SINGAPORE, once the doyen of Indian MICE planners and corporate firms, is fast losing its shine.

Despite the Singapore Tourism Board’s upbeat projections about this segment’s immediate prospects, event planners and PCOs are reporting fewer numbers from India to the city state, as costs – particularly from accommodation – continue to rise.

Rajiv Kumar Singh, Nortel’s country operation leader, reported that the firm’s Indian MICE volume to Singapore had fallen 30 per cent since 2007.

He said: “The depreciation of the rupee and a slowdown in the (Indian) economy since 2011 has squeezed budgets even further since the financial crisis of 2008/2009, and Singapore is losing out, as it has now become too expensive for (Indian) MICE organisers to even consider.

“Hotel rates are the main bugbear, as Singapore (hotels) charge up to 50 per cent more than regional destinations such as Thailand or Sri Lanka.”

Singh explained that budgets had to stretch to US$65-US$70 per delegate per day in Singapore versus spending just US$25-US$35 in Thailand and Sri Lanka for similar events.

Rajesh Mahajan, an assistant general manager for special events at ICE, said that on top of India’s economic woes, emerging MICE infrastructure within India was also driving business away from popular outbound destinations such as Singapore.

“Organisers are drawn by the fact is that it is cheaper to hold a meeting domestically rather than abroad,” he said.

Read more in TTG Show Daily – IT&CM India 2012

A REVOLUTION in MICE infrastructure and the way the business is regarded is required to further India’s MICE business development, according to Martin Sirk, ICCA CEO.

Sirk, who believes that India has tremendous potential for attracting international MICE events because of its status as an economic powerhouse, said: “India is certainly on the minds of (MICE organisers) because global companies are interested in doing business in India.

“(But) one has to understand that MICE is not just a tourism (business). Business considerations take a front seat when a company plans its event in a particular destination.

“India needs better and modern convention venues in major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai. India (also) needs purpose-built convention centres that offer facilities such as flexible space and world-class communication systems.”

The challenge of India’s limited MICE infrastructure is not unfamiliar to A T Seasons & Vacations Travel India managing director, Amaresh Tiwari.

“We had difficulty finding a venue for 2,000 delegates for the upcoming Indian Association of Tour Operators convention in Mumbai (in September), and were forced to reduce the number of delegates. We need convention facilities for large conferences in major cities,” he said.

Sirk emphasised the need for a shift in the way the MICE business is regarded by the government and private sector players, saying that “government-private sector partnerships ought to be more cohesive” and that the MICE industry “should be treated more as a knowledge economy”.

He encouraged industry sectors to regard conventions as knowledge enhancers that “can help (them) to grow through continued (interaction) with international experts”.

“The focus should move away from the immediate bottomline and be more long-term holistic gain oriented,” he said.

Read more in TTG Show Daily – IT&CM India 2012

Additional reporting by: Rohit Kohul

SOME Indian exhibitors at the 7th Conventions India Conclave yesterday reported a year-on-year increase in inbound meetings, incentives and conferences brought on by the depreciating Indian rupee, increased financial assistance from the Government of India and better bidding efforts from PCOs looking to bring MICE business to India.

A T Seasons & Vacations Travel India managing director, Amaresh Tiwari, said he was targeting a 30 per cent year-on-year growth for meeting and incentive business this year, with new clients coming in mainly from South America.

He said: “We are getting meetings, incentives and leisure business from countries we never had before due to distance and high airfares, such as Argentina, Mexico, Brazil and Peru.”

A T Seasons & Vacations Travel has also seen more meetings and incentives from Mauritius, Malaysia, Russia and the UK heading mostly to the Golden Triangle cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, as well as Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai.

“India has become more attractive due to the weaker Indian rupee, better bidding efforts and financial assistance from the government to members of the India Convention Promotion Bureau for bidding of international MICE events,” said Tiwari, adding that the rupee had depreciated by about 15-16 per cent against the greenback over the last six months.

With greater buying power in India, the company’s deputy manager-inbound, Shiv Singh Kandari, noted that more clients were including event add-ons such as cultural shows and excursions, and that pre- and post-show tour attendance were on the rise too.

Read more in TTG Show Daily – IT&CM India 2012

MYANMAR’s Ministry of Hotels & Tourism registered 299,529 foreign visitors entering the country through Yangon and various border checkpoints during the first seven months of the year, a 37.5-per cent increase over the 217,837 tourists received during the same period in 2011.

From January-July, more than 60 per cent of visitors to Myanmar were from Asian source markets, including 48,014 from Thailand – the single largest group by nationality – followed by Japan with 23,242, China with 22,283, and South Korea with 17,799.

There were 65,300 European visitors to Myanmar during the period, representing 23.25 per cent of overall arrivals. France led the region with 15,094 visitors, followed by the UK with 11,124.

FITs made up the single largest group with 118,493 visitors, followed by those on package tours (61,661), business travellers (60,979) and social visa holders (20,323).

Inbound tourist numbers to Myanmar are expected to rise by about 30 per cent during the upcoming peak tourist season from October to April, following a similar trend in 2011-2012.

SUPERSTARS of the tourism industry will flock to Macau this September for the maiden Global Tourism Economy Forum, which promises a rich discussion on the dynamics behind tourism and other major economies.

Scheduled to run from September 9 to 11 at the Macau Tower Convention & Entertainment Centre, the event will be hosted by the Macau SAR Government’s Secretariat for Social Affairs & Culture, and co-organised by the China Chamber of Tourism with support from the All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce.

Various international tourism leaders and policy-makers are expected to contribute to the discussion on this year’s theme, Growth driving Growth: Examining the Synergistic Interplay between Tourism & Economic Development, including Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of Tourism, South Africa; Sha Zukang, secretary-general, UN Conference on Sustainable Development; João Manuel Costa Antunes, chairman, PATA; Michael Frenzel, chairman, TUI AG; Min Fan, CEO & president, Ctrip; and Liu Yi, president of Beijing Tourism Group.

Industry leaders will also be sharing their opinions on five subjects – mega events and festivals, emerging new markets, media and technology, destination planning, and lifestyle and entertainment.

OSAKA will become the first city in Western Japan to play host to an InterContinental hotel when the InterContinental Osaka opens its doors in mid-2013.

The InterContinental Osaka will form part of one of Japan’s most ambitious mixed-use developments – the 24-hectare Grand Front Osaka in Umekita – that will see office buildings standing alongside commercial, residential and recreational spaces. The development is slated to open by 2Q2013.

“Osaka is developing rapidly—there is now better connectivity between East and West Japan, and with the strengthening of Kansai International Airport as an aviation hub, the InterContinental Osaka will stand out in what is one of InterContinental Hotels Group’s (IHG) most important markets globally,” said Clarence Tan, CEO, IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan.

Comprising 17 levels, the InterContinental Osaka will offer 215 guestrooms, 57 serviced residences and four F&B outlets. Facilities will include four banquet and meeting rooms, a wedding chapel, a spa, and a fitness centre with an indoor pool. Expect the decor to suggest contemporary luxury, matching modern interior design sensibilities with natural materials hinting at Japanese influences. Works by young stars in the Japanese art scene will also be on display.

A stone’s throw from major transport stations, the InterContinental Osaka aims to carve a space for itself in the luxury business and leisure travel markets, led by general manager, Hafidh Al Busaidy, who has 20 years of experience in the InterContinental brand.

Said Al Busaidy: “The InterContinental Osaka is strategically placed to deliver unique and authentic experiences to guests, rich in both contemporary and traditional Japanese culture and heritage.”

IKEA, the world-famous home products firm that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, is planning to roll out a chain of budget hotels across Europe.

The furniture retailer is aiming to open about 100 of these boutique low-cost hotels across the continent, which will feature neither IKEA’s products nor its brand name.

Operated by an international hotel management company, the new chain will vie with established budget hotel brands such as Travelodge, Premier Inn and Formule 1, as well as new entrants Motel One, citizenM and B&B Hotels.

The first property within the chain is expected to launch in Germany in 2014, with further openings earmarked for the UK, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Poland and Scandinavia.

Inter IKEA, which holds the rights to the IKEA concept and trademark, already owns a few hotels and has several more in the works, but the new project would be its first official hotel chain.

ACCOR is planning to offer complimentary Internet access across all its hotel brands and properties in Asia-Pacific by the end of the year.

The move comes in response to the Accor Asia Pacific Business Traveller Survey 2012, which found that free Internet connectivity had become a key influencer on business travellers’ choice of hotel—with 49 per cent of respondents rating it among the most important factors.

Respondents from Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand all rated free Internet as the primary factor affecting their choice of accommodation.

Although priorities among other markets deviate – with travellers from Australia and New Zealand prizing location, those from China prizing loyalty rewards, and those from India valuing price point – the decision-tipping clout that free Internet has suddenly accrued has prompted a swift reaction from Accor, especially since it did not even figure in last year’s report.

Given that 65 per cent of Accor’s occupancy in Asia-Pacific is driven by business travel, Evan Lewis, Accor’s vice president of communications Asia-Pacific, said: “It is clear that we must take a position on free Internet. By the end of the year, Internet will be free in all Accor hotels across the Asia Pacific region.”

“Hotels with incumbent supplier contracts for Internet provision will align on expiration of these contracts,” he added.

Internet usage charges will not be completely abolished, however. Guests will be able to download emails and browse the web, but activities requiring extensive bandwidth – such as watching movies online – will incur a fee.

Reporting by Timothy France

ETIHAD Airways will ramp up the frequency of its Abu Dhabi-Singapore-Brisbane flights from three times a week to a daily service from February 1, 2013.

Operated on Airbus A330-200 aircraft with 22 business-class and 240 economy-class seats, the four additional flights will bring to 28 the total number of daily services Etihad Airways wields between Australia and Abu Dhabi, together with codeshare partner Virgin Australia.

James Hogan, president & CEO of Etihad Airways, said: “Going daily to Brisbane and Singapore puts Etihad Airways in a stronger competitive position and will increase the airline’s brand footprint exponentially in these markets.”

“These extra flights to Brisbane and Singapore underscore the strategic importance of Australia and the Asia-Pacific region and the contribution each makes to the airline’s goal of sustainable profitability.”

Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman, said Etihad’s plan to increase the number of flights was a boost to Queensland’s economy and tourism industry.

“This will see thousands of extra people a year coming into Queensland, injecting millions of dollars into our economy and resulting in more jobs being created,” he said.

ONYX Hospitality Group kicked-off last Friday construction on OZO Kandy, the third OZO development currently underway in Sri Lanka. The hotel is scheduled to open its doors in 2014.

Located adjacent to Hotel Suisse at Sangaraja Mawatha off Kandy Lake, the 128-room OZO Kandy is a joint venture between Sino Lanka Hotels Holdings and The Kandy Hotels Co. – owners of the Queen’s Hotel and Hotel Suisse in Kandy.

Facilities at OZO Kandy will include a swimming pool, a gym, two restaurants and a snack bar.

Simon Allison, executive vice president & chief development officer – ONYX Hospitality Group, said: “Tourism in Sri Lanka is booming and we have identified a gap in the market for a product like OZO. This brand offers value and comfort for travellers looking for insider experiences, combined with good connectivity and a great sleep.”

Since ONYX launched its OZO brand in 2009, a number of key projects have been announced. The inaugural OZO property, OZO Wesley Hong Kong, will launch in 2013, while OZO Chaweng Samui will open on Koh Samui in early 2014 (TTG Asia e-Daily, August 2, 2012).

Construction on OZO Colombo, located on Marine Drive in the capital, began earlier this year, while a third project is also in the pipeline in the coastal city of Galle.