THE ANNUAL Incentive Travel & Conventions, Meetings Asia (IT&CMA) and Corporate Travel World (CTW) Asia-Pacific will celebrate a number of firsts when they take place this October in Bangkok.

The double-bill event will debut a luxury travel segment this year to cater to the growing demand for premium products among MICE and corporate travel buyers.

IT&CMA will also welcome its very first Middle Eastern offering through Dubai’s inaugural participation in the event’s exhibition segment.

As well, IT&CMA will be attended by buyers from Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Finland, Israel, Lebanon, Mexico and Tanzania for the first time.

These new features join IT&CMA and CTW’s recent announcement of a closer partnership with the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), which enables the event organiser, TTG Asia Media, and the association to work together in delivering quality training and seminars for corporate travel managers. (TTGmice e-Weekly, June 13, 2012)

IT&CMA will hold its 20^th edition this year, while CTW is entering its 15^th year.

Meanwhile, an invite-only preview reception for IT&CMA and CTW will be hosted tomorrow at the newly-opened Sofitel So Bangkok.

SRI Lanka’s CeySail Cruises has launched a fleet of luxury Catamaran and Monohull yachts with sea activity options, a move that local tour operators said would sharpen the destination’s appeal to high-end MICE segments.

Rajiv Seneviratne, CeySail Cruises COO, said the luxury yachts would offer activities such as dolphin and whale watching on the east coast of Trincomalee, as well as multi-day trips that include snorkeling, diving and fishing on the south coast.

Prior to the fleet expansion, the company has a Water Sprite 11, a catamaran sailing yacht with four bedrooms for 12 guests and a MacGregor 26 monohull yacht with accommodation for four. CeySail Cruises is looking to add a twin-deck luxury yacht with the capacity for a 100-pax party by this August.

Seneviratne intends to work with travel agencies and hotels to promote his yacht charters and activities.

Ahintha Amerasinghe, managing director of Worldlink Travels, believes that Ceysails Cruises luxury yacht tours and activities will enhance Sri Lanka’s ability to draw deep-pocketed MICE clients and “add diversity” to the destination’s tourism offerings.

CROWNE Plaza Hong Kong Kowloon East has rolled out limited time offers for meeting planners in celebration of its opening on September 28.

Event planners who book their events by end of December can enjoy full- and half-day meeting packages at HK$600 (US$77) and HK$450 per delegate respectively. These deals are valid for groups with 10 to 1,000 participants. Lunch, coffee break and free flow of tea and coffee throughout the event are included.

The hotel is also offering promotional room rates from HK$1,100 per Superior room per night for meetings held between November 1 this year and March 31 next year. Meeting groups that consume 40 roomnights or more each day will be offered one complimentary room upgrade, bonus points for Priority Club Meeting Rewards members and a free roundtrip coach transfer.

Prices exclude a 10 per cent service charge.

Perched on top of the PopCorn shopping mall and Tseung Kwan O MTR station, the hotel has 2,400m² of event space and 359 guestrooms.

BELGIUM-BASED Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) has selected Singapore and Marina Bay Sands as the venue for Sibos 2015, an annual financial services event.

Commenting on SWIFT’s host destination choice, the organisation’s chief executive Asia-Pacific, Ian Johnston, said: “Singapore’s lead within ASEAN creates a strong draw card for customers from South Asia, as well as the Indian sub-continent and North Asia. Sibos in Singapore is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the region to the entire SWIFT community.”

The event, which brings together the global financial services and technology communities, is said to contribute significantly to the economy of the host city and country. SWIFT’s decision to take Sibos to Singapore also adds another feather to Marina Bay Sands’ cap.

John Mims, senior vice president worldwide sales & resort marketing Asia, Las Vegas Sands, said: “This event will be our largest to date, utilising over 120,000m² of space at Sands Expo and Convention Center, including 250 meeting rooms, six expo halls and the Grand Ballroom.

Sibos will be held in Osaka this year, followed by Dubai and Boston in 2013 and 2014 respectively.