CIM March Issue

Print Post Approved PP231335/00018

03 13 MAR

The Event Centre

Star performer New Zealand

What’s new in 2013

Brisbane

Looking to the future Official Australian publication for the PCO Association

CAB Audited Circulation 16,663 September 2012 – Readership 58,320 monthly Nielsen Media Research

c&i briefing WellingtonNZ.com hitting an alltime high of 309,824 in November 2012. Positively Wellington Tourism CEO David Perks said year-on-year growth for November was 107 per cent, with Australians nudging out Canterbury for second place in out-of-town visitor rankings, at 11 per cent. “With The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey just released and two more films to premiere, there is a huge opportunity for event organisers to leverage that,” he said.

Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Marina Bay Sands hosted 40 professional conference organisers and agents on Sydney Harbour for the launch event of the Singapore MasterMice series. The evening provided the opportunity for the STB to update attendees on Singapore’s enhanced business events offerings while also gaining insights from leaders within the industry – MasterMice. New developments highlighted during the evening included Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Cruise Centre and Marina Bay Sands.

The next greenmeetings and events conference will take place in Messe Frankfurt’s new “Kap Europa” congress centre, from February 9-10, 2015, according to the conference’s organisers, the German Convention Bureau and the European Association of Event Centers. The Kap Europa congress centre is currently under construction in the Europa district of Frankfurt.

A skills shortage in the Australian events industry is causing great concern for a country striving to expand and improve its worldwide standing, according to industry body Meetings & Events Australia.

“We really need to train more people to improve the industry’s overall competitiveness on the domestic and international stage,” says chief executive Linda Gaunt.

The recent merger of Chilean LAN Airlines and Brazilian based TAM Airlines, to form LATAM Airlines Group, has opened up South America for groups and business travellers, facilitating ease of travel throughout the region, according to Johanna Raeder, marketing manager Asia Pacific.

“The group serves key destinations for meetings and conventions and offers easy connections to inspiring post touring and incentive options,” she said.

Exhibitions and Trade Fairs (ETF), has announced The National Tradies Expo, scheduled for 2013 in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, will no longer go ahead. After a consultation period with industry personnel and exhibition stakeholders, ETF concluded that the industry had been progressively moving towards different methods of purchasing goods and the format of an exhibition was becoming less

appropriate for this industry.

Perth Convention Bureau (PCB) hit the road this month to entice corporate and incentive buyers in Indonesia and Malaysia to host their events in Perth. “Due to their close proximity to Perth, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur are key markets for us and this campaign serves to remind the international association and corporate and incentive markets of the diversity Western Australia has to offer,” said PCB chief executive Paul Beeson.

The Whitsundays will host a familiarisation event in June 2013.

“We know that the Whitsundays is one of Australia’s best locations for a business event,” said Whitsundays Marketing and Development Limited chief executive Danial Rochford. “And we want to invite the industry to experience a little taste of that for themselves.”

To register interest, visit www. whitsundaysbusinessevents.com.au.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts has stressed its commitment to delivering superior guest and business events services across its international portfolio of hotels, while announcing a series of significant renovations and openings in the Pacific region for 2013. “Our recent and upcoming openings in the Pacific region, together with ongoing renovations and product upgrades, demonstrate Starwood’s ongoing commitment to offer MICE professionals and business travellers with enhanced services and even greater venue choices across the globe,” said regional director of sales and marketing Daniella Tonetto.

Wellington’s Middle of Middle-earth campaign has helped drive record traffic to the region’s official tourism website with monthly visits to

2 Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 www.cimmagazine.com

Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre has launched a mobile app that allows users to access its website from smart phones. The move follows the Centre’s recently revamped website and an upgrade to its free wi-fi. The mobile app features an interactive locator that provides directions to the Centre from the user’s location and daily weather updates in Kuala Lumpur.

InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa’s insider collection has recently added Macaroon Making to its array of “Insider Interactions” activities for groups. Cooking classes at InterContinental Fiji cover everything from cooking the essentials to creating specialty dishes, as chefs showcase their secrets to making delicious international cuisine, with a Fijian twist. “’Insider Interactions’ offer an ‘In The Know’ experience for our conference delegates” said conference and events manager David Pearson.

Daydream Island Resort and Spa has recorded massive growth in its conferencing and incentives business. Resort chief executive Phil Casey said that the resort had recorded a more than 200 per cent increase in room nights from this market in 2012. “We made a decision three years ago to increase our resources in the MICE sector and it’s now paying off handsomely,” said Casey. “We’ve been encouraged by the desire of corporates and leisure guests to put the Whitsundays at the top of their wish list.”

Business Events Sunshine Coast (BESC) has launched a new

Chef Guy Grossi (pictured, centre) regaled more than 60 professional conference organisers with stories

“one stop shop” website, with innovative features including an interactive mapping tool, a comprehensive news section and a resource library containing image and video downloads. “A lot of effort went into creating a content-rich, user friendly website that focusses on meeting visitor needs,” said BESC manager Pippa McCreery. An accompanying 2013/2014 planner guide contains “all the information needed to meet, sleep, taste and indulge on the Sunshine Coast”, she added.

Cairns Convention Centre has again received EarthCheck certification.

The international benchmarking process recognises standards that meet the compliance needs of the new carbon economy, looking at energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, potable water consumption, waste sent to landfill, waste recycling rating, community contributions rating and cleaning products ratings. General manager Ross Steele said, “This recognises the commitment of the Centre’s entire team to maintaining the highest environmental credentials.”

The Victorian Government has secured the Australian International Airshow at Avalon Airport until 2025, according to aviation mininster Gordon Rich-Phillips.

The 2013 Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition was part of the inaugural Business Events Week, held in Melbourne last month.

Townsville will host the 2016 Perinatal Society for Australia and New Zealand Congress. The five-day conference is expected to attract up to 1000 international and national delegates and have an economic impact of over $2 million for the Townsville region.

“The conference will not only provide significant economic impact to the region but it also opens up opportunities for other large scale conferences and pre and post touring, boosting our leisure market,” said Townsville Enterprise CEO David Kippin.

from his recent 7500km journey through Italy at an exclusive event hosted by IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) last month. Held at Grossi’s Merchant Osteria Veneta, one of the restaurants at InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto, the evening, called “A Conversation with Guy Grossi” – saw guests treated to a live cooking demonstration and a signed copy of Grossi’s most recent book. Guy is one of the speakers available to interact with guests as part of InterContinental Hotels & Resorts’ Insider Collection range of event services.

Design Awards aligns with contents Vivid Sydney The Australian International Design Awards has aligned itself with Vivid Sydney to create the inaugural Australian International Design Festival.

“We are looking forward to working with the NSW Government, through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, and Business Events Sydney to deliver a world class design event.

The event, to be held from July 17-18, will attract digital destination marketing professionals across the Asia Pacific region and will mark the first time the event has been held outside the US. To determine the location of the conference, Australian destinations were invited to submit a proposal outlining their hosting credentials.

From there, seven finalists were chosen to go head to head in a Facebook vote-off over three rounds, with Townsville and Wollongong progressing through to the final round.

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International news

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Cover story — The Star Event Centre

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Business Events Sydney CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith said that Vivid Sydney “is proving very attractive to international conferences as a platform for exchanging ideas and networking with the world’s creative innovators and design gurus”.

“We are Australia’s global city and are committed to securing business events that drive knowledge, innovation and relationships,” she said.

Wollongong to host Social Media Symposium Wollongong in New South Wales has won hosting rights to the inaugural Australian Social Media Tourism Symposium (SoMeT) after beating Townsville 6191 votes to 3780 in a 12-hour Facebook face-off.

Industry news

The Design Festival will take place during Vivid Sydney 2013 from May 30 to June 10 and will feature an international design conference, a public design showcase, the Australian International Design Awards Presentation Ceremony and a series of design celebrations.

“The inaugural Design Festival will promote Australian design to the world and will reinforce the message that Sydney is an international city with iconic design at its core,” said Brandon Gien, managing director of Good Design Australia.

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“This was always about more than winning a conference because the exposure Wollongong will receive as the conference venue will position us very well as a major digital player on the world map,” said Mark Sleigh, Destination Wollongong’s general manager.

Sleigh said the conference would also provide a considerable economic boost to the Wollongong region as social media experts from all around the world post and tweet about their time in the city.

The destination is not the only aspect of the event that will be chosen by online voters.

Symposium topics and guest speakers are also being chosen following input from the organisation’s global online community.

Talking point — Joyce DiMascio

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Technology

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In the air

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Business Events Week

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Sydney

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Brisbane

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Heritage venues

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New Zealand

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Venue update

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PCO Association notes

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Meeting people

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Calendar

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Brisbane

A real lack of understanding S

Photo: Verve Portraits.

ometimes I scratch my head when it comes to government bureaucracy. It has been announced that an Amendment Bill to the Export Market Development Grant scheme is to be introduced to the House of Representatives, proposing to remove event promoters from the scheme.

Publisher’s word

It seems to me that government just doesn’t understand the opportunities in front of it when it comes to our industry. The business events industry has the potential to contribute even greater economic and intellectual value to Australia if it is given the support it needs to remain a major player on the world stage.

The only reason I can see that anyone would propose this amendment is to save money and try to reduce the

country’s deficit. What an extremely short-sighted decision.

Having interviewed a number of politicians during AIME I actually felt confident that perhaps our message was getting through and that they were on board to help grow the business events industry in Australia. But this is just another example of how little value is placed on our industry.

I am sure there are many other places the government could save money if they need to, rather than reduce funding for an industry that will still be going after the mineral resources dry up.

Alexandra Yeomans, Publisher

www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 3

industry news

Melbourne to host Dreamtime she has contributed to millions of dollars’ worth of event business being won for Australia.”

Regional Victoria showcases its appeal Business Events Victoria has held a dinner at renowned French chef Phillipe Mouchel’s PM24 bar and bistro in Melbourne to showcase the best of regional Victoria’s gourmet food and wine for buyers interested in hosting business events in Victoria.

Buyers at Dreamtime 2011 listen to a presentation about Adelaide.

Melbourne is to host Tourism Australia’s largest trade marketing event in December, Dreamtime 2013.

Announced last month during the opening of Business Events week, Dreamtime 2013 will bring 125 international business events buyers to Australia to experience the country’s business events capabilities first-hand.

Tourism Australia managing director Andrew McEvoy said Dreamtime was part of a broader strategy to promote Australia as a business event destination internationally and deliver the economic benefits to the sector.

“Dreamtime gives the Australian business events industry a platform to do business with well qualified international buyers from key markets such as China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand, North America and the United Kingdom,” McEvoy said.

“The format of the event provides an opportunity for the Australian industry to demonstrate their expertise in delivering bespoke corporate incentive experiences, as well as hosting large scale gala events.

“With its combination of state-ofthe-art infrastructure, monumental architecture, abundance of green spaces, and a sophisticated dining scene, Melbourne has a strong offering for key business events decision makers looking to achieve real results from their corporate incentive programs.”

During the event international business events buyers and media will be hosted in Melbourne

where they will participate in a city showcase, business sessions with Australian industry and networking dinner events. An additional three-day educational visit will give them the opportunity to experience one of many Australian destinations first hand.

Dreamtime was last held in Sydney in 2011.

Arinex managing director honoured Roslyn McLeod (pictured below), managing director of Arinex, has been named the “Industry Person of the Year” at the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) Awards, announced at the AIME CEO Summit.

Presenting the award, Craig Moyes, portfolio director for Reed Travel Exhibitions, acknowledged McLeod’s position as an international leader in the field of business events and praised her contribution to the industry in Australia.

“Roslyn McLeod was one of Australia’s first professional conference organisers when she established Tour Hosts, and as managing director of the company now branded Arinex, she remains a key player in the industry,” he said.

“Throughout her long career Roslyn has always shown a real dedication to contribute to the industry and through her involvement in a number of bureauled bids,

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Delegates will receive a flyer in their conference satchels with details on how they can access the offers while attending their event.

Melbourne IQ evolves Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) has launched the second phase of its positioning campaign “Melbourne IQ: The Intelligent Choice for Conferences” which promotes Melbourne’s strengths and capabilities as an intellectual capability.

“One of the key challenges we face is attracting business conferences and events to host their events outside of Melbourne,” said Wayne Lee, Business Events Victoria business development manager.

Melbourne IQ: The Intelligent Choice for Conferences – A Guide to Bidding for International Conferences is an initiative targeted at potential local hosts to encourage them to bid for an international association conference, in partnership with the MCB.

“We are spoilt for choice in regional Victoria with an abundance of food and cultural attractions.

There are many gems that both domestic and international events attendees enjoy.

The guide highlights the benefits and processes involved in bidding for an international conference and will be supported by a year-round calendar of events and workshops run by the MCB.

“These venues and destinations are also much easier to get to than most people think due to the compact size of Victoria, and our fantastic road and train networks and regional airports.”

According to Karen Bolinger, MCB’s chief executive, targeting local hosts was a natural progression for the Melbourne IQ campaign.

More reasons to conference in Cairns

“Melbourne IQ has been a great success, launched worldwide to great acclaim, clearly resonating with its intended audience, international associations.

Conference delegates in Cairns will be able to access a new initiative that offers special deals at restaurants and retailers in the city.

“However, bidding for international association conferences starts at home, here in Australia, when looking for a ‘local host’ to partner with for the event.

The Cairns Delegate Advantage Program is designed to welcome delegates and ensure their stay in Cairns and Great Barrier Reef is enjoyable, and offers events organisers an added reason to hold their event there.

“Melbourne IQ: The Intelligent Choice for Conferences – A Guide to Bidding for International Conferences is designed to present local hosts with a concise overview of how the bidding process works and how they can get involved.

“Delegates will benefit from the program by receiving discounts and value-adds on a variety of goods and services throughout the city,” said Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef director Rosie Douglas.

“Becoming a local host and partnering with MCB to bid for an international conference opens up many doors; from opportunities for research collaboration and showcasing Australian innovation and expertise to the world, to raising one’s profile and creating opportunities for career advancement, the possibilities are endless.”

The program is a joint initiative of Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef, the Cairns Convention Centre and the Cairns Chamber of Commerce.

“Operators in the Cairns & Great Barrier Reef region have an international reputation of working together and the Delegate Advantage Program is further evidence of that strength,” added Douglas.

Centre marks 25 years Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre (SCEC) has unveiled a special logo to celebrate its 25th anniversary this year.

With the tag line “25 Remarkable Years”, Centre chief executive

Win a ‘Swanky Escape’ across a number of industries including medical, professional and associations and will provide a significant economic boost for the Townsville North Queensland Region,” she said.

SCEC chief executive Ton van Amerongen with the new 25th anniversary logo.

Ton van Amerongen said the logo would celebrate a milestone, not just for the Centre but for the entire Australian business events industry.

“The opening of the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre put Australia on the world meetings stage and paved the way for the development of the nation’s events industry,” he said.

“Over the past 25 years, the Centre has made an outstanding economic contribution to the community, both directly through the events we have hosted and indirectly via the industries that have flourished as a result of the events that have been held here.

“Our anniversary is cause for celebration for many different industries as well as the national event sector.”

SCEC will close in December this year to allow for the creation of a new Sydney International Convention, Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct, scheduled to open in late 2016.

Townsville invites ‘first-hand’ experience Townsville Enterprise Convention Bureau is having a successful financial year, having confirmed more than $9 million worth of confirmed conference and event expenditure for the Townsville North Queensland Region since July 2012.

Townsville Enterprise general manager tourism and events, Patricia O’Callaghan, said Townsville is enriched with diversity and appeals to professional conference organisers from a number of industries.

“The conferences, which attract a high number of delegates, are

With the Bureau’s annual Buyer Familiarisation Tour scheduled for May, O’Callaghan encourages event organisers to experience the region for themselves.

“The Townsville Enterprise Convention Bureau Famils are fully hosted for qualified event organisers and give attendees a real insight into all that Townsville has to offer the meetings, incentives, conferences and events market,” she said.

“Townsville has the capacity to cater for up to 2000 delegates with a majority of the accommodation and venue properties located in the city centre. With over 300 days of sunshine each year, why not consider one of Townsville’s various outdoor spaces for your next event?”

The Buyer Familiarisation Tour will be held from May 15-18, 2013. Visit www.townsvilleconventionbureau. com.au for more information.

Driving the knowledge economy Business Events Sydney (BESydney) has shifted the focus on business events in New South Wales to include both the visitor and knowledge economies, according to chief executive Lyn LewisSmith, who says the industry is now a key part of the State’s economic development platform.

“I believe that BESydney is one of the few – if not the first – convention bureaux to have changed the stakes in our local market,” she said.

“Through the extensive Beyond Tourism Benefits research projects, we gained industry-leading insights into the social, economic and educational value of business events. We used these results to successfully change the way our industry is viewed.

“We have achieved the paradigm shift. It’s now understood at high and broad levels that business events are worth far more than the

tally of tourism receipts. Business events contribute to a healthy, global knowledge economy. The work we do to secure these events for NSW is now being embraced by the NSW Government as part of an aligned economic development strategy.”

According to Lewis-Smith, the research contributed to the business case for the International Convention Centre Sydney, due to open in late 2016.

“We showcased how business events can align with NSW Government priority sectors and drive great benefits to the State in the form of international collaboration, knowledge exchange, skilled migration and trade and investment.

“The NSW Government has released A Platform for Growth: The NSW Economic Development Framework and I’m pleased to say that business events will be a focus for the future. The framework outlines how business and government will work together to demonstrate leadership, make it easier to do business, collaborate to drive innovation and competitiveness, invest in critical infrastructure and raise the global profile of Sydney and NSW.”

MCB unveils ‘convention district’ Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) has used the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) to launch a new brochure showcasing Melbourne’s convention district.

For a tailored incentive product that’s care free for both the client and those lucky enough to experience them, Swanky Escapes delivers meticulously managed getaways.

Specialised packages include Spa Escapes, Gourmet Escapes, Golf Escapes and Shopping Escapes, with all packages tailored to satisfy customers’ needs. Destinations, hotels and activities are carefully selected and team building activities can also be added to itineraries to match companies’ strategic management goals.

Whether it is a golf team building trip or a culinary-themed incentive getaway, Swanky Escapes’ experienced consultants have the tools to create an experience that will be the perfect way to reward and recognise high achievers.

Currently offering escapes across South East Asia and Europe, the company will launch additional destinations throughout 2013.

Swanky Escapes is giving CIM readers the chance to win a luxury getaway to Bali to experience the Swanky Escape difference for themselves. The prize includes three nights pool villa accommodation at the Viceroy Bali including breakfast; a romantic candlelight dinner at CasCades Restaurant; two hour spa treatment and free shuttle service within the Ubud area.

Terms and conditions apply.

To enter or to view conditions of entry, visit www.swankyescapes.com.

The four kilometre wide area boasts Australia’s highest concentration of conference facilities, with almost 198,000sqm of conference space and more than 15,000 accommodation rooms in the heart of the city.

Karen Bolinger, MCB’s chief executive, said the convention district was a major drawcard for business event planners.

“Melbourne is an extremely compact city with a wealth of conferencing facilities and accommodation options all within walking distance of the city’s hot spots and just 20 minutes from Melbourne airport, which not many cities around the world can boast,” she said.

“The convention district is also home to Melbourne’s most renowned and exciting attractions including the Melbourne Cricket

Ground, Arts Centre, celebrated restaurants and of course, the city’s iconic laneways – ideal for delegates who have some downtime during their stay.

“With this in mind, it was an easy decision to package this up into a slick piece of collateral to highlight one of many unique selling points that Melbourne has to offer.”

The Bureau has also launched a range of other new publications as part of its recent rebrand.

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international news

Shanghai ‘futuristic’ Shanghai’s China Art Museum.

ICCA now has five regional offices in addition to its head office in Amsterdam, with established operations already serving Asia-Pacific, Northand Latin America, and new regional offices in the Middle East and Africa.

King, director of the DTCM Australia and New Zealand representative office. “The emirate is a globally recognised centre of commerce and trade which offers world-class facilities, an impeccable reputation for high quality service, and excellent value for money.”

Thailand optimistic about growth

Dubai is currently competing to host the 2020 World Expo, expected to attract more than 25 million visitors, which if it goes ahead would be the first to be held in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region.

After a highly successful 2012 which beat industry targets, Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has revised its annual target for 2013, and now projects an ambitious 10 per cent growth in the number of business events visitors to the country.

The Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration has held a Business Networking Reception in Sydney to update the business events community on the changes taking place in Shanghai.

Major projects planned for completion by 2015 include the new Expo hotels project, to be built between the Expo Center and the Expo Convention and Exhibition Center (formerly the World Expo Theme Pavilion).

Also planned for completion within the next three years is the Shanghai Hongqiao Convention and Exhibition Centre, which will be built at a cost of $3.55 billion. The centre will feature an indoor exhibition space of 400,000sqm and outdoor space of 100,000sqm – about three times the size of the Shanghai New International Expo Centre.

“With such high level projects under way, the future looks bright for Shanghai as a truly global centre for meetings, incentives and exhibitions,” said Patrick Chen, deputy director of the International Tourism Promotion Department of Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration.

“Massive investments have been made to back these projects which will take Shanghai to great heights on the world’s stage.”

“Last year, TCEB’s efforts to boost Thailand’s MICE industry bore fruit, with 895,224 MICE visitors, and industry revenues of 79.8 billion baht ($2.59 billion),” said Thongchai Sridama, TCEB’s Acting President.

“In view of this excellent performance and analysis of the prospects for 2013, we have revised this year’s targets upwards by approximately 10 per cent compared with our original estimates.”

The Bureau now expects to welcome more than 940,000 business events visitors to Thailand this year, boosting revenues by 88 billion baht, equivalent to $2.85 billion.

Dubai on show at AIME The Government of Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) has showcased the city’s business events facilities at the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo, held in Melbourne last month. The delegation comprised of 17 representatives from hotels and ground operators, as well as the Dubai Convention and Events Bureau (DCEB), a division of DTCM. “The MICE sector remains an important segment of Dubai’s tourism industry,” says Julie

If successful, Dubai will construct the world’s biggest convention centre (a 400-hectare development) located near Al Maktoum International Airport to house the event. Five of the UAE’s biggest companies including Emirates, Dubai Airports, and the Jumeirah Group are backing the bid.

The winning city will be announced in November 2013.

Watch the video in the CIM iPad app.

Greener meetings option Marina Bay Sands in Singapore has rolled out its new Sands ECO360° Meetings Programme – a cutting-edge and holistic approach to providing greener options for its meeting planners and clients. The program focuses on three main areas: green meeting options, highperformance facilities and standard sustainable practices.

As part of this program, a “Green Meetings Concierge” is assigned to clients to assist them in customising the property’s various green offerings that align with their sustainability goals. The concierge will work with the client throughout the entire process, and present a Sands ECO360° Event Impact Statement providing information about their event’s Relief packages being delivered.

ICCA opens African regional office The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) has opened a new African regional office, acknowledging the development of the international association meetings market in the region.

New South African-based regional director Chris Prieto brings a wealth of experience in operations, frontline sales and marketing, and in-depth knowledge of the meetings industry in Africa.

“The opening of the new regional offices in Africa isn’t simply a move to deliver better services to our existing members in this region, but a recognition that the international association meetings market is continuing to evolve, and it is in the growth of regional meetings that we anticipate some of the most dramatic future developments,” said ICCA president Arnaldo Nardone. “This trend is already well established in Asia and Latin America and the recent establishment of an African society for association executives shows that Africa is starting to move down the same road.”

IHG helps out with Cyclone relief in Fiji

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impact on the environment, including energy consumption, water use and waste diversion rates to the client after the event.

Clients hosting an event at Marina Bay Sands can select green meeting options, including the reduction of materials used in the planning and execution of the event, such as going paperless, e-billing and the use of sustainable materials such as water jugs in place of plastic bottles.

Clients can also request for more sustainable food options, such as organic, locally-sourced foods and fair trade produce.

Marina Bay Sands has also implemented many standard sustainable practices seamlessly into its operations, including resource conservation, air quality pollution prevention, recycling, and sustainable purchasing procedures. These practices all add value to the organiser’s sustainable event at no additional work or cost to them.

Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau launched Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA) has launched a new entity, the Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau, to drive the emirate’s business events industry, with a goal of the emirate making the International Congress and Convention Association’s (ICCA) list of the top 50 association meetings destinations within five years.

The bureau will support the growth of exhibitions and conferences within the emirate by forging closer links with the industry and providing financial and non-financial support.

“We will provide free, and non-biased assistance and support to professional convention, incentive and exhibition planners, corporations and associations so that they can bid for, win and hold conferences, major business events, business meetings and congresses in Abu Dhabi,” said Jasem Al Darmaki, deputy director general, TCA Abu Dhabi.

“This is a clear signal to the maturing local and regional business events industry and its international counterparts, that Abu Dhabi is prioritising their sector as never before. The bureau’s formation also demonstrates our

The InterContinental Hotels Group, which manages the InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa, has provided more than 10 tonnes of essential supplies to the Cyclone Evan-affected communities surrounding the resort.

The helping hand was made possible by IHG’s charity, Shelter in a Storm, and partnership with CARE International to provide relief to communities following natural and manmade disasters. The program fundraises in anticipation of disasters; enabling teams across the world to take immediate and effective action to help communities in crisis.

In the past, Shelter in a Storm has provided disaster relief in aid of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami, Christchurch’s earthquakes, the flooding in Bangkok and the 2012 floods in Fiji.

“We have a responsibility to our people to provide relief – a refuge for people in times of need, “says general manager Scott Williams.

“By providing relief we can have a positive effect on the stability and safety of our communities.”

Cruise terminal to enhance Hong Kong’s appeal recognition of the potential of exhibitions, conferences and business events – the MICE sector – to contribute to Abu Dhabi’s wider tourism aspirations and generate significant economic impact for the destination through increasing visitor numbers, hotel occupancies, flights and other visitor and exhibitor spend.”

The bureau will provide a range of services to the industry including bid presentation support, delegate generation campaigns, local stakeholder co-ordination and knowledge, onsite destination advice, government support co-ordination and marketing assistance.

“We are targeting six major business wins this year, a further eight next year and a total of 10 wins during 2015,” said Al Darmaki. “Our strategy will be to target in-market opportunities that will generate incremental business in the short term while building on international relationships for the long term.

“In 2011, ICCA ranked Abu Dhabi 234 in the world for the eight major meetings held in the destination. We have more than doubled that last year and realistically expect to be within ICCA’s Top 150 when the rankings are announced in the next few months.”

To strengthen Abu Dhabi’s standing as a business events destination, Abu Dhabi Convention Bureau has partnered with several leading global communities and organisations including: The Energy Cities Alliance; the Future Convention Cities Initiative; the International Congress and Conventions Association; Meeting Professionals International; the Society of Incentive Travel Executives; and UFI – the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry.

SANCB showcases Africa The recently formed South African National Convention Bureau (SANCB) has made its first appearance at this year’s Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME). The bureau’s attendance at AIME came off the back of Meetings Africa 2013, where it discussed promoting the African continent as a whole to the international market, according to SANCB executive manager Amanda Kotzw-Nhlapo.

“It’s very important to align ourselves with people that deliver, and say let us showcase what Africa can offer,” she said.

In addition to increasing the business events sector, the bureau is working on developing South Africa’s incentive offering.

“If we get people to South Africa they seem to come again,” she said. “The bureau is now

The opening of Hong Kong’s new Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in June this year will enhance its status as one of Asia’s leading cruise hubs and tourism destinations, according to Kenneth Wong, Hong Kong Tourism Board’s general manager of MICE and cruise.

Situated mid-way along the world-famous Victoria Harbour, on the site of the runway of Hong Kong’s former Kai Tak Airport, the $1 billion terminal will feature two berths which will be able to accommodate the biggest cruise vessels in the world.

The three-story terminal building will incorporate spaces suitable for alternative functions and enable the building to be used year round as a venue for performances, events and exhibitions, supported by a variety of restaurants and shops.

helping regions develop their incentive offering.

It just needs to be packaged correctly.”

Kotzw-Nhlapo said that it is important to look beyond the financial benefits that come from attracting more business events from overseas, saying there are “meetings that can change the face of the nation”.

“The people that come into the continent and embrace the rapid pace of change, they understand that as a continent the time is now,” she said.

New facilities for Korea Korea is on the fast-track to becoming one of the top destinations for business events, according to the Korea Tourism Organization. Conference and exhibition space in the country has expanded 70 per cent since 2000, and more facilities are being developed in key hubs to boost the industry.

There are three new facilities currently under construction including the Korail Convention Centre, also known as the Seoul Station Convention Centre, which will open in 2015 with 23,000sqm of conference facilities, 16,000sqm of exhibition space and a 3000 seat conference hall as well as a multi-purpose cultural space. Also in Seoul, the multi-level 85,000sqm Dongdaemun Design Plaza and Exhibition Centre will open in 2013.

Meanwhile, the new Gyeongju Convention Centre is currently being built as an efficient and energy saving facility. Construction is expected to be completed in 2014. The Gyeongju Convention Centre will have 6300sqm of meeting rooms (three large and 20 medium), a 2500sqm exhibition hall and concert hall of 14,000sqm.

www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 7

cover sto r y

Beyond expectations

John Farnham performing to a sell-out crowd at The Star’s new Event Centre.

With the completion of its Event Centre in January 2013, The Star, in Sydney, is exciting guests, delighting organisers and beating all expectations with its functional spaces, restaurant quality cuisine and world-class technology.

Situated on the edge of Sydney Harbour, The Star recently underwent an $870 million transformation, adding world-renowned restaurants, a 5-star boutique hotel, a luxury retail collection, a 16 room day spa, Marquee nightclub and world-class casino facilities.

The Event Centre, the final piece of The Star’s transformation, has proved to be what the industry is looking for as interest in and demand for the Event Centre breaks records.

Featuring an overall capacity in theatre-style for up to 3000 and the ability to host 1000 for gala functions, the Event Centre has sparked interest with the national and international meetings and events industry.

Over 115 guests have toured the new venue with onsite inspections hosted by The Star sales team. Beating all expectations, almost 100 companies have made enquiries about using the space for corporate events in less than five weeks. Gala dinners, awards nights and single and multi-day conferences are the style of events most requested in the new Event Centre and over 65 per cent of those enquiries request onsite accommodation at either The Darling or Astral Towers, dining appointments and private meeting areas, all available onsite at The Star.

Cementing itself early as an innovative leader in the Australian event industry, the Event Centre held two major events in its first month of opening that excited guests and surpassed event organisers’ expectations. The Australian

Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) held a series of events to celebrate their annual awards. From a stylish awards luncheon for over 600 leading Australian film and television production elite, to a glamorous theatre-style Awards Night for 1500 guests broadcast globally from the Event Centre, with a full-scale red carpet arrival program.

Two distinct after parties were held and 5-star accommodation provided for A-list guests onsite.

“The benefits of holding a large and complex event, such as the AACTA Awards at The Star, meant our event organisation, specifically the detailed logistics planning, was made one step easier by having all events and the accommodation in one spot,” said Renato Rispoli, AACTA’s awards event director.

“We are proud to have pulled off such a momentous event and only have praise for The Star Event Centre’s team, who went above and beyond to assist in achieving this successful series of events.”

Guests at the AACTA Luncheon agreed the cuisine served in the Event Centre, under the guidance of director of culinary Andy North, was the real standout.

John Farnham’s double sell out concerts, as part of the Australia Day series which officially opened the Event Centre, also impressed guests with the quality of the sound and lighting effects.

8 Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 www.cimmagazine.com

The Event Centre’s unique audio-visual capabilities were designed by ScenoPlus, creators of The Colosseum at Caesars Palace and The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.

The combination of the structure design, the technology and talented technicians, created an environment perfectly suited for A-list entertainment.

Frederic Luvisutto, managing director of The Star, was thrilled with the reaction of the industry since the opening of the new venue.

“Sydney is one of the most iconic cities in the world and it now has the facilities to host worldleading events,” he said. “The Event Centre was the finishing touch to our $870 million redevelopment, making it an all-encompassing, world-class destination for Sydney and one of the best events facilities in Australia.

“The Event Centre itself has the latest technology, restaurant quality cuisine and outstanding staging options. Add to this The Star’s award-winning restaurants, accommodation and entertainment offerings, which can transform into luxurious break-out areas or incentive options, all just moments away from Sydney’s world-famous landmarks – and you have all the components for a successful event.”

For more information about events throughout The Star, contact The Star sales team on 02 9657 8568 or starsales@echoent.com.au or for more information visit www.star.com.au.

talkin g po i n t

Looking forward The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia’s advocacy campaign for interim exhibition facilities during the three-year closure of the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre has paid off, according to general manager Joyce DiMascio. Ylla Wright reports.

There are also fantastic opportunities available for other venues around Sydney to pick up business during the “game changing” redevelopment period, according to DiMascio.

When the news broke in December that Sydney Harbour Expo@Glebe Island had been named as the preferred tenderer to build and operate the interim facility on Glebe Island during the three-year development period of the new Sydney International Convention, Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct (SICEEP) in Darling Harbour, it was music to the ears of Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) general manager Joyce DiMascio.

“Someone who hasn’t been able to get hold of an event in the past now has a chance,” she says.

“Sydney Showground has wanted to entice the Motor Show for years.

Now they’ve secured them there, and what a great opportunity that is for them to show organisers that it is a great place for the event, and to therefore keep it. What it’s doing is taking away some of the predictability of the show landscape and forcing change.”

Sydney Harbour Expo@Glebe Island is the company formed by event and equipment hire company Pages Equipment, which has its own in-house design and manufacturing capability.

Larger than anticipated, the proposed venue on Glebe Island consists of a fully-enclosed and fullyserviced, marquee-style structure of 25,000sqm – almost replicating the current exhibition space at Darling Harbour. While Infrastructure NSW project director Tim Parker said that tenderers had been asked for 15,000sqm of enclosed space, with the extra 10,000sqm to be available on a temporary basis for the larger shows, “the plan to have one large space undercover was developed in consultation with and endorsed by the major exhibition organisers that use the current facilities in Darling Harbour”.

For DiMascio the announcement represented the culmination of an intense period of advocacy by the EEAA, following the announcement that the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre would close in 2013 for three years during the redevelopment.

With the original plans making “no provision for a business continuity strategy”, according to DiMascio, the EEAA felt they had to step in.

“The view was taken that events can go ‘somewhere’,” she says.

“The idea was that they could go to hotel venues, and yes, of course conferences can go to a hotel, but you can’t put the Boat Show in a hotel.”

The proposed interim solution

With the EEAA planning to update the industry on the project soon, they are also working with AEG Ogden, the venue manager selected to operate the International Convention Centre Sydney, on the details of plans for that facility.

is particularly exciting, believes DiMascio, because “we, as an industry association, had so much influence in it”.

“The members really came to the table and engaged at a very high level,” she adds. “We facilitated engagement between the government and the consortia bidding for both the temporary and permanent sites, and we made sure that the best possible information was put on the table so that informed decisions could be made.”

The EEAA has also engaged in discussion with Pages, who DiMascio says did “a very good job of engaging end users”, both prior to and since the announcement was made.

While admitting that some events

may choose not to make the move to Glebe Island – especially those that might be a “bit too glamorous to go into a temporary structure” – she believes that overall the industry will support the interim site.

“The innovation opportunities the site affords means that we might see a fresh approach to delivering some of these expos, and that that’s quite exciting,” she says.

“It’s also going to open up an area of Sydney that the government has been contemplating doing something with since at least 1993. Sydney has no shortage of assets that could expand into a venue such as this and I think the exhibition industry going in there is going to demonstrate there are some very viable uses for this site.”

10 Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 www.cimmagazine.com

“We have a very experienced operator in AEG Ogden, not only in Australia but globally,” she says.

“They know if they don’t try to deliver the best possible outcome for their clients, their market will contract, so they’re meeting with major clients of the Sydney centre to go through the nitty gritty of the building’s design, functionality and access, floor configurations and all of those things that really influence the yield of a show.

“If you have to spend three more days bumping in because of the way access is organised, that’s ultimately going to impact on the profitability of a show.”

While there have been concerns raised in the past by members of the exhibition industry regarding the size of the proposed exhibition space and configuration over two floors, DiMascio says the EEAA’s job now is “not to look backward but to look forward to get the most out of this deal”.

“We would have liked more space but let’s try to make sure we get the best utilisation of what is there,” she says.

tec h n ology

Touch screen technology for ACC The Adelaide Convention Centre has become the first convention centre in Australia to provide touch screen technology allowing conference organisers to monitor their entire event from a single location.

Adelaide Convention Centre chief executive Alec Gilbert said the move was “part of our continuing effort to refine and improve the facilities and services offered to our clients”.

“Organisers no longer have to walk between each of the rooms to monitor the progress of a conference, which saves them valuable time,” he said.

“This makes them better equipped to pre-empt and respond to any scheduling delays during the conference and understand delegates’ interest in particular speakers or forums. This intelligence can be used to ensure a smoothly run conference but also to provide greater insight to their client for future planning.”

iVvy expands overseas

fees, lower IT costs and increased productivity through its expansive range of features”.

Based on cutting-edge cloud technology, iVvy Events allows users to manage all their event needs from one spot, from sessions to membership management, ticketing, registration and surveys. Companion system iVvy Venues is a user-friendly system aimed at increasing sales and significantly improving efficiency when managing event bookings at the host location. It controls everything from space availability, menu management and function diaries to marketing, supplier procurement and payments.

Laservision takes Venice to Macau Australian entertainment communications company Laservision has created one of the world’s largest architectural 3D light and sound shows, “Winter in Venice”, at the Venetian Hotel in Macau (pictured).

Local success story iVvy Event and Venue Management Software is expanding beyond Australia and New Zealand to South Africa and the Philippines.

Incorporating technologies also used during the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, the impressive display took more than 12,000 production hours and 35 crew members to create.

Lauren Hall, chief executive and co-founder, said the launch of the iVvy product in Johannesburg, as well as an exclusive agreement between iVvy and Philippines event company Skills & Ideas “will bring major benefits to the international events and conference market through its low

Laservision’s general manager – Asia, Shannon Brooks, said the company was “proud to have created one of the world’s largest architectural 3D video mapping projects ever attempted”, with “over one acre of the building’s surface transformed into a dynamic canvas”.

Staging Connections launches safety app Staging Connections has launched a smartphone app allowing employees to manage and execute events with a greater focus on safety.

StageSafe, an internal program Staging Connections implemented two years ago, is designed to encourage a safe workplace and the safe delivery of events.

Backed by thorough risk assessment and years of experience in the events industry, the StageSafe concept has been key to the development of safe work practices for all tasks performed during event set up, execution and pack down.

The StageSafe app helps employees to not only to work within safety guidelines, but implement them in a more immediate fashion and with increased efficiency.

The app also delivers real-time data and reporting to in-house safety specialists, enabling Staging Connections to adapt and improve their safety systems as part of their ongoing investment in safety.

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www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 11

in the ai r

Jetstar heads to the Red Centre Jetstar has announced that it will commence direct services from Sydney to Uluru (Ayers Rock) in the Red Centre in June. The new four weekly Airbus A320 services will provide a total of 1400 seats every week. The move adds another service to the Qantas and QantasLink same-day connections to Uluru from Sydney and Melbourne via Alice Springs, and Virgin Australia’s daily direct service from Sydney to Uluru.

“There’s a lot happening in the Territory, not least being these new aviation developments,” said Scott Lovett, director of business events for the Northern Territory Convention Bureau.

“We believe that the introduction of these very cost-effective airfare options will assist to make our NT destinations even more accessible and affordable for domestic and international conference events.

We’re also hoping that event planners and delegates will make the most of the travel cost savings by adding more exciting NT experiences and activities into

their program while they are in the NT.”

satisfaction a total of 10 months out of the year, more than any other major international airline serving Australia.

Virgin commences two services to regional Qld

Asiana Airlines on top

“As a global airline, we aim to exceed our customer’s expectations at every opportunity and to make the journey itself a highly enjoyable experience,” said Dale Woodhouse, Singapore Airlines senior manager marketing and alliances Australia.

“This award further reinforces the importance of offering full service travel at great value.”

Asiana Airlines has been named “2012 Best Overall Airline in the World” by the global travel magazine Business Traveler.

Qantas on time

Virgin Australia has announced that it will commence flights between Brisbane and Moranbah on April 2, 2013, and Brisbane and Bundaberg on May 4.

Virgin Australia’s ATR Turboprop aircraft will initially operate two daily return flights on weekdays to Moranbah, increasing to three daily return flights from April 15. Virgin Australia’s ATR-72 Turboprop aircraft will operate a daily return flight to Bundaberg, which has been timed to allow for convenient transfers to connecting flights out of Brisbane.

“Bundaberg has been a monopoly market for over 10 years and the local community and tourism operators have told us that they would welcome competition in the region,” said Merren McArthur, Virgin Australia’s group executive of alliances, network and yield.

Business Traveler’s “2012 Best Overall Airline in the World” is awarded to the airline that received the best assessments on flight reservations, and airport and in-flight services in 2012.

Tiger returns to Alice Springs Tiger Airlines has announced that it will resume services to Alice Springs from April 2013, flying four times a week from Melbourne and Sydney. The budget airline suspended services to Alice Springs from Melbourne 18 months ago over safety concerns.

“We were inundated through Facebook and various other mediums from people who lived in the area who were absolutely desperate for the return of low cost services ... so quite frankly the demand was far too high to ignore,” said Carly Brear, Tiger Airways Australia commercial director.

Kylie Mansfield, sales and marketing manager of the Alice Springs Convention Centre, has welcomed the move, saying it represented “a vital piece in the business tourism puzzle for Alice Springs”. “[An] 150,000 additional seats into Alice Springs really supplements our appeal as a business tourism destination,” she said. “The convenience of morning or midday arrival leaves our delegates with even more time to gather together and engage with their event.”

SIA wins Airline of the Year Singapore Airlines has been named the Roy Morgan Research 2012 International Airline of the Year in their annual Customer Satisfaction Awards held in Melbourne recently. Singapore Airlines was recognised as the Best International Airline for customer 12 Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 www.cimmagazine.com

Qantas is the most punctual domestic airline in the country, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE). This is the fourth year in a row that Qantas has averaged a better on-time domestic performance than its main domestic competitor.

Qantas led the competition in nine of the 12 months for the calendar year (including one tie) and averaged 85.9 per cent for on-time departures, 2.6 per cent more than their competitor. This equates to over 3000 flights and almost half a million more passengers being on time.

“We understand that getting to your destination on time is very important for our customers, particularly our business passengers who rely on us to get them to meetings,” said Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce.

Daily service between Melbourne and Bali Garuda Indonesia has announced a new daily direct service between Denpasar from Melbourne beginning April 1, 2013.

Increasing the existing capacity by two flights a week, the daily flights will depart Melbourne on at 9.50am and arrive in Denpasar at 1pm local time.

“This year we are continuing to provide better service for our customers across Australia,” said Bagus Y. Siregar, vice president for Garuda Indonesia Australia and SWP. “With leisure travel to Bali increasing across our Australian ports, we are excited to offer improved accessibility on this route to one of Indonesia’s tourism hotspots.”

Tiger heads to Coffs Harbour Tiger Airways has commenced flying between Sydney and Coffs Harbour,

marking the airline’s first ever intrastate New South Wales route.

their own laptop or tablet at their own convenience during the flight.

Tiger’s arrival provides four weekly return services initially, with an additional fifth Saturday service commencing from March 31, 2013 onwards. Collectively this will provide up to 1800 visitor seats weekly through Sydney and Coffs Harbour airports.

“Going wireless keeps our aircraft lighter, our costs down and our fares cheaper,” said Campbell Wilson, CEO of Scoot.

“Tiger will be the only low fare operator on the Sydney to Coffs Harbour route and we’re confident our services will prove popular, stimulating demand and providing significant tourism and economic benefits to both destinations,” said Carly Brear, Tiger Airways Australia commercial director.

Daily service between Perth and Jakarta Garuda Indonesia has announced non-stop flights from Perth to Jakarta, starting from June 28, 2013, by lifting the existing capacity from 14 to 21 flights per week.

Bagus Y. Siregar, vice president for Garuda Indonesia Australia/SWP, said the new daily service was in response to increased demand from the business community.

“With the new non-stop flights Jakarta is just under five hours away, which makes it very convenient for our corporate travellers,” he said.

ScooTV goes live Singapore-based budget carrier Scoot has launched ScooTV, Asia’s first inflight entertainment system that allows passengers to stream content to their own wi-fi devices. ScooTV features a range of blockbuster movies and popular TV shows that guests can stream to

BUSINESS

PAL launches new routes Philippine Airlines (PAL) has announced flights to six new destinations in Australia, China and the Middle East.

From June 1, 2013, PAL will offer three services weekly between Manila and Darwin and Manila and Brisbane, and four services weekly between Manila and Perth.

“Australia, Kuala Lumpur and Guangzhou are major destinations for business and leisure,” said PAL president Ramon S. Ang.

NZ to Tokyo and Shanghai daily Air New Zealand has commenced daily return services to Tokyo and Shanghai in response to strong growth in the Asian market. The airline has this week commenced daily return services to Shanghai for the first time since launching the route in 2006.

POWERED BY

Air New Zealand has also resumed daily return services to Tokyo for the first time in three years, increasing capacity on the route in December by more than 12 per cent year on year.

HIGH-ENERGY, HIGH VALUE

“China is now New Zealand’s second largest inbound tourist market, after Australia, having recently overtaken both North America and the UK,” said Norm Thompson, Air New Zealand deputy CCEO and acting chief sales officer.

Frequent flyer benefits Qantas and Emirates have announced details of benefits that will be available to frequent flyers through their proposed partnership. Passengers will be able to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points or Emirates Skywards Miles on Emirates

and Qantas flights, redeem points/Miles on any part of the Qantas or Emirates network, access to both Qantas and Emirates lounges for Gold members (or above) of either program in Australia, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and have their tier status in either program recognised with both airlines when flying on the joint Qantas-Emirates network.

“Both airlines already offer some of the highest quality travel experiences, including our lounges and loyalty benefits, so this is about bringing together the best of both worlds,” said Lesley Grant, Qantas Loyalty chief executive.

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www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 13

business events week

All together now An initiative driven by the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo’s advisory board, this year’s inaugural Business Events Week brought together the industry and the broader community as a whole, discovers Ylla Wright.

believes the show remains as relevant to the industry as ever.

“AIME 2013 was a great success and the feedback we have received so far has been really indicative of this,” she said.

“We will continue to evolve the show to ensure it retains its position as the premier exhibition for the meetings and incentives industry in the Asia-Pacific.”

Another key event in the program was MCEC’s Open Space event, held on February 28. The event, which attracted more than 600 people from the business events industry and broader community, kicked off with an inspirational plenary session with Simon Hammond, followed by a panel discussion about the community connection, education opportunities and culture developed by hosting events, featuring industry leaders including AusBiotech chief operations officer Glenn Cross, AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou and Cisco Asia Pacific area vice president Les Williamson. The day was capped off with a hawker-style food market, set on a grass courtyard in the MCEC’s expansive foyer, where guests mingled and networked while enjoying a taste of the venue’s award-winning produce and a range of Victorian suppliers.

Additional events included the AIME CEO Summit, ICCA Forum for Young Professionals, Saxton Ultimate Event Experience, and the trade component of the Australian International Airshow and Aerospace & Defence Exposition, which attracted up to 40,000 trade visitors.

From Left: Martin Ferguson, Federal Minister for Tourism; Karen Bolinger, chief executive of Melbourne Convention Bureau; and Robert Doyle, Lord Mayor of Melbourne, at the launch of Business Events Week.

Australia’s business events industry has been given a new focus with the success of the inaugural Business Events Week (BEW), held in Melbourne from February 25 to March 1.

The week, which encompassed more than 50 events including this year’s Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME), was a great success according to Karen Bollinger, chief executive of Melbourne Convention Bureau, who said it brought ”together the business events industry and the wider community to celebrate and learn more about this invaluable sector”.

Heading up the BEW program was AIME, now in its 21st year, which saw thousands of visitors, Hosted Buyers and suppliers converge on MCEC on February 26 and 27 to explore business opportunities, attend industry-specific education sessions and network with their peers.

“I think Business Events Week is a great initiative,” he said. “From an industry perspective there’s an increasing need for us to work together and communicate cohesively to government and stakeholders.

The event kicked off on Monday, February 25, with the highly anticipated Melbourne Live! Welcome Reception, hosted by MCB and held at the Showtime Events Centre at South Wharf Promenade. The reception, celebrating Melbourne’s world famous festival scene, saw more than 2000 guests enjoy four separate venues surrounding a “pop-up” outdoor bar and entrainment space. The entertainment was headlined by Australian music icon Jon Stevens who rocked the crowd with a highenergy set that culminated in a spectacular fireworks display over the Yarra River.

Additional entertainment was provided by a line up of talent including celebrity emcee Tim Campbell, Spanish guitar and dance duo Fiesta Flamenco, rhythm and blues quartet Soul Nation, acoustic pub duo Every Nation, and pianist and vocalist Vinja Prtenjaca. Food stations set up around the venue catered to all tastes, offering food ranging from Spanish Street food to freshly shucked oysters and premium King Island cheeses.

“MCEC are looking forward to working closely with the Melbourne Convention Bureau on developing Business Events Week into a flagship event that promotes business events in Australia.”

With this year’s AIME attracting around 750 exhibitors, many of whom used the opportunity to launch new initiatives and products to the market, and several thousand visitors, Bollinger

The week, which was opened by Federal Minister for Tourism Martin Ferguson, has garnered widespread support from stakeholders and the broader business events community.

Peter King, chief executive of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), believes BEW is an opportunity for industry leaders to collaborate on messages that celebrate and acknowledge the benefits of business events to the broader community.

14 Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 www.cimmagazine.com

With the current industry goal of growing the total value of the business events sector to $16 billion annually by 2020, the BEW initiative represents an important step in bringing that achievement closer.

“Business Events Week certainly made an impact and achieved our objectives for the first year,” Bolinger said.

“In the future it has plenty of opportunity for growth and we’d really like to see it rolled out nationally. One thing is for sure, it will definitely be back next year!”

The next Business Events Week will run from February 17-21, 2014, with AIME running from February 18-19.

Stand design celebrated at AIME The 2013 winners of the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) Awards have been announced, recognising excellence in stand design and presentation at this year’s AIME. Winners included Spicers Retreats Hotels & Lodges (Best Stand 36sqm and Under); India Tourism (Best Stand Over 36sqm); City of Sydney (Best New Exhibitor Stand); and Accor Asia-Pacific (Best Environmentally Sustainable Stand).

The inaugural award for Best Innovative Stand went to Business Events Sunshine Coast, with judge Adi Ben-Nesher, managing director of Event Skills, saying the bureau “really created engagement and interaction with their effective use of the space”.

CIM celebrates!

Capping off a successful first day at AIME, CIM hosted more than 120 industry insiders for a “CIM oasis”-themed party at relaxed riverside venue The Boatbuilders Yard, opposite the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. The party saw guests enjoy signature cocktail, the “CIM Seabreeze”, and delicious canapés while catching up with friends and colleagues.

Tim Birley, Re ndezvous Hos pitality Group Malu Barrios, , with Darwin Conve ntion Centre.

n, hnso yn Jo b o R d . dney ith an is-Sm Events Sy w e L ess Lyn Busin

Bob O’Keeffe from Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, with Claire Donaghy and Geoff Donaghy, AEG Ogden.

Donna Kessler, Tourism Portfolio and Matthew Sturt, Gold Coast Tourism enjoying a massage.

From left: Pippa McCreery, Sunshi ne Coast Destination Limite d; Anna Case, Go ld Coast Tourism Ian Phillips, Coas ; tal Productions; Adrienne Readin Gold Coast Conv gs, ention and Exhibi tion Centre; and Sandra Passaro, Business Events Queensland.

lf Ventures, Paul Bryan, dnata – Gu Portfolio. rism with Susanna Boyd, Tou

bury Jenny Sals orp, with tc en e. v tr E , on Cen olsinger l Conventi Pamela H a Nationa in h C m o fr

From le ft: Dav id Hall Elizabe , David th Rich Hall As Conven , Agen sociate tion Ce da; Pau s; ntre Ku l D’Arc Conven c y h , Borne in g; Dam tion Bu o ien Kitt reau; a nd Jali o, Ade Conven l Khan la tion Vis ide , Hyde itors Bu rabad reau – India.

www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 15

sy dn ey

Future focus As the countdown begins for the closure of SCEC, many of Sydney’s venues are preparing themselves for a very busy few years, writes Sheridan Randall.

The new lobby at Parkroyal Darling Harbour.

It’s been a bumper year, with Business Events Sydney (BESydney) enjoying one of its most successful calendar years in 2012, holding 91 previously secured events worth around $220 million to the New South Wales economy. Describing Sydney and New South Wales as leading global destinations, BESydney chief executive Lewis-Smith says “2012 was a fantastic year for BESydney, which saw 60,237 delegates come to Sydney over a total of 244,453 delegate days”.

With Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre (SCEC) closing its doors at the end of 2013, there has been a rush of investment in new and existing properties, with Lewis-Smith saying “the venue options are abundant in Sydney”.

The plans for the new International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC

Sydney) were unveiled recently, with Geoff Donaghy, group director convention centres at AEG Ogden, one of the winning consortium’s partners, describing the new facility as “if not the best, then one of the best, harbourside entertainment, exhibition and convention precincts in the world” at a presentation at the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo in February.

The redevelopment, which is to include a range of 3.5-star to 5-star hotel rooms and a twolevel exhibition facility, has been branded Darling Harbour Live.

With a main boulevard connecting all the elements of this massive redevelopment, the main feature of the convention centre, which will open in 2016, is its ability to run three concurrent events completely quarantined from each other, according to Donaghy.

Other properties around Sydney have not been slow to take advantage of the extra business set to come their way during the threeyear construction phase, with $100 million spent on refurbishments in the Sydney market over the last few years, according to figures by Tourism Accommodation Australia (NSW). New properties to come online include QT Sydney, while stalwarts such as the Parkroyal Darling Harbour and Rydges World Square have also recently completed refurbishments to their meeting and events spaces.

The Parkroyal Darling Harbour has just finished the final phase of its $20 million refurbishment with a new look lobby and meetings spaces. The 452-room Rydges World Square has also recently unveiled one of the largest conference and events centres in Sydney’s central business district, with a new 600sqm meetings space, double the size of its previous area. The new conference centre caters for 500 theatrestyle or 380 banquet-style and features floor to ceiling windows overlooking “the Bull Ring”, with the imposing mythological bull sculpture below.

A number of planned increases to accommodation supply are also on the cards, with the opening of the 317-room Rydges Sydney Airport mid-year, the 170 room Adina Royal Randwick racecourse

16 Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 www.cimmagazine.com

in 2014 and the 900 hotel rooms at ICC Sydney. The Four Points by Sheraton hotel on Sussex Street is also seeking approval for a $149 million expansion of its 672 rooms, with a 25-storey tower holding 231 new rooms and office space, and a podium hosting functions and conferences to be built over the freeway that intersects Darling Harbour.

Over the bridge A stone’s throw from Darling Harbour and boasting possibly one of the best views in Sydney is Luna Park Sydney. Sydneysiders, many of whom have passed through its iconic entrance, know of this landmark well, but event organisers are also beginning to take notice of the variety of spaces it has to offer, partly aided

Luna Park Sydney’s Palais Room.

seminars and business events, it caters from 10 to 1000 in its largest space, the Concert Hall.

“If you think about it, there is really nothing except us between Luna Park and Newcastle,” says Romy Hodgson, business events manager at The Concourse.

“We’ve not been open two years yet, but we have already hosted 500 events, and our diary is looking very encouraging this year and beyond.”

The Concourse attracts business from North Sydney, North Ryde and Paramatta, as well as the CBD, and with 400 parking spaces available, it is a convenient venue for those that want to stay close to the sights. The 4-star Sebel Residence Chatswood and Mantra Chatswood also offer accommodation within walking distance.

View slideshow in the CIM iPad app.

by the closure of SCEC, which is increasing awareness of the other venues available in Sydney, according to James Granter, general manager sales at Luna Park Sydney.

“One of the huge advantages of Luna Park Sydney’s exhibition and conference venues is that it has more than one venue,” says Granter. “Over our total land area there 12 separate areas that can be used and tailored for any event, including using the main walkway as a red carpet entrance and including unique add-on experiences such as the Ferris Wheel. For example, a major fashion label recently launched a new range using Coney Island and the wider Park area as a backdrop.”

Granter says that it is “surprising that many people are still not

aware of what we offer”, given the Park’s harbour views and capacity to cater for events up to 2950 in the Big Top. “The views from Luna Park Sydney are unmatched because not only are you sitting at a Sydney icon with a rich history dating back to 1935, but you are actually looking back over all the major Sydney icons such as the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge,” he says. “It makes for one easy and memorable photo opportunity while still holding your champagne flute or fine dining fork.”

Luna Park can be easily accessed from the CBD by car or by ferry, a popular option for those looking for a dramatic entrance, with private ferries available to hire from Captain Cook Cruises, Matilda Cruises and Sydney Princess

Cruises carrying up to 700 people per boat.

“In my opinion, winning international business events and attention is about showcasing and delivering more than a couple of familiar options,” says Granter.

“We need to demonstrate that Sydney has a wealth of rich experiences and premium venue options to cater for any experience, to not only deliver surety and comfort to potential investors, but to also ensure they continue to choose Sydney for their events year on year without it ever growing tired or looking elsewhere.”

Further north, The Concourse, in Chatswood, has seen an increase in business since it opened in 2011.

Purpose-built by the council as a state-of-the-art entertainment and events precinct for concerts,

Primarily positioning itself to a domestic market, The Concourse is weighted in favour of the business sector but with a growing association cliental.

“We have a limited number of breakouts, so for the sort of event that SCEC normally hold we wouldn’t even be in the running,” she says. “But certainly, whether it is because of SCEC closing or people are getting to know us, business is certainly increasing.”

Hodgson daws a parallel between the Concourse and the Sydney Opera House, saying the two venues share common attributes.

“The only other place like us in the country is the Opera House, with a theatre, a concert hall, a banqueting space and ancillary venues,” she says. “I think it’s a bit of a shock for some people when they come to a government building. They think it’s going to be boring and breeze blocks but it’s not, particularly when they see the concert hall which is really quite beautiful.”

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brisba n e move will take place in July), planning is already well underway for the summit, with regular meetings between members of the task force and stakeholders such as the BCEC. “The taskforce is growing steadily and we’re doing everything we can to help them on their way,” says O’Keeffe. “We’re pretty busy as a venue as it is, with an extra 300 events held last year, so it’s a key item in our strategy for the next 12 months.”

Watch the video in the CIM iPad app.

Moving forward With preparations for next year’s G20 Leaders Summit gearing up, new infrastructure open for business and a strong pipeline of hotel investment, Brisbane is looking to the future, writes Ylla Wright.

Site inspections are an everyday event for business events organisers but it was Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s turn when she visited the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC) last month to announce the formation of the Queensland 20 (Q20), a new group of Queensland business leaders formed to ensure the state reaps the maximum benefit from next year’s G20 Leaders Summit.

Joining BCEC general manager Bob O’Keeffe for a tour of the Centre, the Prime Minister was able to walk through many of the meeting rooms and auditoria where the summit will take place.

Arguably the most significant event ever to be held in Brisbane, the November summit will see leaders and finance ministers from 20 nations including the US, China, India, Russia and Britain, representing more than 85 per cent of global economic output, descend on Brisbane to discuss global economic matters. Joining the international leaders will be key officials from the United Nations, the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation and the

International Monetary Fund, up to 4000 delegates and almost 3000 media, guaranteeing the eyes of the world are on Brisbane.

While the G20 Taskforce, which will oversee the planning and delivery of the event, has yet to move from Canberra into the Brisbane offices it will eventually work from (the

The historic RNA Showgrounds, home to the new Royal International Convention Centre.

18 Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 www.cimmagazine.com

The BCEC has entered 2013 off the back of an exceptional 2012, recently celebrating the first anniversary of BCEC on Grey Street, a five level boutique expansion which was specifically designed to meet increased market demand for smaller and medium sized meetings, which O’Keeffe says “now account for 70 per cent of the market”.

In its first year the Grey Street venue hosted 73,000 delegates and guests at 470 events including 58 conventions, surpassing initial expectations.

With its expanded facilities BCEC increased its total number of business events in the calendar year in 2012 by 28 per cent over the previous year. O’Keeffe predicts that 2013 will be another defining year for BCEC, setting new growth and benchmarks.

Not content to rest on its laurels, the Centre is working on a number of projects including upgrading its technology offering, having recently introduced a new BCEC conference app, setting up a formal Innovations Committee

to encourage fresh thinking and problem solving, and expanding the sustainability and community engagement initiatives which are a core part of the Centre’s overall philosophy.

While O’Keeffe is a driving force behind the latter, he says the Centre has “a lot of passionate people around the place and that passion escalates through the building”. Ongoing projects include maintenance work at the Reg Leonard House, subsidised housing for the families of longterm patients at Brisbane’s Mater Hospital; donations to food rescue organisation Foodbank; and classes in basic nutrition, healthy eating, sensible shopping and affordable meals for residents of West End Community House.

The BCEC team is also in the final planning stages of 1Earth, a month-long social responsibility program, incorporating both the environment (ecowatch) and the community (community watch), which will run from March 23 to April 22. Goals for the month include reducing the Centre’s environmental waste impact by increasing recycling activities, providing volunteering opportunities for staff, establishing partnerships with suppliers to create a low impact supply chain, and to inform staff, business partners, suppliers and clients about the program and why it is important. The month will kick off with Salvation Army’s Red Shield Appeal Launch Breakfast on March 26.

“We’ve done a lot to try to reduce their costs as much as possible,

and next year, we want to do the Red Shield launch like the Christmas event, with a whole lot of volunteers,” says O’Keeffe.

Open for business With Brisbane Convention Bureau director Annabel Sullivan saying

a “key selling point for Brisbane in winning the G20 event was the amount of infrastructure investment that has been going on in Brisbane, and is still going on”, it is fitting that another highly anticipated venue, the Royal Convention Centre (RICC), greeted its first guests last month.

Offering a distinctive Australian event and convention experience, RICC has been under construction at the iconic RNA Showgrounds since April 2011.

RNA general manager of venue sales and marketing Sue Hocking said RICC is ideally located just 1.6km from Brisbane’s central

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www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 19

business district and 15 minutes from the city’s international airport.

“RICC is characterised by sophisticated, multi-functional and flexible spaces which can accommodate up to 3000 people and sits alongside a range of available indoor and outdoor venues located at the showgrounds,” she says.

“The 10,000sqm two-level building accommodates conferences, seminars, banquets, weddings, concerts and exhibitions, and features three halls, seven adaptable meeting rooms, two boardrooms, an open foyer, 140 car parks, and state-of-the-art rigging and catering facilities.

“It will also front a landscaped 7000sqm Plaza which will be completed in June 2013, providing an additional 1800sqm of event space.”

A key point of difference for the Centre is the range of alternative indoor and outdoor venues including a 20,000 seat Main Arena, large scale festival and amusement areas, and stables and accommodation for large animals.

According to Hocking the centre has already attracted significant interest locally, nationally and

internationally.

“RICC’s unique Queensland character has already attracted three international conferences for its first nine months of operation – a huge feat for RICC and Brisbane,” she says.

On a smaller scale the heritagelisted Brisbane City Hall reopens in April following a $215 million restoration which significantly enhanced function facilities.

Launching the restored venue at this year’s Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME), venue management and catering team Epicure said that the restoration strikes a balance between a modern building that can serve the city and the people of the city whilst maintaining the heritage aspects. Function facilities have been significantly enhanced to add additional features and services so that the building can be used well into the future.

Epicure will manage all of the functions and events held at the Brisbane City Hall and adjacent 3000sqm King George Square, a versatile outdoor venue which offers full catering and outdoor beverage services.

flexible

BCEC on Grey Street.

“They don’t build unique spaces like this anymore,” says Mark Kendall, Epicure venue manager, Brisbane City Hall.

“This restoration has meant a significant and comprehensive upgrade of the event and meeting spaces at Brisbane City Hall, whilst maintaining all of the charm of the building’s significant heritage. The new spaces also

personal

mean that event organisers will be able to capitalise on the fantastic central location, making light work of logistics.”

Twelve carefully restored and redesigned indoor function rooms with state-of-the-art audiovisual and information technology facilities will be able to host 20 to 2000 guests for events such as

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cocktail; a 30 per cent increase on past capacity.

refine the product and services they offer, which is certainly what is happening in Brisbane.

In April the Pullman Brisbane King George Square (formerly Sebel King George Square) will officially unveil its $7 million upgrade of guestrooms, lobby and lounge spaces, and a total renovation of the hotel’s meeting and exhibition facilities.

“Conventions bring some of the world’s most skilled talent and investors to our city and delegates spend on average five times more than leisure tourism visitors, so it is a priority for Brisbane hotels to cater to this market.”

Newly released research commissioned by economic development board Brisbane Marketing found that the city’s hotel market is strong however it has the capacity to grow by up to 450 rooms a year for 10 years.

business meetings, galas, awards dinners and exhibitions.

Opportunities for growth With venues such as BCEC and RICC driving demand for quality accommodation, Brisbane’s hotel sector is responding to the challenge, having spent more than $88.5 million on refurbishments and upgrades in the past financial year, with a further $36 million in the pipeline for 2013.

“Brisbane’s hotels understand the value of the high-yielding business events market,” says Queensland Hotels Association chair and Brisbane Marriot Hotel general manager James Ferguson.

“To reap the benefits that come from attracting conference delegates, hotels must continue to evolve and

A new report, A guide to Hotel Investment in Brisbane, aims to encourage international investors to invest in and develop additional 4- and 5-star branded hotels in Brisbane, ensuring that the city can continue to accommodate large international events such as the G20 Leaders Summit.

According to Lord Mayor Graham Quirk the research estimates “Brisbane is losing around 87,000 visitors and $130 million in visitor expenditure due to a shortage of hotel rooms”.

Recent acquisitions of existing hotels and new hotel plans include the refurbishment and extension of the Brisbane’s Chifley Hotel, converting it from a 150 room to a 300 room hotel; the purchase of The Brisbane Marriott by the Malaysia-listed Starhill Real Estate Investment Trust (as part of a portfolio for a total of $415 million); the purchase of the Holiday Inn for $48 million by Shangri La Hotels and Resorts group who will operate it as Traders Hotel; and the opening of a Four Points by Sheraton hotel in the Brisbane CBD by January 2014.

New ways to access support

“Brisbane’s hotel industry has experienced strong trading conditions over a number of years and has the capacity for an additional 299-446 hotel rooms a year for the next 10 years to meet current and future demand,” he said.

A recent high profile refurbishment has been Rydges South Bank, which unveiled its $12 million Podium Level in October 2012. The new level incorporates five new functions spaces that can house up to 450 guests for dinner or 600

Meanwhile, the Brisbane Marketing Convention Bureau has launched a range of initiatives designed to support convention organisers considering holding an event to Brisbane.

The Brisbane Convention Support Toolkit brings together online all the resources event organisers need to maximise delegate attendance and create an outstanding experience, including event planning tools, marketing collateral templates, image and copy libraries, Brisbane mobile apps, pre and post touring opportunities, and essential Brisbane visitor guides and maps.

“The Brisbane Convention Bureau is continually responding to meet the needs of conference organisers and this toolkit brings everything together in one easy online spot,” said Sullivan.

“The toolkit is designed to save conference organisers time and money and to assist them in showcasing Brisbane as an energised, enterprising and selfassured location for business events.

“Some of the highlights include Brisbane mobile apps, onsite visitor desk, Brisbane Greeter tours and marketing collateral.

“The toolkit offers new specially designed destination templates for postcards, posters, brochures and print ads that organisers can download, add their conference branding and logo and use as promotion tools to attract delegates.”

The new support toolkit will also link directly to the Bureau’s popular Brisbane Event Planner with searchable information on Brisbane venues, accommodation and services.

Planners are also able to access a new Brisbane video to support competitive bid submissions and to help promote Brisbane as a destination to potential delegates, a selection of free Brisbane images and a new Brisbane brochure showcasing the city’s industry strengths, Convention Bureau services and key growth areas in Brisbane.

“These new resources will encourage conference organisers to choose Brisbane as their host city and assist them in promoting Australia’s new world city to delegates,” Sullivan said.

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herita ge The Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Sydney.

The past retold Buildings with a past offer more than just a themed backdrop, they bring the past alive and include everyone in their unfolding stories, writes Sheridan Randall.

There is nothing more dated than yesterday’s newspaper.

But a newspaper from a century ago evokes a profound sense of wonder and curiosity, offering a window to the everyday life of people long gone.

One property in Sydney not only affords a glimpse into the way things were, but is a part of the history of one of Sydney’s oldest newspapers. The Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Sydney is situated in what was the former home to John Fairfax & Sons, publishers of Australia’s oldest surviving newspaper, The Sydney Morning Herald, with the first edition printed in the now heritage-listed building.

The building’s rich history is embraced by the boutique-style 5-star hotel, which offers two heritage-listed meeting rooms among its eight meeting rooms

catering up to 200 people, while the original public hall at the Hunter Street entry is now home to the hotel’s Bistro Fax Restaurant & Bar. Blending the old with the new is something that guests appreciate, according to the hotel’s business development manager for MICE, Sabrina Kamann.

“Especially when meeting in our heritage-listed rooms which used to be the original offices of Sir James and Sir Warwick Fairfax,” says Kamann. “To sit in the same boardrooms where Australian history has been made, gives any meeting or event an extra touch of magnitude.”

The original three floors were built in 1856, with six new floors added in the 1920s and a further three floors added again in the late ’90s.

The original building has changed

with each wave of investment from new owners, but the spirit of each owner still leaves their mark. And the current owners are not shy in sharing the history with guests and public alike.

The hotel has permanent displays of historic photos in its public spaces and shares the stories and legends of the site with clients wherever possible, such as the three doors in Warwick Fairfax’s office, with one leading to a private elevator.

“The historic features play a significant role in the ambience within our property,” says Kamann.

“Since it is such a significant part of our product, we promote the heritage aspect of our hotel throughout all channels and wherever we can.”

This includes participation in

Sydney Open, a biennial initiative organised by the Historical Houses Trust of New South Wales that aims to share the city’s history, with many of Sydney’s best loved buildings throwing open their doors to the public.

Across the ditch, New Zealand also has plenty of venues set in treasured historical buildings that have had previous lives.

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set in an iconic building from the Art Deco period in the early 20th century, which was previously New Zealand’s largest and most famous shopping destination, Farmers department store.

The building was turned into a hotel in the ’90s, with the re-development of the original rooftop tearooms into a ballroom catering for gala events of up to 400 people included in the plans.

The Grand Tearoom has lost none of its charm, with harbour views, abundant natural light and the original chandeliers all adding to the splendour of this Art Deco gem.

Susan Gibson, The Heritage Hotel Group’s communications manager, says the heritage aspect of the hotel “sets us a apart”, with the Grand Tearoom “a very big drawcard for conference and event guests”.

“Local conference attendees always love to be back in the Grand Tearoom where they can remember being as a child on a family outing to the store,” she says.

“International guests really enjoy having an authentic venue which is part of the city’s history to be in. With so much business travel people do, it is refreshing to experience something unique in a venue or hotel room, not just the same thing they had in the last city they were in. Heritage buildings always offer a charm that you can’t manufacture, it’s an integral part of the city and its identity.”

The hotel sponsors the Auckland Heritage Festival every year and has outreach events in the hotel with

The Heritage Auckland Hotel’s Grand Tearoom.

guest historian speakers, which “always sell out”, says Gibson.

“We also ensure the history is celebrated with information for guests, plus our conference rooms are named after former directors of the store our building is set in, and our restaurant is named after the store’s mascot parrot Hector, who resided in the building for decades.

“The popularity year on year of the heritage festivals and our events in the Grand Tearoom suggest, even with younger generations, that people value and want to connect with the past.”

View slideshow in the CIM iPad app.

Event co-ordinator Auckland Conventions Venues & Events has three heritage venues under its umbrella – the Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tãmaki, The Civic and Auckland Town Hall – with Mohamed Mansour, director of Auckland Conventions Venues & Events, saying the heritage factor is important in creating a unique selling point and a “wow” factor.

art works on display, as well as the contemporary building.

“We take a lot of pride in telling the story of Auckland as a destination and as part of the historic fabric of our city and region and showing off our history, especially to international visitors,” he says.

Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tãmaki is home to New Zealand’s most extensive collection of art and following a multi-million dollar restoration and expansion project in 2011, the Gallery now seamlessly blends the new with the old, with parts of the building dating back to 1887. Functions can be held in several of the older gallery rooms, enhanced by the many significant

Built in 1911, Auckland Town Hall was returned to its baroque glory during a restoration in 1997.

Stained-glass windows, ornate plasterwork and spectacular chandeliers all combine to make this venue a popular spot for gala dinners, cocktail parties and seminars. The theatre-style seats in both the Great Hall and Concert Chamber can be removed to create large open spaces, with breakout rooms, three foyers and

two bars available.

For sheer flamboyance there are few venues that can compete with The Civic, a theatre built in 1920s as a “palace of dreams”. The venue offers a stunning auditorium for large events, as well as smaller areas such as its Indian-themed foyer for breakouts.

“All three venues show off our sense of place and are excellent examples of who we are and the story of Auckland within New Zealand’s history as a truly global city,” says Mansour.

Auckland Town Hall.

www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 23

n ew zea l an d Auckland harbour.

Calmer waters

Challenges remain in the New Zealand economy for the business events sector, but a forecast for clearer skies this year is boosting optimism, writes Kathy Ombler.

Despite the high Kiwi dollar affecting other markets, Australian business tourism remains buoyant for New Zealand, and the conference industry here is cautiously optimistic for 2013, says Conventions & Incentives New Zealand (CINZ) chief executive

Alan Trotter.

“The current high cost of the New Zealand dollar is proving challenging for all types of inbound tourism,” he said. “While volumes of arrivals are holding up well budgets for business tourism events are being stretched, as

overseas clients struggle to deal with the implications of the high New Zealand dollar.

because of the favourable cross rates between the two currencies, which favour the Australian dollar.”

“Fortunately the Australian market remains buoyant for New Zealand in terms of business tourism and Australian meeting planners can find some great bargains here

A strong surge in the New Zealand equities market last year has given rise to optimism in the corporate market, he adds.

Trans-Tasman Talk

Race to the bottom is a race to nowhere 2012 was significant in New Zealand, and I suspect also in Australia, in terms of clients of suppliers to the meetings industry really trying to drive down prices, but at the same time, having expectations that the delivery of service in terms of quality is either maintained or improved. Clearly, these demands from our customer base are unsustainable in the short to medium term, and in many cases, downright unreasonable.

Everyone in business needs to know that the other party needs to put bread on their table, and that a reasonable profit margin for

quality service is a fair outcome.

Unfortunately, clients on both sides of the Tasman are aware that they are in the “driver’s seat” when it comes to demanding deals, and regrettably, some of our less professional suppliers are always happy to provide cut price service for cut price quality.

During 2012 I was told by numerous members of CINZ that they had clients say they had been offered a cheaper service from a competitor, however as they wanted to continue to do business with our member, they would have to meet the price offered

by the other party. Frankly, this kind of behaviour makes my blood boil, as clearly many of the people who offer cut price services are unprofessional and often not in the industry for very long, but in the meantime, do an enormous amount of damage.

It is to be hoped that this “race to the bottom” does not continue in 2013 and that our customers realise that in order to receive quality service in a timely fashion they have to be prepared to pay a reasonable price, and more importantly, pay the bill once it has been tendered in a timely fashion.

By Alan Trotter, CEO of Conventions and Incentives New Zealand.

24 Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 www.cimmagazine.com

“Most CINZ members are forecasting improved business models for 2013,” said Trotter.

“Although a strong sense of caution still permeates the industry the consensus is very much that ‘2013 will be better than 2012’.”

Meanwhile, Skycity Auckland will continue to negotiate with government over the building of a $350 million international convention centre, following the release of an Auditor General report investigating the processes involved in a controversial “pokies for convention centre deal” brokered last year.

While the report raised concerns about the lack of documentation and analysis for the procurement process, it found “no evidence to suggest that the final decision to negotiate with Skycity was influenced by any inappropriate considerations”.

Trotter says the report was, to quote Shakespeare, “much ado about nothing”. He says it is to be hoped that the negotiations can

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doubt New Zealand needs to invest more in tourism infrastructure.”

Auckland Auckland Convention Bureau manager Anna Hayward says it’s shaping up to be a great year for Auckland.

Auckland Sky Tower at night.

now be successfully concluded and work can commence as soon as possible on a much needed facility.

Morrison is looking forward to re-engaging with the government to conclude negotiations.

“CINZ has been pushing for an international convention centre in Auckland for years,” he said. “It is key to New Zealand attracting lucrative international conferences and conventions.”

“We remain willing to invest up to $350 million to develop, own and operate the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC), provided acceptable returns can be delivered on the total project,” he said. “There is no

Skycity chief executive Nigel

“Auckland has really come alive in the last few years with new C&I infrastructure complemented by sophisticated dining and entertainment precincts,” she said. “As a destination, Auckland offers a complete package for conference groups. It’s a dynamic world-class city, set in a beautiful natural environment. When people learn what’s on offer they’re often surprised with the diverse range of experiences that can be had in Auckland. We look forward to showcasing Auckland to more delegates throughout 2013.”

After a major overhaul for hosting Rugby World Cup 2011 events, the spit and polish continues on Auckland’s waterfront. The Shed 10 event space on Queens Wharf is currently undergoing a $14.6 million re-development into an expanded, multi-purpose event and cruise facility. Auckland

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conferences,” she said. “In March more than 1100 delegates will attend the International WSAVA/ FSAVA Congress, closely followed by the McDonald’s Franchisee conference out of Australia.

The International Federation of Landscape Architects and the New Zealand Petroleum Conference will be held in April followed by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in May. “This full diary indicates that Skycity Convention Centre is seeing a resurgence of both association and corporate events since the slowdown experienced in 2010.”

At the same time, the Skycity outcatering team will be hosting one of Auckland’s largest ever VIP dinners, with more than 3200 attending the black-tie gala event, she adds.

doing so we’re also getting a highly desirable event space with a unique water’s edge setting,” Brown said.

The new facility, designed to retain its 1910 heritage features, will be unveiled in April.

Heritage is the absolute focus at the Heritage Auckland Hotel, where the roof top ballroom, or “Grand Tearoom”, is “all dressed up and ready to greet delegates” following a complete makeover.

In the late 1990s, when the hotel was transformed from an art deco-era department store to luxurious suite-style hotel, the original roof top tea rooms were converted to a ballroom catering for up to 400 people.

The Grand Tearoom is now one of the most special and elegant venues in Auckland, according to general manager Graeme Back.

“The harbour views, natural light and magnificent décor including original chandeliers make this wonderful room a popular choice for events,” he said.

Recent developments on Waiheke Island, just one hour’s scenic ferry cruise from downtown Auckland, have added significantly to the island’s already high appeal for partner programs, off-site activities and pre or post tours.

Listed as one of the New York Times’ “46 places to visit this year” for its wineries, beaches and local art scene, adventuresome folk can now, also, get “zipping” with EcoZip. Visitors ride on three 200 metre ziplines above a vineyard and mature tree canopy and finish with a guided walk through pristine native bush.

Also on the island, the Oyster Inn opened late last year in Oneroa

Village. Styled on the timeless Kiwi “bach” (holiday home) with a stylish yet unpretentious modern touch, the Inn features a large restaurant, private event space, beach shop and three well-appointed guest rooms with great views. The restaurant menu showcases farm classics and local seafood – oysters, whitebait and crayfish – served by Cristian Hossack, formerly head chef at Peter Gordon’s Providores, in London.

Back on the mainland, Skycity Auckland Convention Centre looks set to have one of the busiest quarters experienced since its opening nearly nine years ago, according to Gillian Officer, director sales – conventions and outcatering.

“Along with myriad local events, Auckland and Skycity are about to host some key international

“Temporary kitchens manned by 170 chefs and tables waited by more than 700 staff will be testament to the logistical organisation that Skycity is known for,” she said.

Providing the catering for the annual three-day TRENZ Tourism Tradeshow in April for more than 800 people each day will also be a highlight for the team.

In other news, Skycity Auckland has launched free wi-fi for all delegates.

Available since January the new, high-density system is capable of accommodating more than 1000 users with multiple devices.

Just outside the central city, in the leafy surrounds of Cornwall Park and One Tree Hill, ASB Showgrounds have recently completed a $32 million upgrade of its highly versatile 18,000sqm space.

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shows, cocktail functions, corporate events and dinner, seminars, meetings and concerts. Catering is tailored to suit the event, be it an intimate setting or banquet for 3500 people in the 5500sqm, pillarfree pavilion.

On a smaller, albeit luxurious, scale the Panoramic Penthouse Retreat, atop Takapuna’s Spencer on Byron Hotel has become highly affordable through a new package special. The Penthouse is billed as Auckland’s “highest hotel venue”.

Located on the hotel’s 20th floor the two-storey venue offers a private boardroom and breakout space with spectacular views overlooking the Hauraki Gulf and Rangitoto Island, plus fully equipped kitchen, three accommodation rooms and three bathrooms.

Spencer on Byron sits in a special location, 10 minute’s drive from Auckland’s CBD yet in a seaside destination in its own right. Just 500 metres from Takapuna Beach, Lake Pupuke and sports facilities close by are great areas for team building and water sports. Also just a stroll away is Takapuna’s upmarket restaurants, bars and boutique shopping precincts.

In addition to the penthouse,

The Blue Baths Rotorua.

the hotel offers seven meeting rooms that cater for any numbers from five to 600, plus 249 accommodation rooms, restaurant, heated pool and gymnasium.

Rotorua A growing confidence in tourism in Rotorua has translated into major capital investment for several operations in the destination, said Fraser McKenzie,

general manager of both the 199 room Novotel Rotorua and adjacent, 145 room Ibis Rotorua.

With its geothermal regions, lakes, spas, fishing, mountain biking and history of Maori tourism; accessed by direct flights from Sydney, Rotorua is one of New Zealand’s special conference and incentives destinations.

And though a small, provincial region it more than pulls its weight

in terms of the international convention market, says Brett Jeffery, sales and marketing manager, Events and Venues Rotorua, which manages six diverse venues including the Rotorua Energy Events Centre.

Jeffery says major conventions booked over the next two years include the International Applied Geochemistry Symposium (550 delegates), World Angus Forum (800) and the Asia-Pacific Forestry

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Commission (400) all in 2013, while the World Engineers Conference (600) and Asia Pacific Occupational Therapy Conference (1000) are locked in for 2015. The bookings don’t surprise Jeffery.

“We have worked hard to prove that Rotorua and its convention facilities can host an international congress of any shape, size or diversity,” he said. “These international conventions are our growth market.”

Purpose-built in 2007, the Rotorua Energy Events Centre can cater for 2600 (seated banquet), 4000 (theatre) or up to 500 exhibition booths. Set in gardens yet within walking distance of major accommodation, restaurants and shops, it’s an inspiring meeting environment with its décor, a blend of traditional Maori and contemporary indigenous art inspired by Rotorua’s special landscape, history and Te Arawa people that bring the building to life.

At the Novotel, Fraser McKenzie says a recent NZ$2 million ($1.61 million) upgrade is an example of international investor confidence in the city. The hotel’s foyer has been totally transformed, with a contemporary blend of cultural and geothermal themes and marbled “pod design” reception to welcome guests to the new look hotel. All seven conference and meeting rooms, including the newly expanded Executive Boardroom, have been given a refresh.

Novotel’s developers have also recently invested in brand new, purpose-built accommodation for the inner city. Quest Rotorua Central opened late last year, with 36 studios and one and two bedroomroom apartments, some with private balcony and spa pool. Other amenities include a pantry shopping service and meeting room.

Other Rotorua news includes Pure

Cruise presenting the chance to gather native culinary delights from the Lake Rotoiti shoreline under the guidance of specialist indigenous chef Charles Royal. Gathered ingredients are then cooked and sampled while under sail on the 53 foot catamaran, Tiua.

More invigorating activities include Rotorua Canopy Tours’ new ziplining product and guided mountain bike tours with Mountain Bike Rotorua, in Whakarewarewa Forest or on the new Te Ara Ahi cycleway.

In the city, new options to jazz up conference dinners and functions include Event Impressions’ “Lady in Red” songster theme, Events & Venues’ dramatic Stagehouse dinner product at the Civic Theatre and the “1958” musical comedy at the Blue Baths.

The Rotorua Energy Events Centre.

Meanwhile, Skyline Rotorua has opened the Jelly Belly store and gallery for themed dinners and, at the top of its gondola, a new Volcanic Hills Winery and tasting room, ideal for cocktails for up to 100. From April, Skyline will also offer a “Rotovegas” casino theme restaurant product for groups.

and post travel options, either from Auckland or the Waikato city of Hamilton.

recently refurbished 95 seat Silver Fern Railcar. Both have full bar and cafe facilities.

Tom Evers-Swindell, Scenic Journeys’ business development manager, says charter options include carriage trains or the

“The ability to entertain and allow participants to interact while travelling is very attractive to incentive and conference planners,”

There’s also plenty of news on the spa front; Polynesian Spa has recently completed an upgrade of its deluxe spa therapy wing, Treetops Lodge & Estate has launched a new day spa and Wai Ora Day Spa won several categories in the New Zealand section of the World Luxury Spa Awards 2012.

Waikato Fancy putting your conference on a train to Hobbiton? Kiwirail have upgraded their Northern Explorer “Scenic Journey” options and now offer charter trips to Waikato’s top attractions.

Well known for farming, thoroughbred horse studs and Lake Karapiro (Olympic champion rowing base and conference centre), Waikato also features two famous attractions – the underworld wonderland of the Waitomo Caves and the film set Hobbiton. Made famous by The Lord of the Rings trilogy and now The Hobbit: an unexpected journey (and recently enhanced by the opening of the Green Dragon Inn, available for private functions), Hobbiton nestles in rolling green farmland, just minutes by coach from Matamata train station.

Novotel Rotorua’s new lobby.

Scenic Journeys has made both Waitomo and Hobbiton available for charter trips that can be tailored to fit conference and incentive pre www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 29

he said. “Itineraries and timetables can be tailored to fit most needs, and it is possible to visit both the Waitomo Caves and Hobbiton in a single day from Auckland by train.”

Waikato is one of the most popular conference destinations in New Zealand, ranking third, according to a Conference Activity Survey released by the Ministry of Economic Development late last year. Key venue Claudelands Conference and Exhibition Centre boosted visited numbers with a total of more than 250,000 people visiting the venue for around 300 events between June 2011 and 2012. Amongst the major conferences hosted by the Centre were the New Zealand Veterinary Association conference; The New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology annual conference; and the New Zealand Concrete Industry conference.

Wellington Australia remains a strong aspect of Wellington Convention Bureau planning for 2013 and beyond, according to the Bureau’s manager, Martin Boland.

“There are certainly an increased number of inquiries from Australia for New Zealand’s capital city,” he said. “People now understand the frequency of flights we have – more than 50 direct trans-Tasman flights per week – and many Australians now regard Wellington as a “domestic” destination for their conferencing.”

Middle Earth is a key focus, he added: “The successful launch of The Hobbit: an unexpected journey, is undoubtedly resulting in business event activity tagged to our burgeoning film industry.”

There is also a good number of Australian conferences happening around Te Papa, he added.

Andrew Dorrington, hospitality manager at Te Papa said the Australian market is one they intend to be in long term.

“We are focusing on Australia for convention business, working through Wellington’s Australianbased representative Andrea Werner,” he said.

“For small meetings of up to 20 we have introduced a new product ‘Express Meetings’. It can be booked anytime between three months to two days out.

It’s a response to lead times contracting and we’ve seen a significant growth in that product.”

Exciting technology recently installed at Te Papa, said Dorrington, is the integrated projection, screens and sound using digital cabling, which is controlled by a computer system that can be operated remotely with an iPad or from a computerised podium.

“People can bring their

Wellington’s Shed 6.

presentation and literally just plug it in,” he said. “We have an in-house audio visual team to support the new technology.”

In other innovations, Te Papa has launched new menus that focus on dietary requirements.

“All our meals now are identified if they are gluten free or vegetarian, for example, so clients can select accordingly,” Dorrington said. “We also have an in-house espresso coffee cart that our baristas can wheel into any function or meeting space. We have just launched an updated website that reflects Te Papa’s unique ‘Head Heart’ concept.

“This refers to the unique opportunities we have for an event to go back of house, have curator

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talks, exclusive entry to exhibitions and to experience our working marae; it really reflects New Zealand culture.”

Good news for Wellington is that the waterfront redevelopment of Shed 6 into a multi-use convention and events venue is finally underway. Shed 6 will provide an alternative venue to the Wellington Town Hall, which is being de-commissioned for seismic strengthening in mid 2013.

“We are enormously excited that work has started on the Shed 6 project,” said Glenys Coughlan, chief executive at Positively Wellington Venues.

“We are delighted with how the design has come together to create a group of venue spaces that will work in such a wide range of configurations, from live performance to conferences and exhibitions.

“What is particularly pleasing is the strong interest that we have had in the new offering from a range of different markets – people are really buying in to what we will be able to offer.”

The new venue will offer flexible, pillar-less space that can be easily configured for exhibitions, meetings and banquets, with theatre seating for 144 to 966 people and supporting break out spaces. An arcade, previously used to house historic Plimmer’s Ark, will link the TSB Arena and Shed 6 and provide a lightfilled undercover space idea for informal lunches and small cocktail functions. Bookings are being accepted now, with the opening scheduled for August 2013.

Also on the waterfront, a new, stylish art gallery venue has become available for functions and events. Positively Wellington Venues now manages the Academy Galleries function space in the New Academy of Fine Arts, a contemporary gallery housing works by leading New Zealand and international artists. Located just

Christchurch’s Cardboard Cathedral.

a short stroll from Shed 6 and the TSB Arena, the Academy Galleries offers stunning space for cocktails, dinners, breakfasts, seminars and product launches.

“Wellington’s waterfont is a great location; it’s not every venue that has kayaks for hire at its front door and the easy walk to Te Papa, the Wharewaka (Waka House function venue), the Academy Galleries’ offering and waterfront restaurants and bars will really set the TSB Bank Arena and Shed 6 development apart from other venues,” said Coughlan.

Positively Wellington Venues now manages six of Wellington’s most outstanding venues, each bringing their own distinct character.

Other capital city venue news includes the re-opening of the National Library, after a two year closure for earthquake strengthening. The upgraded library includes new space for large dinner functions (500 plus).

“The library is a national treasure and will provide some great dinner and function opportunities for international conferences,” said Boland.

Close by, the Royal Society of New Zealand has just opened purposebuilt meeting and conference facilities, including a “very quirky” dinner space (for up to 250), according to Boland.

“The layout showcases New Zealand’s global scientific endeavours and achievements,” he said. “Previously none of this has been open to anyone outside of the Society and it is totally different from the normal realms of conference functions.”

Meanwhile Westpac Stadium is undergoing a $28 million, four year refit that Boland says will result in far better capability for conferencing and functions.

Wigram Air Force Museum.

he said.

In Wellington hotel news, Sofitel Luxury Hotels will develop New Zealand’s third Sofitel in Wellington, becoming the city’s first new internationally-branded luxury hotel for two decades.

The hotel is being developed by property and hotel company, CP Group, who also own Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour, and is scheduled to open in 2014.

Christchurch Venue and hotel capacity is bouncing back in Christchurch, spearheaded by the opening of the Air Force Museum’s

new venue space in February and the reopening of several top CBD hotels later in the year. More than 543 cafes, restaurants and bars are now open in the city and dozens more are to open their doors soon, according to Caroline Blanchfield, Christchurch & Canterbury Convention Bureau manager.

“As Lonely Planet predicts, 2013 is going to be an intriguing and exciting year to be in Christchurch,” she said.

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An aerial view of Queenstown.

rebirth of this proud southern city.

Updating progress on a new Convention Centre for the central city, Blanchfield said five tenders for master-planning the development, which encompasses an adjoining hotel, shopping arcade and links to a new performing arts centre, have been shortlisted by the Christchurch Central Development Unit.

February saw the opening of the new $14 million 6500sqm extension of the Air Force Museum of New Zealand at Wigram. Venue management company Vbase is now taking bookings for the new conferencing space, said Blanchard.

The versatility and functionality of this venue, coupled with its stand-out location in the midst of an historic air force base, truly sets it apart from other conference and events centres in the country, according to Russell Kenny, Vbase general manager, who said “the beauty of the Air Force Museum is its ability to accommodate events of all sizes”.

Within the expansion, 1500sqm of new conference space can cater for up to 1000 people and offers a blank canvas for trade exhibitions, conferences, gala

dinners and functions. Numerous break-out areas and stand-alone rooms provide venues for smaller gatherings.

With regards to accommodation in Christchurch, 600 new hotel rooms are expected to come online in 2013, in six properties including the Heritage Hotel (Old Government Building), Copthorne Commodore (a new wing completed), Rendezvous Hotel Christchurch, Chateau on the Park (earthquake repairs bringing another 80 rooms back on line), Novotel in the Square and the new-build Latimer Hotel.

It was recently announced that the Heritage Christchurch will formally reopen on May 13, more than two years after the February 22, 2011, which saw it receive minor structural damage.

“We are delighted to soon see our beloved hotel back in business and thrilled that this unique heritage building has withstood both the test of time and seismic events,” said Gary Jarvis, general manager Heritage Christchurch.

Bruce Garret, general manager of The George and Christchurch regional chair of the Tourism Industry Association hotel sector, said the biggest post-earthquake

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issue for the city’s hotel industry has centered on the limited supply of hotel rooms.

“Looking ahead for 2013 we will see some relief to this situation,” he said. “By the end of the year we will have seen a growth from just over 900 member hotel rooms currently to over 1500. This will have a considerable impact on the city’s abilities to take tour and conference groups.”

Meanwhile enhancements to meeting and function facilities continue at The George, (voted New Zealand’s leading boutique hotel in the World Travel Awards 2012). A new covered, sheltered and heated outdoor area in front of the hotel’s 50 Bistro can accommodate 80 for a cocktail party or around 30 for dining. Plans are to further enhance this area, as well as to refurbish the residence building, which houses two suites, a small meeting/private dining area and opens out to our lovely gardens, according to Garrett.

There is a host of exciting innovations to report throughout the city, added Blanchard.

Christchurch’s “Cardboard Cathedral” is set to open in July.

Designed by Japanese architect Shigeru and earning accolades around the world, this “symbol of hope” will have seating capacity for 700 people and is attracting interest as a conference and function venue as well as a place of worship.

Other scheduled re-openings include Christchurch Gondola, in the Port Hills, in May; Market Square at the Arts Centre in October and Christchurch Tramway operations on the main city loop will recommence in November.

Oxford Terrace’s popular The Strip restaurant and bar precinct is set for a NZ$40 million ($32.2 million) rebuild, with stage one to open in late 2013.

Meanwhile development of Christchurch’s new airport terminal (started before the earthquakes) is nearing completion. Key features include combined domestic and international check-in counters and

32 Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 www.cimmagazine.com

kiosks with improved passenger flows, expanded arrivals and departure lounges, new and enhanced retail and food and beverage areas, expanded and improved international baggage claim and MAF/Customs international arrivals halls, plus direct internal access from international arrivals to domestic gates for smoother transiting.

And with a nod to Australian interests, a rare Wollemi pine, regarded as a living fossil from the dinosaur age and only recently discovered in New South Wales, has been planted in Christchurch’s Botanic Gardens, to mark the gardens’ 150th anniversary.

Queenstown There continues to be strong interest, particularly from Australia, for Queenstown as a conference and incentive destination and bookings are solid for 2013, according to Louise Jennis, Queenstown Convention Bureau marketing executive.

“Queenstown is also receiving a good number of forward bookings and business leads for 2014/2015,” she said. “Queenstown’s versatility as a destination and its ability to cater for small incentive groups to larger conference groups up to 500 is reflected in the type of quotes being requested.”

Biking, golfing or playing in the snow; it’s all about the outdoors with new bike trails, several championship golf courses and, as always, winter sports happening in Queenstown this year, she added.

The Queenstown Trail is a new, 110km network of off-road bike trails that explore the region’s lakes, rivers and mountain valleys.

It can be biked as a whole or in sections, and riders if they wish can stop off along the way for a jet boat ride, bungy jump, or more leisurely wine tasting at a Gibbston Valley winery.

Jennis says golf is also proving highly popular for conference associated activities with six

The Octagon in Dunedin.

options, ranging from world-class 18 hole championship courses to family friend nine-hole links, all within 25 minutes’ drive from the town centre.

Meanwhile 15 new free wi-fi access points have been installed throughout the southern resort, as well as permanent free internet access launched at the Queenstown Events Centre. The national ultrafast broadband roll-out will arrive in central Queenstown early this year.

Dunedin “Excitement is building as we approach the re-opening of the Dunedin Centre and Town Hall, an historic and highprofile venue which is currently under extensive redevelopment,” said Tourism Dunedin’s Bree Jones.

“Setting the standard for stylish events and meetings and built to the highest specifications in New Zealand, the venue is scheduled to be fully operational by May.” There is very strong interest in Dunedin following this development, she added.

Recent terminal expansion at Queenstown Airport features a new international departure area and Air New Zealand Koru Club with arguably the best view of any airport in NZ, said Jennis. The expansion also allows flexibility to reallocate spaces to meet demand, for example extra security screening and immigration lanes, and two new oversize baggage belts to accommodate skis, golf clubs and bikes.

A number of large events have already booked, including national and international conferences such as Ingenium and the 5th Global Botanic Congress Conference.

Meanwhile a feasibility study into the construction of a purpose-built Convention Centre in Queenstown is currently underway.

Another special venue, Toitu Otago Settlers Museum, re-opened in December after a two year closure and NZ$31.5million ($25.3 million) refurbishment. The Museum’s

“Dunedin now has the ability to take larger business and, given our strong links with the university, is a key city for hosting medical, scientific and education based conferences.”

collections combine heritage items, for example a rare steam locomotive, with modern, interactive and digital displays.

Gallery space, combined with the stunning Josephine Foyer cocktail space (utilising glass, steel local stone and Heart Rimu timber), can cater for up to 670. Further venue space includes the elegant, art deco NZR Building and NZR Social Hall, while a modern auditorium hosts conferences and large meetings.

Jones said Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium, new in 2011, continues to be a success, hosting a full program of events, concerts, craft markets and meetings.

Meanwhile the controversial, proposed development of a luxury, 28-storey on Dunedin’s waterfront is currently undergoing a public submission process. The $100 million development, which would stand twice as high as Dunedin’s next-tallest building, has been the subject of vociferous opposition.

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ve nu e u pd a te

Sebel Albert Park becomes a Pullman larger space.

area of approximately 2000sqm.

“The retractable roof will definitely elevate functionality and flexibility of the space and the full glass wall around Breeze will add natural light to this already unique meeting venue or enjoy the transition of day to night during the event,” said Janet McNab, the hotel’s general manager.

The renovation of the hotel also includes the recent refurbishment of accommodation rooms, adding a new Premium Room category to the offering, as well as enhancements to the Corn Exchange restaurant and Grand Ballroom.

Rydges Sydney Airport ready for May

The Sebel Albert Park Melbourne has been rebranded to Pullman Melbourne Albert Park and will undergo a multimillion dollar refurbishment due for completion in August 2013. The adjoining Citigate hotel will rebrand to Mercure, the third in Melbourne’s CBD. The lobby of the Pullman and Mercure Melbourne Albert Park will be completely redesigned, as will parts of the hotel’s conference facilities, while the 169 accommodation rooms in the Pullman tower will receive a makeover.

As part of the hotel’s upgrade, the new business centre and connectivity lounge where guests can enjoy complimentary wi-fi and business services will further add to the new Pullman experience and will be located just off the lobby.

The hotel’s ballroom which can hold up to 1600 people has already completed its extensive renovation and as part of the refurbishment, the ballroom has had new LED

colour control lighting and pin-spot technology installed, new curtains, operable walls, new carpets and all of the bathrooms have been completely redesigned.

The Pullman Executive Lounge will be converted to a luxurious space, which will be furnished with tables and chairs, plush sofas, arm chairs and LED televisions.

Rooftop venue for Sheraton Bangkok Four Points by Sheraton Bangkok, Sukhumvit 15 has announced a new meetings and events space, Breeze and the Garden Terrace. Located on the rooftop, the new venue offers an indoor and outdoor private area which can hold up to 400 people.

Breeze, the indoor space located on the rooftop of the Garden Wing overlooking the Sukhumvit skyline, can be joined with the Garden Terrace with a retractable roof offering a more elaborate and

The Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel is scheduled to open in May, 2013. The $70 million, 4.5-star hotel will house 318 rooms over 11 floors, and will form part of the new Sydney international airport precinct. The hotel will be equipped with an in-house restaurant, sports bar, gym and 11 function and event spaces.

Refurb for Sheraton Noosa Resort & Spa Sheraton Noosa Resort & Spa has commenced a $10 million refurbishment, scheduled for completion in August 2013.

The refurbishment of the resort will incorporate accommodation rooms, suites, villas and the resort’s eight meeting rooms, including the Noosa Ballroom. Wireless internet will also be introduced throughout the grounds of the resort.

“Being conveniently located just 10 minutes from Sydney CBD by train and right next to the international terminal building, the hotel is the perfect location for people coming to Sydney and looking for somewhere to hold a meeting or function that is more easily accessible than the usual Sydney venues,” said Tish Nyar, the hotel’s general manager.

New meetings spaces at Darling Harbour Four Points by Sheraton, Darling Harbour has announced it will open four brand new meeting spaces this year as part of its larger $20 million renovation. The new additions, known as The Heritage Meeting Rooms, will add an additional 300sqm of meeting and conference space. Following the introduction of the Heritage Meeting Rooms, the hotel will offer 21 meeting spaces in total, offering a combined

Makeover for Crown Perth’s convention centre Crown Perth has completed a refurbishment of its events and theatre foyer area (pictured above).

Designer Blainey North has used custom designed carpets, new

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Artist impression: ‘Theatre of the Horse’

Heritage Christchurch to open in May.

fabric wallpapers, timber veneer wall frames and decorative lighting, along with custom designed lounges and coffee tables to give the area a new modern edge, with original artwork pieces

by Steve Back.

120 people; a 120sqm VIP room with private catering facilities and a 22-seat boardroom.

Gold for Hamilton Island Conferences Queensland’s Hamilton Island Conferences (pictured below) has won gold in Business Tourism at the recent Australian Tourism Awards in Hobart. The resort was one of three Whitsundaysbased operators to win gold at the awards.

MICE is nice for Kerry Hotel Pudong, Shanghai The Kerry Hotel Pudong, Shanghai has been named the “Best MICE Hotel in China 2012” by World Traveller. Kerry Hotel has more than 7300sqm of meeting space spanning a total of 26 multi-purpose function rooms and two ballrooms.

Launched in 2007, the “Top 10 World Traveller Awards” is evaluated by a panel of industry judges as well as online public voting.

“To be voted the best, amongst such strong competition makes me extremely proud of what our team has achieved,” said Peter Clarke, the hotel’s general manager. “Our success is due to our fantastic staff, and our amazing facilities.”

Upgrade at Watermark The 4.5-star Watermark Hotel & Spa, on the Gold Coast, is undertaking a $1.2 million refurbishment of 110 of its accommodation rooms. The move follows the recent upgrade of its audio-visual facilities, to include iPad controlled audio and video technology.

“We specialise in boutique conferences and are very focused on upgrading to meet the needs of MICE clients today and in the future,” said Jason Pratt, the hotel’s acting general manager.

Heritage Christchurch to reopen Heritage Christchurch is to formally reopen on May 13, 2013, following the 2011 earthquake. On the site of the former Old Government Building, the hotel has been behind the red zone cordon for the past two years.

“We are delighted to soon see our beloved hotel back in business and thrilled that this unique heritage building has withstood both the test of time and seismic events,” said Gary Jarvis, general manager Heritage Christchurch.

“We consider ourselves privileged custodians of Christchurch’s past and an important part of its tourism and commercial future.”

Rydges to manage Fremantle’s Esplanade Rydges Hotels and Resorts have been appointed by Primewest to manage the 300 room Esplanade Hotel in Fremantle, Western Australia.

The hotel is now set to undergo a refurb, which will include the introduction of Rydges Dream Beds throughout the hotel, an upgrade of wi-fi services and a renewed food and beverage offering.

“We will be working hard to keep the best elements of the hotel, as well as adding some modern touches to make guests’ experiences even better,” said the hotel’s new general manager, David Bornmann.

Refurb for Mercure Grosvenor Hotel Adelaide Mercure Grosvenor Hotel Adelaide has completed a multi-million dollar refurbishment of its 181 4-star accommodation rooms. The refurb

included new bathrooms with sleek white interiors and chrome fixtures, leather desk chairs, LCD TVs and iPod docks.

Hotel general manager Ben Patten said that the hotel had been a landmark property for many famous names including royalty and prime ministers over its 93 year history.

“We have made considerable changes to uplift the style and functionality of the rooms which we hope will attract even more people to the hotel for business and leisure,” he said. “It’s really remarkable to see the ongoing transformation of Adelaide take place around the hotel and we’re really excited to be a part of creating a vibrant new city.”

Upgrade at Ayana Resort and Spa Ayana Resort and Spa in Bali has announced an upgrade to its meeting and event facilities. The Ballroom has been extended by 45 per cent to 846sqm, with capacity for up to 900 standing.

The extended Ballroom opens onto a large private garden that provides an additional venue for outdoor events under the stars.

“Being named the country’s best Business Tourism destination is an incredible accolade and testament to the unique product we offer,” said Julie Ford, Hamilton Island’s business tourism manager.

“Our island location right on the doorstep of the Great Barrier Reef allows us to provide an ‘offshore’ experience at a domestic location.”

Whitsundays Marketing and Development Limited CEO Danial Rochford said the awards were a “huge recognition of the very healthy and innovative tourism industry we have in the Whitsundays”.

“These awards reflect the hard work of these operators and their teams and we hope this great reward will put the Whitsundays region in the spotlight on the national and world tourism stage,” Rochford said.

Around the garden are six new break-out rooms, including a 150-person Classroom fitted with the latest touchscreen conferencing equipment, state of the art audio-visual systems and mezzanine translation room. Other rooms include three additional meeting rooms each catering for

rosehill gardens

Delivering award winning events With over 30,000m2 of flexible, indoor and outdoor space for gala dinners, conferences and large scale exhibitions and events, Rosehill Gardens really is the event planners’ venue of choice.

www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 35

p co a sso c i a ti o n

Going paperless Doing away with paper in the work place not only reduces clutter, but can also increase productivity, writes Matt Hnatojko.

“Going Paperless” is a poorly defined term adopted by businesses to reduce the amount of paper consumed and discarded from the workplace. Reducing the amount of paper in your office will not only save costs but, more importantly, can improve your productivity. Going paperless will save you money on costly office toner, ink and paper. It also means less transportation, fewer chemical bi-products in the production of toner and less material going to landfill.

So why go paperless?

The single, most obvious reason to go paperless is to reduce clutter. Reducing clutter from your desk not only looks good but it has a positive impact on your mind allowing you to focus on the task at hand without distractions. The reduction of clutter means a reduction of paper consumption and waste, so you are also doing your bit for the environment. One tree yields approximately 8333 sheets of paper (16.67 reams) which means 10 people reducing paper usage by five pages per day will save one and a half trees per year.

Going paperless also keeps your data and information safe by providing you with better protection and security. By digitising your documents, you can securely store them and grant access to only authorised readers, removing the concern of a confidential paperwork falling into the wrong hands.

These secure document storage solutions also provide you with peace of mind knowing your

documents are being backed up (at regular intervals, and it doesn’t forget). If your computer “dies” the day of the important meeting or the day before an event – you can still access all of your files.

How do you go paperless?

Start by allocating some time to organise your piles of paperwork. Divide them between events, years and other subjects you may refer back too. At this point you should be shredding any surplus material – but also remember, the physical cost of keeping a document digitised is significantly less than storing paper.

The next step in going paperless is the cumbersome task of digitising the paperwork.

Using your scanner you can scan and file the documents into appropriately named folders.

The folder structure is up to you, but use a naming convention that you are familiar with. If you don’t have a scanner or are looking to invest, you can’t go past using a mobile scanner such as Doxi (www.getdoxie.com).

Now, where to put it?

Scanning all your documents is one thing but the benefits are in securely storing the documents and accessing them on any of your devices (laptop, tablet, phone), from anywhere (home, work, overseas). There are countless services available that are free or minimal cost

PCO CONFERENCE

2013

subscriptions, for example, Dropbox, Google Drive, Office 365 or Box. Most of these services have synchronisation tools to make files available on all your devices, and you don’t have to be connected to the internet.

At Jomablue we pride ourselves on our paperless office. We even try to reduce the amount of email we send by giving our clients access to an event portal (read more at http:// bit.ly/no-paper). Internet filing services also offer functionality that allows you to send a link to a file to save you emailing copies to people.

Now that you’re paperless, don’t stop Once you have digitised all your paperwork don’t stop there. Try to keep your desk clear of paperwork by using digital versions of paper where you can. In many meetings these days it is acceptable to take a laptop, tablet or other electronic device to take down your meeting notes. Use this opportunity to enter the notes directly into your file archive (where you store all of your scanned documents). This saves you re-typing the handwritten notes once you finish the meeting. Some great note taking applications that you can download right now include Microsoft OneNote, Evernote and SpringPad. Finally, register your business at www.paperless2013.org. ● Matt Hnatojko is project manager at Jomablue and a consultant to the PCO Association.

BUSINESS EVENTS: NEW WORLD MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 28TH – 30TH NOVEMBER 2013 PULLMAN MELBOURNE, ALBERT PARK

VISIT THE CONFERENCE WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS

www.pco.asn.au T 07 5502 2068 E conference@pco.asn.au

36 Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 www.cimmagazine.com

Five tips to maximising engagement on Facebook Facebook is revolutionising the way businesses engage with customers, but not all Facebook pages are created equally.

Social media advisor Selina Power gives her top tips for maximising engagement.

1. Have a dynamic Facebook cover photo There are two ways you can use your cover photo: promotion and identification. Promotion means product or event advertisement.

Remember this is sellable space that looks like a billboard. Want to access someone else’s Facebook followers? Why not advertise on their cover photo? Identification is all about brand recognition. The Coca Cola page does this very well – their company logo appears nine times in the cover photo.

2. Take time to say thank you Your community are on your social media journey with you so celebrate the little wins, for example reaching 100 fans or hitting milestones. You can say thank you to your fans by either recognising a fan every week or month based on their activity on your page.

This will draw a crowd and soon they’ll all be joining the community and entering the lead nurturing process. Don’t forget to also treat your community like a potential leads; give them access to VIP services whenever you can.

3. It is all about the timing What is the use of spending all that time creating smart Facebook content when you’re fans or leads aren’t there? Start looking at the “people who saw this” number under your published Facebook updates. Test specific times of the day to post your content and review whether these times are working for you by keeping an eye on that number.

4. Become a story teller It is the stories we tell about how we got

PCO Association NEWS Are you using an accredited conference manager?

Industry accreditation not only provides a set of standards recognised as the minimum standard level of service and business practice, but also provides clients with an assurance that their conference manager is committed to the highest quality event management practices, consistency and reliability.

The PCO Association’s Accreditation program for individuals and companies is based on a combination of qualitative and quantitative assessments of industry experience, qualifications, and quality of delivery.

In recognition of conference and event managers who have over seven years experience, the PCO Association offers Accreditation via the Recognition of Prior Knowledge program. The criteria for conference managers with a minimum of three years experience includes a combination of educational qualifications, industry experience and service delivery.

The PCO Association now has over 100 Certified Event Managers and 15 Certified Event Companies throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Full details of the PCO Association’s Accreditation Programs can be found on the PCO website.

Business partner program Due to demand from our members and industry suppliers, the PCO Association’s Business Partner program has been launched. This provides PCOs with a quick connection with web links to suppliers dedicated to our industry – make sure you check out the new webpage.

PCO National Conference 2013 The 2013 PCO National Conference will be held at Pullman Melbourne Albert Park from Thursday November 28 to Saturday November 30.

The theme of the conference – “Business events: new world management strategies’ – will include a program addressing the challenges and opportunities, trends and issues currently facing our industry – from new government

to where we are that matter and not the destination. What is your story? Or is there a story you can follow over a couple of updates?

Can you build anticipation and excitement?

You can do this for the launch of a new product or event. Leave followers on the edge of their seats wanting more.

5. Learn the art of “news-jacking” “News-jacking” is a wonderful term coined by David Meerman Scott, which means picking up the latest news stories and hot topics and post these to your wall. Your community will realise they can come to you for the latest info on particular subjects. This does take a while to get a hang of though, so be patient and keep at it. ● Selina Power is a social media advisor and a consultant to the PCO Association.

legislation, the rising expectations of conference stakeholders, delivering best outcomes in an environment of ever-changing technology, and the impact of globalisation and the web.

We are at the dawn of a new era, requiring a broad range of communication tools and management skills to connect with a diverse demographic. The conference program will examine improved ways of applying the skills we already have in our project management collection and explore what is required to take advantage of the changes to the business world in which we operate.

Conference & event insurance Our business partner, H2 Conference & Exhibition Insurance provides very competitive quotes for conferences, events, and exhibitions.

For information regarding insurance, contact Nicholas Jobling or Jason Holmes on (07) 3123 6919 or www.h2is.com.au/conference.

PCOnline Wine Don’t forget to check out the PCOnline Wine Club specials on the PCO website in the “Service” section.

For more information, visit www.pco.asn.au www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 37

meeting people Alison Widders has recently been appointed business development manager for Spicers Retreats, Hotels and Lodges. In this role she will be responsible for finding new business opportunities for the group as well as maintaining business relationships with the NSW and ACT markets. Most recently she worked as business development manager for Tourism Portfolio and prior to this was national account manager (MICE) for Mantra Group.

Worldhotels has appointed Jan Whiteside as groups desk executive, Australia and New Zealand.

In this role she will look after PCOs, event planners, buyers and corporate events teams and be the main point of contact for business events. Prior to this, she held positions at Christchurch and Canterbury Convention Bureau and Millennium Hotels and Resorts.

Jade Seskis has recently been appointed event manager for event company Octagon.

She has most recently worked for InFront Events Australia as a conference and event manager before being promoted to special projects.

MCI Australia has recently made two new appointments. Lynn Fairbrass has been appointed director association relations, a role which will see her head up MCI’s entire PCO and association relations portfolio. She has 25 years of international business events experience including senior roles at Northern Territory Convention Bureau, Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Sydney Hilton. Another new appointment is Louise Harrison to the role of director association and corporate relations. She will be taking on association and corporate relations focusing on the Queensland market.

She also brings international

experience to the role, having held conference, incentive travel and event management positions in the UK and US. The Langham Hospitality Group has announced the appointment of Sonia Lefevre as general manager of The Langham Sydney. She has 14 years experience in the hotel industry with a strong background in sales, having held sales and marketing positions in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. Prior to this position she was hotel manager of The Langham Hong Kong where she helped established the property as an international luxury hotel.

Tourism Fiji has announced the appointment of Rick Hamilton as its new chief executive. He brings to the role more than 17 years experience in the travel industry, most recently as managing director of Flight Centre New Zealand.

O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat on Queensland’s Gold Coast has appointed Ella Jones as their new business development manager. She joins the corporate sales team with more than eight years experience in the tourism industry. In her new role she will continue to develop the conference sector for the O’Reilly’s brand.

Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise has recently appointed Abbey Madden to the role of director of sales and marketing.

She has more than 15 years experience in hotel sales, 10 of which were spent working for IHG in the UK. In her new role she will lead the sales team and be responsible for all marketing and developing strategy across all the hotel managed market segments.

James Cowan has been appointed regional manager Wellington for exhibition company Displayways.

In this newly created role he will be responsible for managing and developing the Wellington branch.

He has nine years of industry experience with previous positions including director of sales and marketing at Amora.

Ruth Mackenzie-White has been appointed event manager for Dunedin Venues in New Zealand.

She has experience in media, marketing and communications.

Hilton Hotels and Resorts has announced the appointment of Roger Brantsma as general manager of Hilton Auckland and Hilton Lake Taupo.

He has been with Hilton Worldwide for more than 17 years, having worked in The Netherlands, the Middle East and South East Asia.

In 2009 he was appointed director of operations for Hilton Sydney and in 2011 was promoted to general manager of Hilton Chennai in India.

Rod Kamleshwaran has recently joined GainingEdge to fill the chief operating officer role. He has a more than 20 years experience in a variety of senior finance roles in hospitality, business events and the corporate sector. He spent six years working for InterContinental Hotel Group as regional chief financial officer for Australasia and has also held the same position at Melbourne Convention Bureau.

InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort and Spa has announced the appointment of David Pearson as their new conference and event manager. He has previously been business development manager for several Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels in the Northern Territory. In his new position he will be responsible for cultivating relationships and developing new business with the conference and incentive side of the resort.

Exhibition Park in Canberra has welcomed Matthew Sutherland to the position of senior venue operations manager. He has a strong background in the events industry having held roles in

38 Convention & Incentive Marketing, March 2013 www.cimmagazine.com

government, public and private entities and venue and event management. Most recently he was event and operations manager for Hunter Venues in Canberra.

Amanda Elder has been appointed director of sales and marketing for the Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort and Spa and Brisbane Marriott Hotel.

She brings to the new role 24 years of experience at Starwood Hotels and Resorts in Australia, Asia and Europe. Most recently she held the position of vice president sales for Europe, Africa and Middle East while she was based in Brussels.

She began her career on the Gold Coast with Starwood hotels in various positions including regional director of sales and marketing Australia Pacific. She was regional director of marketing South East Asia before taking on the role of general manager for the St. Regis Hotel in Shanghai.

Crowne Plaza Queenstown has made two new appointments to its management team. Kylie Walker (pictured) joins the team as sales and marketing manager, bringing with her 20 years of experience in sales, marketing and tourism. Prior to this she was the Queenstown manager for Air New Zealand Holidays. Her other previous positions include regional development manager for Tourism Exchange and international sales manager for Millbrook Resort. Lisa Ellerton has been promoted to the role of Crowne meetings director.

She joined Crowne in 2007 as a food and beverage attendant and has worked her way up.

Karl Evans has been appointed general manager of Captain Cook Cruises in Fiji. He brings to the role a wealth of experience in the industry, having held tourism and hospitality roles in Fiji, New Zealand, Tonga and Samoa.

26-29 APPEA Conference, NC, BCEC, Brisbane; www.appeaconference.com.au 26-29 Royal Australasian College of Physicians Congress, NC, PCEC, Perth; www.racpcongress2013.com.au 26-30 Royal Aust& NZ College of Psychiatrists Congress, IC, SCEC, Sydney; www.ranzcp2013.com 29 The Events Event, IE, Aberdeen, UK; www.theeventsevent.com June 2013

IE 10,000, Shanghai; www.wineworldshanghai.com 7-9 OzWater, NC, PCEC, Perth; www.ozwater.org 7-9 SemiCon Singapore, IE, Singapore; www.semiconsingapore.org 7-9 SIAL China, IE, 45,000, Shanghai; www.sialchina.com 7-10 AusTech, NE, MCEC, Melbourne; www.austechexpo.com.au 8-10 Design Build, NE, SCEC, Sydney; www.designbuildexpo.com.au 13 eHealth Week Conference, IC, Dublin; www.wtg.ie 14-17 Alzheimer’s National Conference, NC, Hobart; www.alzheimers2013.com 16-19 Brisbane Truck Show, NE, BCEC, Brisbane; www.brisbanetruckshow.com.au 16-19 Sydney Home Show, LE, Sydney; www.sydneyhomeshow.com.au 18-26 Int. Conf. on Software Engineering, IC, San Francisco; www.2013.icse-conferences.org 20-23 AustMine, IB, PCEC, Perth; www.austmine2013.com 23-25 AusVeg, NB 1000, ACC, Adelaide; www.ausveg.com.au 23-25 Dietitians Assoc. of Aust.

National Conf, NC, Canberra; www.arinex.com.au/dietitians2013

3-6 Int. Luxury Travel Market, IE, Shanghai; www.iltm.net 4-6 Renewable Energy World, IB, Vienna; www. renewableenergyworld-europe.com 4-6 Top Wine China, IE 7295, Beijing; www.topwinechina.com 4-7 European Congress, IC, Dublin; www.itsineurope.com 5-6 Total Facilities, NB, SCEC, Sydney; www.totalfacilities.com.au 5-6 ARCS Australia Conference, NC, SCEC, Sydney; www.arcsconferences.com 5-6 Water Industry Operations, NC, Gold Coast; www.wioa.org.au 7-10 Mind Body Spirit Show, NE, MCEC, Melbourne; www.mbsfestival.com.au 8-10 Hair Expo, NE, SCEC, Sydney; www.hairexpoaustralia.com 12-15 Int. Liver Transplant Society, IC, SCEC, Sydney; www.2013.ilts.org 18-20 Int. Trade Show & Conference for Theatre, Film & Event, IB, Berlin; www.showtech.de 19-20 Happiness and its Causes, IC, Melbourne; www. happinessanditscauses.com.au 21-23 NSW Pharmacy Convention, BC, SCEC, Sydney; www. guildpharmacyacademy-nce.com.au 24-26 British International Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, IC, ACC Liverpool, Liverpool; www.rcog.org.uk 26-27 Smart Conference, NB, SCEC, Sydney; www.smartconference.com.au 28-30 Mind Body Spirit Show, NE, Brisbane; www.mbsfestival.com.au 29-July 2 European Cytogenetics Conference, IC, Dublin; www.e-c-a.eu 28-July 7 Australian International Motor Show, IE, MCEC, Melbourne; www.motorshow.com.au

CHINA Beijing – +86 10 6588 8155 ext. 613 Mobile +86 1391 077 5351 Song Yang, Publicitas (Beijing) Advertising Co. Ltd, Tower A, Room 808, 8/F, Fulllink Plaza, No.18 Chaoyangmenwai Avenue, Beijing, 100020, P.R. China Fax: +86 10 6588 3110 Email: song.yang@publicitas.com.cn

HONG KONG, MACAU Mobile +85 2 9370 0706 Rana Rizvi; Email: rrizvi@publicitas.com Mariam Wang Publicitas Hong Kong Ltd; Mobile +85 2 9433 1702 Mariam Wang; Email: mwang@publicitas.com Mariam Wang Publicitas Hong Kong Ltd, 26/f Two Chinachem Exchange Square, 338 King’s Road, North Point, Hong Kong

The Smart Conference will be held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in June.

KEY: L, Local; N, National; I, International; C, Conference; E, Exhibition; B, Both. Figures are of expected attendance. Contact details are included where available.

April 2013 1-3 Hotelex + Design & Deco, IE 100,000, Shangai; www.hddshow.com 4-7 Melbourne Home Show, LE, Melbourne; www.hiahomeshow.com.au 7-8 Natural & Organic Products Europe, IE, London; www.naturalproducts.co.uk 7-9 Organic Food Industry Expo, IE, Beijing; www.gnfexpo.com.cn 9-11 Building Regional Australia Summit, NC, Armidale; www. buildingregionalaustralia.org.au 9-12 Australian Institute of Training & Development, NC, Melbourne; www.aitd.com.au 10-11 Water Industry Operations, NC, Canberra; www.wioa.org.au 11-13 Australian Auto Aftermarket Expo, NE, Sydney; www.aftermarketexpo.com.au 12-14 International Conference on Herbal Medicine, IC, Melbourne; www.nhaa.org.au 13-16 Urological Society of Australia & New Zealand, IC, Melbourne; www.usanz2013.com 14-15 Salon Melbourne, LE, MCEC, Melbourne; www.salonmelbourne.com.au 14-16 Fine Food WA, LE, PCEC, Perth; www.finefoodwesternaustralia.com.au

16-18 Sustainability Live, IE, Birmingham; www.sustainabilitylive.com 17-19 Incentive Travel & Conventions Meetings China, IE, Shanghai; www.itcmchina.com 17-19 ANZA Workshop, IC 500, BCEC, Brisbane; www.icef.com/workshops 19-20 Fitness & Health Expo, IE, SCEC, Sydney; www.fitnessexpo.com.au 21-23 International Associations Congress, IE 400, Portugal; www.associationcongress.com/ie 21-29 Auto Shanghai, IE, Shanghai; www.autoshanghai.auto-fairs.com 30-May 1 Clubs & Hotels Australia, NE, Melbourne; www. clubsandhotels.com.au 30-May 2 Waste Conference 2013, NC, Coffs Harbour; www. impactenviro.com.au/waste2013 30-May 2 Africa Mining Conference, IC, Perth; www.africamining.com.au May 2013 1-3 MedTec, IE, London; www.medtecukshow.com 4-8 Aust & NZ College of Anaesthetists Meeting, IC, MCEC, Melbourne; www.anzca2013.com 7-9 Wine World Shanghai,

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