieved a return of more than A$90 for every $1 invested.”

The initial investment has been effective in helping to activate the city precinct during the development of the new International Convention Centre Sydney and Darling Harbour precinct.

City of Sydney Lord Mayor, Clover Moore, said the programme had been a great success and the city was delighted to continue investing in the bureau.

“Among others, this partnership brings high-yield international incentive visitors to Sydney who spend up to 6.5 times more per day than regular holiday tourists, benefiting our shops and restaurants. Earlier this week BESydney announced the Cathay Life Taiwan Summit has been secured for 2016, a great example of how the City’s current investment is helping to pay dividends for local businesses into the future.

“We are happy to work with Business Events Sydney to secure more events, which will help off-set potential economic impacts of the central business district light rail works and the Darling Harbour redevelopment.”

On October 12, BESydney announced that up to A$113 million of corporate incentive events have been secured for 2016 and 2017 including Nu Skin Greater China Success Trip 2016, Cathay Life Taiwan Summit 2016 and Amway China Leadership Seminar 2017, with broad support from Destination New South Wales (NSW) and the City of Sydney.

To date, BESydney has injected up to A$249 million into the NSW economy by securing more than 53,000 Asian incentive delegates over the past three years alone. This represents 20 per cent year-on-year growth from this sector, which has contributed to BESydney’s strong result.

Some 146 events previously secured by BESydney, estimated to be worth A$404 million in direct expenditure to NSW, will take place between January 2015 to December 2023.

THE International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) has released the 2015 edition of Trends in the Conference Centre Industry, compiled by PKF Consulting, CBRE Hotels.

The report shows that for three years running, occupancy has improved and rates are stronger, more so for IACC’s corporate meeting venue operators. Participation from day meeting venues in this survey has also increased and they provide valuable data on what is a growing member category for IACC. The average External Day Meeting rose significantly to US$105.

Mark Cooper, CEO of IACC, noted that corporate meeting venues lead the recovery with the highest ADR and RevPAR.

IACC members had predicted a bumpy ride – business wise – for last year but sentiments have improved, with all venue types expecting positive occupancy growth this year. Corporate venues are forecasting the greatest improvements by year-end.

IACC conference hotel venues with 200 or more guestrooms have reported a 6.5 per cent increase in occupancy so far this year, outperforming their comparable resort member properties.

Cooper said: “It is encouraging to see another year of improved performance and (there are) clear signs that this important sector of the meetings industry is being invested in by member customers.

“We are also seeing a greater number of our members attending learning events and conferences, as they invest in education and innovation, which will result in a skill-enhanced workforce to prepare for increased demand within the small meetings segment in the coming year.”

According to the report, resort meeting venues achieved the greatest increase in Complete Meeting Package rates, showing a 2.6 per cent increase over the previous year.

Executive conference venues had forecasted a 5.9 per cent increase in conference package rates in 2015 and resort venues a 3.4 per cent increase in Complete Meeting Package rates, while a 12 per cent increase in package rates, which includes room hire, technology and F&B costs, was reported for day meeting venues.