Peninsula Hotels appoints new vice presidents of sales, marketing

May 23, 2012

Simon Yip (left) and Robert Cheng

THE PENINSULA Hotels has appointed Simon Yip as vice president, sales, and Robert Cheng as vice president, marketing.

Yip joined the hotel chain in 2001 as director of sales & marketing at The Peninsula Bangkok, before moving to The Peninsula Hong Kong in 2005 as director of marketing.

Prior to his current position, Yip was regional director of marketing for China, and oversaw the marketing initiatives of The Peninsula Shanghai and The Peninsula Beijing.

Cheng, most recently director of marketing at The Peninsula Shanghai, has taken charge of overall branding, public relations and e-commerce activities for The Peninsula Hotels.

He previously worked as director of Centurion and Platinum card portfolios at American Express, and global director of marketing for De Beers Diamond Jewellers in London.

Adi Sidhwa joins Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok as DOSM

By TTG Asia

May 23, 2012

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Adi Sidhwa

GRAND Hyatt Erawan Bangkok has appointed Adi Sidhwa as director of sales & marketing.

He joined Hyatt Hotels & Resorts in 2006 as associate director of sales at Grand Hyatt New York, and was subsequently promoted to director of sales & marketing at Andaz Wall Street in 2008.

Before joining Hyatt, Sidhwa worked as director of corporate sales at Radisson Lexington Hotel New York, and as director of sales & marketing at Doubletree Metropolitan Hotel.

Borneo Convention Centre Kuching hires Debbie Stanford-Kristiansen

By TTG Asia

May 23, 2012

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Debbie Stanford-Kristiansen

DEBBIE Stanford-Kristiansen has joined Borneo Convention Centre Kuching as its new director of sales & marketing.

Stanford-Kristiansen worked with expo@bahrain and Bahrain Exhibition & Convention Authority for the past seven years. Before that, she was vice president of global sales for IMEX.

She previously spent six years on the board of SITE UK and Ireland chapter, and was elected chapter president for two years. She has also served on the UK chapter of MPI, and spent two years as deputy chair of ICCA Middle East & Africa chapter.

MBS scores a hit with mega sports events

By Karen Yue

May 23, 2012

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MARINA Bay Sands (MBS) is seeing a rise in the number of mega sports events being held on its premises, with the next such event being the high-profile ONE Asia MMA Summit from June 1 to 3.

Organisers of the summit have claimed that it will be the largest ever in the history of the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) sport.

Mike Lee, MBS vice president of sales, said these events, which include the Dragon Fire Championship Boxing Event in May, Asia Dive Expo in April and Z1 Pro-Fencing World Series in July 2010 and December 2011, allowed the integrated resort to “showcase the flexibility of the space at the Sands Expo and Convention Center”.

For instance, an exhibition hall at the Center was transformed into a sports arena with up to 4,000 tiered seats, pyrotechnics, music and lights on one of the days during the recent Dragon Fire Championship Boxing Event.

“Sporting events held at MBS allow the integrated resort to be viewed from a different perspective. We are not only a venue that caters to traditional conferences, tradeshows and business meetings – our facilities and accompanying attractions provide a natural platform for large-scale sporting events that demand space, flexibility and expertise,” said Lee.

He added that large-scale sporting events at MBS also contributed significantly towards guestroom occupation.

“The boxers participating in the Dragon Fire Championship Boxing Event were from around the region, with two boxers in particular – Chris John (Indonesia) and Lorenzo Villanueva (Philippines) – having notably large fan bases in their own respective countries. As a result, the fights saw many regional fans flying in…to support their boxing heroes.”

Travelex takes on new name, sets bigger MICE goals

By Prudence Lui

May 23, 2012

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FOLLOWING a 100 per cent acquisition by Westminster in March this year (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 9, 2012), Travelex Hong Kong will be rebranded as TLX Travel from June 1.

TLX Travel, which has retained its existing headcount and experienced travel managers, will seek to grow more corporate travel business out of the small and medium enterprise (SME) segment.

Eliza Ma, who helms TLX Travel as CEO, said: “We are currently bidding for government tenders, such as those issued by the Education Department and the Airport Authority. Incentives or seminars from pharmaceutical and computer industries will also be targeted.”

Ma added that Westminster’s “strong IT system” would enable TLX Travel to provide speedy responses to requests for proposals.

To build the new brand further, TLX Travel has joined Uniglobe Travel, a global network of agencies that specialise in providing travel services to SMEs.

“This (the alliance with Uniglobe Travel) benefits our operations, as we (can provide) global support for our clients. Our next step is to roll out a new website and embrace the online business platform. We may also consider offering 24-hour client support in the future,” said Ma.

Golf convention heads to Pattaya next year

By TTG Asia

May 23, 2012

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THE ASIA Golf Tourism Convention (AGTC), which succesfully debuted in Kuala Lumpur in April, has accepted Thailand’s invitation to take the event to Pattaya in 2013.

Ng Eu Shen, general manager of Liberty Golf Services and co-organiser of AGTC, told TTGmice e-Weekly that the Thai tourism authority had approached the UK-based International Association of Golf Tour Operators – owners of AGTC – after “observing the effectiveness of the convention”.

The inaugural AGTC was attended by 138 buyers from 100 golf tour operators in 38 countries, and business meetings were conducted between the buyers and 243 suppliers from 16 countries. Most of the suppliers were from Asia, with some coming from as far away as Fiji and Mauritius.

Buyers were also taken on familiarisation trips to popular Malaysian destinations including Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Malacca and Sabah.

Ng said: “Hosting the AGTC (in Malaysia) helped to raise the country’s profile for golf tourism, which is not so well known yet.”

The organisers aim to surpass 2012’s attendance figures during next year’s AGTC, which is scheduled to run from April 29 to May 2.

The convention will be held on an annual basis and rotated around Asia.

Article by N Nithiyananthan.

Myanmar approves new hotel zone at Inle Lake

By Rahul Khanna

May 23, 2012

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THE MYANMAR President’s Office has approved an application by the Ministry of Hotels & Tourism to develop a new 250-hectare hotel zone at Inle Lake.

Set on a hill to the east of the lake, the site will be divided to accommodate 16 hotels, for which development plans are already underway.

Moe Zaw Htut, deputy head of office for the Minister for Hotels & Tourism, said the new hotel zone would boost room inventory and cater to growing tourism demand at Inle Lake.

The Ministry of Hotels & Tourism had originally applied for 810 hectares, but the Union Government slashed this by more than two-thirds following consultations with the Ministry of Environmental Conservation & Forestry and the Shan State government.

THAI’s top man receives the boot

By TTG Asia

May 23, 2012

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THE BOARD of Thai Airways International (THAI) has sacked its president, Piyasvasti Amranand, citing a breakdown in communications, and irreconcilable differences over strategy and aircraft purchases.

Reuters quoted the airline’s chairman, Ampon Kittiampon, as saying: “The (THAI) board has agreed to terminate the president’s contract because he cannot work in unity with the strategy committee.”

Thailand’s transport minister, Jarupong Ruangsuwan, weighed in with his two cents’ worth, explaining that Piyasvasti was dismissed because he failed to see eye-to-eye with the THAI board over acquisition of new aircraft.

Piyasvasti, who joined the national carrier as president in October 2009, said: “The reasons the (THAI) board gave, that I have communication problems and differences of opinion, are ambiguous. (THAI’s) performance during my term improved in every aspect, and I passed the (recent annual) evaluation at 86 per cent.”

Meanwhile, Thailand’s prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, and finance minister, Kittiratt Na-Ranong, have sought to refute allegations that the government played a part in Piyasvasti’s dismissal.

Chokchai Panyayong, THAI’s executive vice president, strategy and business development, has been appointed acting president of the national carrier.

Sendai CVB rebuilds MICE business

By Raini Hamdi

May 23, 2012

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SENDAI Tourism & Convention Bureau, which has been given free space at IMEX and is participating at the show for the first time, hopes to raise the ‘right’ awareness of the destination among European and American MICE organisers, who largely know it from the devastating East Japan Earthquake a year ago.

“Actually, it is thanks to the tsunami that (European and American MICE buyers) know Sendai, and now we want them to know that we are ready to welcome international conference delegates,” said the bureau’s assistant manager, Yumiko Nakao.

Nakao explained that Sendai’s meetings infrastructure was virtually back to normal, and that further investment was being made to boost infrastructure in the city.

A new subway line connecting Sendai railway station, downtown Sendai and Sendai International Center will open in 2015. A new venue adjacent to the Center will also come online around the same time, featuring a large space for technical exhibitions and additional conference rooms.

Meanwhile, the Miyagi Exhibition Center, destroyed by the earthquake, will reopen in the summer.

“Almost all the meetings infrastructure is now open, and international meetings are slowing coming back,” said Kayuhiko Kusaka, senior officer, international promotion section, City of Sendai Economic Affairs Bureau.

– Full report in TTGmice, August 2012 issue

Expedia extends travel expert affiliate programme to Hong Kong

By TTG Asia

May 23, 2012

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EXPEDIA has launched its Travel Agent Affiliate Program (TAAP) in Hong Kong, and is offering a HK$800 (US$103) bonus on top of commissions for the first HK$12,000 worth of bookings for new partners.

Travel experts who sign up with TAAP will gain access to Expedia’s global inventory of more than 145,000 hotels, be able to check availability of hotel rooms, activities and flights, and make bookings in real time.

Commission levels for TAAP are up to 10 per cent on hotels and activities, and five per cent on packages (flight plus minimum of three nights’ hotel stay).

“The Internet has fundamentally changed the landscape for how travel products are distributed. Today, travel (experts) can buy inventory from any part of the world at any time of the day from the Internet,” said Charee Guico, travel agent distribution manager Asia, Expedia.

“Expedia is offering a great opportunity for travel (experts) to increase their revenue when booking online,” she added.

TAAP was first launched in Italy in 2002 and has since expanded to the rest of Europe, America and Asia-Pacific.

In Asia, TAAP rolled out in India in 2010, in Singapore, Japan and Malaysia in 2011, and in Thailand and South Korea in 1Q2012. The programme currently has 3,500 travel expert partners in the region, and subsequent launches are planned in Indonesia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam over the coming months.

For more information, visit access.expedia.com.hk or call (852) 2157-0605.

Peninsula Hotels appoints new vice presidents of sales, marketing

Adi Sidhwa joins Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok as DOSM

Borneo Convention Centre Kuching hires Debbie Stanford-Kristiansen

MBS scores a hit with mega sports events

Travelex takes on new name, sets bigger MICE goals

Golf convention heads to Pattaya next year

Myanmar approves new hotel zone at Inle Lake

THAI’s top man receives the boot

Sendai CVB rebuilds MICE business

Expedia extends travel expert affiliate programme to Hong Kong

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