HONG Kong’s Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (KTCT) could soon be seeing charter ferry services if discussions between operator Worldwide Cruise Terminals (WCT) and government authorities work out.

The terminal last week completed a trial berthing of charter ferry services, carrying 300 passengers across the Victoria Harbour from a Wanchai convention centre to the terminal for an evening function.

Jeff Bent, managing director of WCT, said in a statement: “WCT had earlier worked with various government departments and the ferry operator to perform technical trials. These measures ensured passenger safety and that the facilities and security of the KTCT would not be affected by the ferry operation.”

“Once long-term operational approvals are granted by the relevant authorities, and subject to commercial agreement, this method of transportation will be available for special events held at the KTCT in the future. Event organisers and cruise lines will be able to arrange service times and routes for charter ferry service with the ferry operator.”

Bent added that WCT and a ferry operator are currently in talks with the Hong Kong government regarding the construction of a public ferry pier, which would allow for regular ferry services linking KTCT, North Point, Kwun Tong, and other destinations as well.

Besides welcoming cruise ships, KTCT is also used as a venue for product launches, cocktail parties, and sporting events, among others.

FOLLOWING the city’s entry into China’s alliance for incentive travel, Suzhou is setting up the Suzhou MICE & Travel Promotion Centre.

The centre is drawing organisations including the Suzhou Municipal Tourism Administration, cultural tourism companies, Suzhou Industrial Park, and Taihu National Tourist Resort to work together.

It aims to package the city’s top hotels, scenic spots, cultural and recreational activities, and launch these incentive travel products through integrated marketing approaches.

Suzhou’s 2,500-year old heritage and attractions, plus its accessibility from Shanghai, have increased the city’s tourism receipts significantly in recent years, and the Suzhou MICE & Travel Promotion Centre is likely to further boost its tourism revenue.

Suzhou MICE & Travel Development’s director of operation, Wang Zhang Rong, explained that Suzhou is planning to develop high-end incentive tourism product emphasising its cultural heritage.

These include garden conferences, lakeside incentive tourism products, conference activities in the ancient walled city, and various cultural activities distinctive to Suzhou.

The 2014 Suzhou Cup has also stimulated the research and design of travel products and the integration of tourism with cultural and commercial activities distinctive to Suzhou.

Wang further noted that many cities are similarly working to boost their incentive tourism sectors. Looking forward, Suzhou will seek to develop special travel products and promote the city at major incentive travel exhibitions.

Translated from the original TTG China e-Daily article, November 18, 2014 by Ong Yanchun

FCM Travel Solutions is keen to capture a piece of the MICE pie with the launch of the new FCm MICE team in Singapore.

Leveraging FCm’s parent company, Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), Mark Ten, general manager of FCm Travel Solutions, said this support would give FCm “global negotiating muscle to deliver the most competitive prices on all travel, meetings and events requests”.

Ten said: “Establishing FCm MICE is part of our five-year plan at FCTG to boost our operations in Singapore. We have been fielding smaller meeting and incentive requests from our corporate client base for some time, and now is the right time to extend ourselves into MICE.

“We see offering expertise in the MICE sector as a natural extension of our corporate offering, and necessary as part of an end-to-end service for our corporate clients,” Ten added.

While the MICE team has three staff now, Ten added that the number will be grown to seven. FCm MICE, which will tackle both inbound and outbound MICE, will handle approximately 10 per cent of the overall business in FCTG.

Emphasising that FCm MICE has an advantage over the competition because of its ability to build on FCTG’s existing network, he said: “MICE planners are always looking for creative programmes with more interesting and non-traditional offerings, yet this is also a very price-sensitive segment and customers want a lot more value for less.

“As such, we have a network of suppliers and DMCs that we can leverage, and close relationships with NTOs that will allow us to tap into new ideas for immersive experiences,” Ten added.

MELBOURNE has nabbed the rights to host the International Particle Accelerator Conference (IPAC) in May 2019.

This conference will see 1,000 international delegates in the city for six days, with an estimated economic contribution of approximately A$5 million (US$4 million) to the state.

Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) CEO Karen Bolinger said that the process used to win the IPAC 2019 conference was a good illustration of the collaborative nature of all Melbourne bids.

She said: “MCB has collaborated with the Synchrotron team – all leaders in their respective fields – to prepare a comprehensive bid proposal that demonstrated the intellectual capital available to delegates attending the conference. IPAC 2019 is our seventh collaborative win and the biggest so far.”

Dean Morris, head of corporate services at the Australian Synchrotron, said: “In its seven years of operation, the Australian Synchrotron – one of only two such facilities in the Southern Hemisphere – has helped forge many international partnerships and collaborations between Australia and other researchers around the world.”

“Most recently, it has been a founding partner in the Australian Collaboration for Accelerator Science, which seeks to raise the profile of Australian Accelerator Science in the world community. Hosting IPAC in 2019 would be the flagship event for this collaboration, and would firmly place Australia on the world science map.”

AUSTRALIA has beat out the competition to host the next World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) 2018 at the International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney).

WCOA is a platform for participants to listen to leaders of the finance industry, exchange views, and debate about trends with other accounting and finance professionals from around the world.

The event is estimated to be worth US$18 million and will see the country hosting more than 5,000 accounting professionals in Sydney.

Troy Grant, New South Wales deputy premier and minister for trade and investment, said: “This is the latest high-profile international event to be secured for the ICC Sydney. It’s one of 18 international business events locked in for Sydney and New South Wales, representing a combined estimated economic impact of close to US$150 million.”

The bid was led by Alex Malley from CPA Australia, Lee White from the Institute of Chartered Accountants Australia, and was supported by Business Events Sydney, the New South Wales government, and Australian representatives.