Print Post Approved PP100008072
DEC 2015/JAN 2016
New chapter for Perth Adelaide hosts Dreamtime 2015 Sell TNQ impresses
Exceptional experiences Pan Pacific Hotels Group
is a great listener. Like a great cup of tea she soothes away the stresses knowing that the little intricacies create the biggest impressions. Our teams’ passion for detail and exceptional service is what we excel in, it’s also what keeps our clients coming back.
For all your event requirements, contact us today
CONTENTS
On the cover
12 REGULARS
30
04 Publisher’s word 06 News
FEATURES
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, BCEC
33 Q&A Karen Bolinger, Melbourne
12 Tropical North Queensland Selling paradise at Sell TNQ
Convention Bureau
34 Venue update
18 Industry report Looking beyond the industry
36 Profile Jenifer Dwyer Slee, National
10 Cover story Pan Pacific Hotels Group
20 Dreamtime 2015 Adelaide turns on the charm
Convention Centre
37 Meeting people
24 Team building XVenture leads from the front
38 PCO Association
18
25 Incentives The story behind BridgeClimb Sydney
Print Post Approved PP100008072
NOV 2015
32 Event report The International Forum for
Singapore’s Pan Pacific Hotels Group has recently launched a new meetings campaign, with a commitment designed to create an exceptional experience for meeting planners.
Dubai gets smart Adelaide on repeat for delegates Deconstructing events eight page pull-out CIM1115.indd 1
A world of difference Village Roadshow Theme Parks
25/11/2015 4:11 pm
To ensure you never miss out there are now more ways to enjoy CIM. As well as the monthly magazine, CIM is also available online and through the Issuu app, which is packed with exclusive extras.
Don’t miss
26 Boutique hotels Breaking the mould 28 Vietnam On the rise 30 Perth A new chapter
Look out for these topical news-based video stories at www.cimmagazine.com to delve deeper into the issues behind the print stories.
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 3
PUBLISHER’S WORD
An app for all seasons A
s always we are fine tuning our products, taking on board feedback and looking at ways to improve the overall experience for our readers. We were industry leaders when we introduced our CIM iPad app in 2010, but as is often the way with technology there are now more efficient ways of both reading and viewing all the stories. All the stories along with their accompanying videos and images are now easily available for free through the Issuu app, which is both Android and Apple compatible. The Issuu app also means that if you are reading lots of magazines they are all in the one app. But we are also in the Apple News app which aggregates content from our website, again in one handy app for viewing multiple media channels. Finally you can also access our e-magazine via the CIM website, which again has links to all the great extras. So many great ways to enjoy CIM.
Published in Australia by Creative Head Media Pty Ltd Suite 202, 80-84 Chandos Street, St Leonards 2065 P.O. Box 189, St Leonards 1590 ACN 147 436 280 ISSN 1039-1029 Website: www.cimmagazine.com
PUBLISHER Alexandra Yeomans GENERAL MANAGER Michelle Cullen MANAGING EDITOR Sheridan Randall JOURNALIST Anastasia Prikhodko DESIGN/PRODUCTION MANAGER Bin Zhou PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR Anne Esteban SALES & DIGITAL CO-ORDINATOR Grissel Ritchie ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT Kate Wilcox
HEAD OFFICE – SYDNEY +61 2 9438 2300 Creative Head Media Pty Ltd Fax: +61 2 9438 5962 Email: enquiries@creativehead.com.au
SUBSCRIPTIONS 1 yr $99; 2 yrs $174; 3 yrs $261 (inc. GST) Copyright © 2016 Creative Head Media Pty Ltd.
Alexandra Yeomans, Publisher
THIS MONTH’S TOP STORY Adelaide was the host city for Dreamtime 2015, with the city turning it on in spades to show 95 international buyers what makes South Australia so special. See the full story on page 20.
4 Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 www.cimmagazine.com
Opinions expressed by the contributors in this magazine are not the opinion of CIM. Letters to the editor are subject to editing.
Nielsen Media Research July 2004 Readership 57,936 monthly Exclusive official publication for the PCO Association
AMAA, CAB Total Distribution Audit 16,356 September 2015
DARWIN CONVENTION CENTRE
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INDUSTRY NEWS NEWS BRIEFS Museums get Fresh Sydney-based Fresh Catering will take over as exclusive venue caterer and operator at The Mint and Justice & Police Museum in Sydney from January 1, 2016. Fresh will also conduct all functions and events business at The Mint and Justice & Police Museum.
Tourism boost for Regional NSW NSW regional tourism businesses in Mudgee, Port Stephens, the Hunter and Parkes will benefit from more than $600,000 after successfully applying for NSW Government funding from the Regional Visitor Economy Fund.
Noosa Food & Wine back for 2016 with fresh approach The Noosa Food & Wine Festival is returning in 2016 with support from Tourism and Events Queensland and Tourism Noosa. The long running festival ran into trouble last year when the company that owned the rights to the festival, owned by restaurateur Jim Berardo, went into voluntary administration. Berardo won the rights to helm the Festival again, with festival director Alesha
Tamworth saddles up for international equine event The 20th American Quarter Horse Association International Youth World Cup, hosted by the Australian Quarter Horse Association, will be held in Tamworth next year, attracting emerging equestrian riders from around the world to the Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre.
AIME partners with PCMA The Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo has partnered with the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) offering Hosted Buyers unprecedented education sessions at AIME 2016. Sherrif Karamat, chief operating officer at PCMA, will give the opening keynote presentation.
“We will deliver a fresh program that celebrates the talent and enterprise of Noosa’s chefs, restaurateurs and producers and bring them together with Australia’s leading culinary talent and wine makers,” she said. Chefs including the likes of Ben O’Donoghue, Pete Evans, Adriano Zumbo, Massimo Mele, David Rayner, Shane Bailey, Peter Kuruvita, David Pugh, Matt Golinski and James Viles are headlining this year’s event. “I will be participating in a range of events over the weekend from a Paleo Discussion Q&A, to a co-hosted dinner on Noosa Main Beach as well as having a bit of fun on Sunday morning with the Chefs vs Surfers breakfast,” said Evans.
MCEC reveals Open Space 2016 speakers Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s (MCEC) industry event Open Space has revealed its two speakers for 2016. Net-A-Porter co-founder Megan Quinn and Australian criminal and human rights lawyer Rabia Siddique will headline the free annual event on Thursday, February 25, 2016.
Gooderham saying it is a “new chapter for the Noosa Food & Wine event”.
“The new approach to the Festival embodies the best of food, wine and lifestyle and I am looking forward to being a part of this.” The Festival will be held on May 19-22, 2016.
AACB welcomes National Innovation & Science Agenda The National Innovation and Science Agenda is a crucial step in Australia’s transformation into a knowledge economy, says the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux (AACB). Welcoming the initiatives under the program, AACB chief executive Andrew Hiebl said meetings and exhibitions were at the heart of the ideas boom. “Wherever fine minds meet, ideas are exchanged and business is done,” he said. “Whether a major convention, conference or seminar, meetings are where knowledge happens. “If we are to foster innovation in the industries of tomorrow, the business events sector stands as a partner with the federal government to help make meetings of minds. “The next wave of industries, from biotechnology and medicine to advanced manufacturing and information technology
6 Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 www.cimmagazine.com
relies on the exchange of ideas.” In a 2014 report on the economic and strategic value of Australia’s international business events sector, Deloitte Access Economics found that: “The business events sector also augments economic activity well beyond directly-measurable metrics, underpinning knowledge creation and exchange, innovation and investment”. “The federal government has already recognised the significant trade and investment potential that the business events sector brings Australia through the release earlier this year by trade minister Andrew Robb of the Austrade and Tourism Australia joint Attracting Business Events to Australia framework,” he added. “What we see in this week’s $1.1b National Science and Innovation Agenda is further recognition of science, technology and medicine as drivers of real economic growth into the future”.
Industry mourns the loss of a legend
Online fraud alert
Legendary event producer and creative director David Grant passed away at his home on December 13 aged only 55 after losing his battle with a brain tumour diagnosed early in the year.
Following complaints from members, the PCO Association has begun collecting evidence of misleading and fraudulent websites that target existing conferences, and will be seeking advice from its legal advisors on how to protect the interests of event managers and convenors.
Grant has been hailed as one of Australia’s greatest event producers internationally and at home, with nine of the 11 Cointreau Balls, 10 consecutive Summer and Winter Olympics, Australia Days and President Clinton’s official visit to Sydney in 1996 among his achievements. He was first to illuminate an Australian city when he lit nine buildings blue including the Opera House, Harbour Bridge and Centrepoint Tower for a perfume launch in 1990. Grant won more than 35 industry awards including Meeting and Events Australia’s “Australian Event Organiser of the Year” a record 10 times and he was made a member of the Order of Australia in 2005. He was also honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award at last year’s Australian Events Awards.
One of the sites of particular interest is “10Times” which publishes details of conferences, without the convenor’s permission. All the form data collected on these sites, to attend or exhibit, is directed to 10Times. The sites are nothing more than data traps designed to collect delegate and attendance profile details from legitimate conferences. There is another alarming trend involving the publication of exact copies of authentic conference websites. Jodie Parker, managing director of Iceberg Events, recently had a fake copy site use all of the text, logos, and speaker photos from an Iceberg client’s event website. It appeared on EventBrite with a registration fee of $0.00 (the real event registration fee was $880). “It took some time to have the fake site removed – EventBrite wanted us to provide substantial documentation in order to make sure the event was actually ours,” said Parker.
Cellar Door Wine Festival rebrand
“They also publish the details of people they claim are attending, in my experience the published data is fictitious”. The PCO Association will be seeking the support of collegiate organisations in Europe, USA, UK and Asia to target web based organisations who set out to mislead and misrepresent the IP of others in the sector.
MONA’s next big gamble
The extension plans include a $150 million casino development designed by Mexican architect Javier Senosiain, to be called Monaco, and a new hotel (HoMo) designed by Nonda Katsilidis, with the new development set to dwarf the existing building.
Wineries will feature as strongly as ever with more than 150 wineries from 15 regions to offer free tastings. The wineries will sit alongside food producers, micro-breweries and other niche producers, all under one roof at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
“We’ve evolved the Festival this year to recognise that it’s not only wineries that have cellar doors but also cheesemakers,
AST Management had over 12 conferences they manage appear on 10Times this year, when contacted by AST the sites were removed, only to appear again later. “These fake sites are trying to collect our delegate data, sell delegates accommodation at venues they have linked to on Booking. com, have booking tabs for exhibitors and delegates that only provide 10Times the information submitted,” said Sarah Jones, from AST,
The founder of Hobart’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), David Walsh, is rolling the dice again with plans to add a casino to the world renowned art gallery.
South Australia’s Cellar Door Wine Festival has rebranded as the Cellar Door Fest, with new features including a Long Table Dinner (part of the Long Table Dining Series), newly created master classes, and the Cellar Door Fest Beer Garden.
Alec Gilbert, Adelaide Convention Centre CEO, said the Cellar Door Fest is a celebration of the best South Australian producers with more than 50 featured at the Festival for the first time.
“EventBrite eventually agreed to contact those who had registered for the conference on the fake website, advise delegates that the site was false and redirect them to the real site. They refused, however, to pass on details of people who had registered, or even advise us of how many people that might be. We were concerned that we would have delegates arriving on site who thought they had registered – but thankfully, this didn’t happen.”
chocolatiers, smallgoods producers and even some primary producers,” he said. “For producers without a cellar door or direct shopfront then the Festival can be even more valuable because it provides a unique opportunity to offer product samples and educate and inform potential new customers.”
Walsh says he wants to lure high rollers “from countries far, far away” with plenty of cash, “for whom a loss of $100,000 or $1 million is barely a blip on the radar.” While he waits for government approval for his new plans, he intends to carry on with the $21 million Turrell Pavilion, an extension of the museum that will house works by American light artist James Turrell.
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 7
NZ NEWS
Work begins on New Zealand International Convention Centre SKYCITY Entertainment Group and its construction partner Fletcher Construction have begun the first phase of work on the NZ$700 million New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC), formally kicking off the 38-month building project. The demolition project is the first phase of what is one of the largest construction projects in downtown Auckland since the Sky Tower was built in 1997. “This is a day many in the travel, tourism, and conventions industry have waited many years for,” said SKYCITY CEO Nigel Morrison. “New Zealand has been in desperate
Wellington’s new convention centre plan a blockbuster News that Wellington is to build a combined convention centre and movie museum has been welcomed by Convention and Incentives New Zealand (CINZ). CINZ chief executive Sue Sullivan says Wellington’s new convention centre will be an enormous boost to New Zealand’s reputation as a conference destination. A company formed by Wellington-based international filmmakers Sir Peter Jackson and Sir Richard Taylor will run the museum which will feature many props from their considerable collections. “We congratulate the visionaries behind this – Sir Peter Jackson, Sir Richard Taylor and Wellington City Council – for recognising this opportunity and setting their sights on a stunning, world-class facility,” Sullivan said.
need of a high-quality, national convention centre that will bring more high-spending international visitors here and pump millions of dollars into the economy. “For SKYCITY, this represents a $700 million investment in the future of our business in the city of Auckland and New Zealand’s tourism industry.” The NZICC will be the largest purpose-build convention centre in the country, capable of hosting conventions of around 3000 people, or one-off events of up to 4000 people on the exhibition floor. It will also be able to host multiple events at the same time.
Busiest season of conferences on record for Wellington The last two months of 2015 has been the busiest season of conferences for Positively Wellington Venues, hosting over 3400 delegates and 420 trade exhibitors at the TSB Bank Arena and Convention Centre (Shed 6) along with other venues around town. “It is both great for our business and for the wider Wellington economy that we have delivered our best conference season ever,” said Glenys Coughlan, PWV chief executive. “We’re particularly pleased that the Wellington City Council’s investment in the refit of Shed 6 is paying off for everyone. By adding Shed 6 to our portfolio of venues we have been able to attract bigger high value business events to the city.”
Plans for the building, opposite Te Papa Museum on the Wellington waterfront, will include a convention centre with exhibition space and six meetings rooms capable of hosting 1100 people for full format conventions and 2250 theatre style. “This purpose-built convention facility, configured to meet modern and future needs and expectations, promises huge benefits for the city and the country,” she said. 8 Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 www.cimmagazine.com
The “six week season of success” meant for some fast overnight turnarounds across the venues as delegates and trade exhibitors assembled for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists Congress, Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa Conference, United Fire Brigades Association of New Zealand Conference, Tourism Industry Association New Zealand National Tourism Summit, New Zealand Defence Industry Association Conference, Australia and New Zealand School of Government Conference, and helloworld’s Owner Managers Summit. 2016 is shaping up to be just as busy. Webstock has confirmed holding its 10th conference in Wellington and PWV have also recently won the rights to host two of the education sectors leading conferences – Positive Behaviour for Learning Conference Trust and the New Zealand School Trustees Association in 2016. In November the 4th World Congress on Integrated Care will be held at the TSB Bank Arena and Convention Centre (Shed 6).
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
ICCA partners with FIEXPO The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and FIEXPO have signed the first ICCA regional Association Relations Partnership agreement at last month’s ibtm world in Barcelona. This newly launched collaborative programme is designed to help ICCA deliver an ambitious programme of new activities and online services that will strengthen its relationship with international associations, including hosting some of their top executives and meeting directors at the annual ICCA Congress. At the same time, this partnership model allows ICCA tradeshow and destination marketing members in all regions worldwide to strengthen their own ties and increase their profile with the international association community. “We’re delighted to be working with FIEXPO on this new programme, which deepens the already strong relationship that saw them receive the ‘ICCA Supported Show’ designation in 2014,” said ICCA CEO Martin Sirk.
“I have no doubt that FIEXPO’s association education and advocacy programmes will go from strength to strength, and FIEXPO’s support will contribute towards key improvements to our flagship ICCA Congress when it takes place in Kuching, Malaysia in November 2016.” FIEXPO director Arnaldo Nardone said the partnership reflected its long-term strategic support for ICCA and its commitment to support the Latin American association meetings community. “Our innovative Politicians’ Forum is spreading the message about why international association meetings are so important for economic development in Latin America, and our education programme is helping meetings industry suppliers to understand not only how to bid for these events, but also how to help these association achieve their strategic objectives,” he said. “Working with ICCA to improve these aspects of FIEXPO is a great opportunity.”
Korea looks ahead to busy 2016 Korea has secured hosting rights for seven major international congresses, set to bring 22,800 delegates to the country between 2017 and 2021. A further 40,000 visitors will be welcomed in 2016 as part of nine corporate incentive tours to the country from corporate groups including China Headline News, Herbalife, Kang Ting Cosmetics, McDonalds, and Prudential. “Throughout the past year, we’ve made it our mission to extend Korea’s message of welcome to the entire world, and we’re pleased to report that many have accepted that invitation” said Min Hong Min, Korea Tourism Organization executive vice president for international tourism. “We will of course continue in our efforts to send that message across the globe: that Korea is both a highly-capable MICE destination for all kinds of events, as well as a fun and dynamic place where there is something for everyone.”
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 9
COVER STORY
Parkroyal Darling Harbour, Sydney. Front cover image: Pan Pacific Singapore.
Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG) boasts a collection of hotels and resorts here in Australia as well as Asia and North America under two acclaimed brands – Pan Pacific Hotels and Resorts and Parkroyal Hotels & Resorts. Utilising the wealth of knowledge and experience of a well-trained team of meeting professionals based at the hotels, PPHG promises that every event will be handled from start to finish by a
PPHG offers a superior range of audio visual equipment to cater to the needs of every event. Whether it is an executive committee meeting or a large-scale company conference, the onsite technical support with a dedicated audio visual expert will relieve the organiser of undue stress in ensuring that the event runs smoothly. Recognising the increasing demand for customisable procedures to suit every requirement, PPHG has also implemented personalised billing for each event. The meeting planner can make their requests in advance and the hotel will prepare the customised bill within five working days of the event’s successful conclusion.
Exceptional meeting experiences Singapore’s Pan Pacific Hotels Group has recently launched a new meetings campaign, with a commitment designed to create an exceptional experience for meeting planners.
dedicated person throughout the planning and for the duration of the event. This will ensure peace of mind for the meeting planner who will be able to approach a single point of contact for every need and request. This process begins right from the outset, from negotiation of the contract to detailed site inspections, as well as dedicated IT support. The logistics of a meeting can be daunting, with so many areas to take into consideration. This is why PPHG will ensure that all relevant functions are briefed on the full details of each event. From the reservations department taking care of the guestroom bookings for a residential meeting to the banquet operations team overseeing the flow of the day’s programme, proper communication will ensure synergy for seamless planning and execution. The Group’s excellent culinary offerings will also be seen and felt throughout the event, led by a team of experienced chefs focused on impressing every meeting delegate.
With an extensive network of hotels across Asia Pacific – four of which are in Australia in Sydney, Parramatta, Melbourne and Perth – meeting planners will have no difficulty finding the perfect destination for their event. Whether it is a dynamic location for a corporate meeting or an idyllic setting for a company retreat, the versatile range of event venues will be sure to inspire. Book a Residential Meeting at any participating Pan Pacific or Parkroyal hotel before April 30, 2016, and enjoy a variety of exclusive privileges. The larger the meeting size, the greater the privileges. The meeting must be held by December 31, 2016. For more information visit www.pphg.com/meetings.
10 Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 www.cimmagazine.com
TROPICAL NORTH QUEENSLAND
Right: Fitzroy Island, Queensland. Below: Moore Reef Pontoon.
Local focus with global vision A destination where the sea meets the rainforest, Tropical North Queensland is rich in tales, culture and Aboriginal history and continues to entice local and international visitors, writes Anastasia Prikhodko.
Home to two World Heritage listed attractions, the Great Barrier Reef and Daintree Rainforest, along with tropical weather, major redevelopments and an array of dining precincts, Tropical North Queensland is a thriving destination. Rosie Douglas, the director of Business and Tourism events for Tourism Tropical North Queensland, says that although
the domestic market is still the dominant contributor of business, there has been strong growth in the international markets of New Zealand and North America. “The increased airline access from places such as New Zealand and North America and our exchange rate, combined with having a fantastic destination is certainly making
our business not only successful from a domestic level but also from an international level.”
destination has seen more growth from the business events sector.
Douglas also says that the additional flights from American Airlines, will further increase the association and incentive markets.
“The great thing about business events is that they are not necessarily subject to certain times of the year such as the leisure tourism,” says Douglas.
Since hosting the G20 Finance Leaders Summit in 2014, which “proved that we can host world class international events”, the
“Business events are vital to balancing out the visitation portfolio throughout the year and we really do target and
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Where to stay Cairns Situated on the waterfront, Hilton Cairns is only 10 minutes from Cairns Airport and is close to the Cairns Convention Centre, Reef Fleet Terminal and the shopping precinct. The hotel also has seven meeting rooms for up to 300 people. Shangri-La Hotel, the Marina is located on the waterfront of Cairns and offers 255 guestrooms and suites. The 5-star hotel has views of Trinity Bay, Marlin Marina and the mountain ranges and is an ideal conference venue with space for theatre-style meetings seating up to 330 people, a banquet for 220, and cocktails for 400. Pullman Reef Hotel Casino has 128 accommodation rooms and nine conference rooms. On the last night of Sell TNQ guests were treated to a dinner at the hotel’s Tamarind restaurant. The winning dishes were: Penang Duck Curry with caramelised pumpkin, roasted peanuts, chilli, coriander and the Snapper Fillet with cashew crust, prawn pasta, fennel, spiced red cabbage, vanilla bisque, edamame bean and seafood foam. Pullman Cairns International located in the CBD has 321 rooms and 17 meeting and events areas, from meeting rooms, ballrooms, pre-function areas, outdoor areas and undercover function spaces. The Lobby Bar is famous for their desserts and high tea, and was the finishing destination of the progressive dinner on the last night of Sell TNQ. Located on the waterfront, Pacific Hotel Cairns has 176 rooms and is only a two minute walk from Reef Fleet Terminal for trips to the Great Barrier Reef and a 12-minute walk from Cairns Convention Centre. The Pacific Conference and Events Centre, located within the hotel offers seven meeting rooms for a number of business events such as conferences, meetings, training, workshops and dinners. Port Douglas The QT Port Douglas is a quirky tropical resort with a relaxed Hampton’s feel. The QT has 70 resort rooms, along with one or two bedroom holiday apartment villas with garden or pool views. There is also conference space for up to 350 guests. Pullman Port Douglas Sea Temple Resort & Spa is located on Four Mile Beach, the resort features function space ranging from the Lagoon View Terrace, Lagoon Boardroom, Temple I & II rooms, Four Mile Room, AQUA Restaurant and the Sunrise Boardwalk. Peppers Beach Club is in the tropical village of Port Douglas, featuring spa suites, one, two and three bedroom suites with pools. The onsite restaurant Sublime Bar & Grill specialises in local reef and paddock produce. The private Reef Room caters for a range of functions while the Lagoon Terrace, suits intimate cocktail functions, outdoor training or lunch meetings. Palm Cove View the video on the CIM website.
Peppers Beach Club & Spa – Palm Cove is situated on a palm fringed beach with a coastal village atmosphere. The resort offers spa rooms, suites, penthouses with plunge pools and rainforest suites. The conference centre can be configured for a range of functions and groups up to 100 guests. The Coral & Rainforest Room can be divided into two separate rooms, and there is also a terraced garden breakout area. Alamanda Palm Cove by Lancemore offers a selection of 69 rooms, with balconies overlooking the Palm fringed beach of the Great Barrier Reef, the onsite Nu Nu Restaurant holds corporate cooking classes, where guests are treated to a cooking class with Nu Nu’s executive chef, Nick Holloway. Pullman Palm Cove Sea Temple Resort & Spa is close to the Cairns Tropical Zoo and Hartleys Crocodile Adventures. For conferencing, the resort features the new Garden Pavilion. Hotel Grand Chancellor Palm Cove contains four meeting rooms and a dedicated Conference & Events Centre, catering for up to 500 guests. The rooms range from a standard to a two bedroom superior room.
certainly do influence people to move events into those shoulder periods.” With easy access to the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics rainforest, Cairns is the gateway city for event planners and delegates and the first destination for the annual famil Sell TNQ. The award winning Cairns Convention Centre hosted
the welcome luncheon for the attendees, followed by a walk around of the Centre with Vania Bau, the director of client services. The Centre, a high achiever on an international scale, was the winner of the Business Event Venues Gold Award at the 2015 Queensland Tourism Awards and ranked number one for World's Best Congress Centres at the Association of
International Congress Centres AIPC Apex Awards in 2014. “The association market is our strong point, in particular the medical and environmental field,” says Ross Steele, general manager of the Centre. At the Prostate Cancer World Congress held in August, a robot camera beamed a live feed of surgery being conducted in the US to delegates at the Centre.
“The local doctors and the national and international doctors who were at the conference were able to exchange knowledge with their colleagues in the US,” he says. “Not only that but the doctors that were attending the conference went down to the exhibition where the exhibitor actually had one of those robots down there.
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 13
Right: Sell TNQ attendees heading onboard The Sunlover Reef Cruises.
Conferencing on the reef Sunlover Reef Cruises organised a day trip to Moore reef for Sell TNQ attendees who wanted to experience the Great Barrier Reef. After cruising for an hour the boat had arrived at the pontoon, where visitors could snorkel, take in the views from the underwater observatory and glass-bottom boat, along with a chance to try out the introductory dive or helmet dive and meet the local maori wasse – Wally. The day trip also consisted of a 10 minute scenic chopper ride overlooking the Great Barrier Reef, which was provided by Nautilus Aviation. This year will be a busy one for Sunlover Reef Cruises, who are in the process of increasing their activity options of pre and post packages, one being an overnight stay on the floating Moore Reef pontoon.
“It was a real knowledge transfer that went through to the business side of things as well, which is exactly what conferences are all about.”
Attendees were even taught traditional hunting techniques of spear and boomerang throwing under the guidance of a Tjapukai warrior.
boast having 58 hectares of privately owned land, 2km of beach access, 6km of private tracks and only 83 bungalows on property,” says Klindt.
Tjapukai – Where Australia Begins, is a newly refurbished venue that has been sharing the culture and traditions of the local Djabugay people for the past 28 years.
Just an hour out of Cairns is Port Douglas, a popular choice for incentive groups.
“In the last three months alone we have been fortunate to welcome three incentive groups from the US, varying in size from 50 to 84 guests.
As part of Sell TNQ guests spent a day workshopping at Tjapukai Cultural Centre, where they met with 30 exhibiting partners during one on one appointments. The day also consisted of a number of educational activities including team building and Indigenous performances.
Situated on the stretch of private coastline between Cairns and Port Douglas is Thala Beach Nature Reserve, home to Thala Beach Eco Resort. On arrival to Thala Beach Eco Resort attendees received freshly chilled coconuts and were taken on a viewing around the property by the general manager, Johan Klindt. “Not many properties can
“Earlier in the year we hosted a number of smaller conference gatherings and were chosen to facilitate the launch of two vehicles in Australia.” Another private venue situated in the rainforest just 10 minutes from Port Douglas, Flames of the Forest is a semipermanent marquee featuring crystal curtains, handmade
14 Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 www.cimmagazine.com
crystal chandeliers, along with hundreds of flames and a giant tree candelabras. “The establishment of a semipermanent venue also reduced the cost of building an offsite event on a one off basis and has enabled us to enhance the venue every year during our annual refurbishment,” says Natalie Johnson, general manager of Flames of the Forest. The venue caters for up to 850 guests for a sit down dining experience in the midst of one of the oldest rainforest’s on earth. Delegates are able to choose from two types of menus – the Aboriginal cultural experience or the Rainforest dining experience.
The year ahead Rosie Douglas: We are going to continue to grow our international market from New Zealand, North America, UK and Europe, which are all showing signs of growth. Also, China is another massive market for the whole of Australia. So we will be playing a part in marketing the destination up in China with various activities in conjunction with Tourism Australia and then on a domestic level we will keep servicing the association, corporate and incentive sector. Ross Steele: I think our goal is just to keep the message out there that Cairns is a really special place to bring business events and has all the infrastructure that you need. Johan Klindt: Our goals for 2016 are to expand on what we did in 2015. A devalued Australian dollar is a prefect catalyst for growing not just European and American business, but opens the doors to generate activity domestically! We feel 2016 will eclipse 2015.
Above & Right: Gala dinner preparation.
Natalie Johnson: We have created some new small group packages catering to an increase in demand from this sector. The resurgence of the North American market has also been fantastic so we have put a lot of energy into famil programs and educational together with trade participation.
C airns C onvention C entre
WORLD’S BEST CONGRESS CENTRE
visit: www.cairnsconvention.com.au
Serious Business in Australia’s Most Stunning Location www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 15
Explore the tropics Experience a close encounter with crocodiles and native wildlife at Hartley's Crocodile Adventures. The boat cruise on Hartley’s Lagoon is quite a thrill, as you get to see the crocs being fed. There are also private guided tours, which can be customised for groups ranging between 10 to 50 guests, who get to meet the koalas, cassowaries, kangaroos, wallabies and quolls. There are also sections of the park, that can be hired out for private functions. On board the Quicksilver catamaran Aquarius guests watched the sun set behind the Daintree mountain range whilst sipping on champagne and enjoying the on board snacks. Above: Skyrail Rainforest Cableway.
A number of other vessels such as Wavedancer and Sailaway offer daily tours and private charters to nearby Low Isles for snorkelling, glass bottom boat tours and island exploring. The Sell TNQ group were also taken on the Ngadiku Dreamtime Walk, which is a guided tour of Mossman Gorge, conducted by Cameron, who shared with the group his childhood memories of the rainforest. Skyrail Rainforest Cableway is another attraction that provides a more interactive experience for groups. The packages include the Interpretive Ranger option, Sustainability Seminar and Nature Link.
“Flames has always incorporated the unique, fresh produce of our region into the menus including kangaroo, crocodile, seasonal fish and Tableland beef mixed with native plants and herbs including wattle seed, lemon myrtle and Macadamia nuts,” she says. “We also put a bit of a spin on the traditional. For example, rather than using chocolate, we use the tropical black sapote fruit in recipes.” Being an outdoor venue evidently brings with it a number of weather related challenges. “I have been known to go crazy trying to light candles when it is windy – and we refuse to use battery operated ones – it just isn’t the same!” The venue also has no mobile phone service, which went from being a challenge to a great selling point. “Now guests are fully engaged with the event rather than staring at their devices all night,” she says.
Flames the Forest has had a successful year with a number of delegates dining in the rainforest for the first time, along with the installation of Australia’s “fanciest off site bathrooms” consisting of Chillagoe gold marble vanities, silver cisterns and rosewood cabinets.
is causing a stir of excitement among local businesses, who are looking forward to the increase of travellers the renovations will bring. “The refurbishment of the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort and Spa will also see us target the large, domestic
“The refurbishment of the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort and Spa will also see us target the large, domestic conference market again.” “Not typically what you would expect to find in a rainforest!” says Johnson. One of the biggest developments for the region is that of Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort & Spa, the only 5-star beachfront resort in the area. The $40 million refurbishment of the 294 guest rooms and suits
conference market again which has already begun making enquiries for future events,” says Johnson. Upon completion in early 2016, the Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort & Spa will include swim out rooms where guests can directly access the lagoon pools from their private balconies, along with a redevelopment of the
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Mirage Country Golf Club and the resort’s main buildings and pools. South of Cairns, Palm Cove has a lot to offer, in particular when it comes to serving fresh, local produce. Ochre Restaurant & Catering treated guests to a Build Your Own Burger station that included an assortment of breads, along with beef patties, chicken fillet, grilled mackerel, felafel, spiced grilled lamb, and a selection of cheeses. The burgers were finished off with vegetables and dressed with either tomato, chilli, aioli, hummus or tartare sauce. “Over the years I’ve been really involved in the development of local produce, as agriculture has diversified in the region,” says Craig Squire, the owner and director of Ochre, as well as the Queensland food ambassador for Tourism Australia's Restaurant Australia Campaign. “It used to be sort of mono culture but after the regulation of various crops people really
The highlights Three Sell TNQ 2015 attendees reflect on Sell TNQ 2015, which took place in November 13-18. Grace Hopkins, chief event operative at Agent Grace Events: The highlight for me was the walk through the Mossman Gorge. Being in the Daintree rainforest and learning the aboriginal history is something that is so unique to the region and it was a very interesting and insightful experience. Thala Beach Eco Resort is a fantastic property and an amazing beach resort nestled in the hills of the region, I would love to take an incentive group there. Valerie Poortvliet, the project coordinator and supplier relations at Hurricane Event Group: One of the highlights for me was the gala dinner on the beach hosted by MasterChef guest chef Nick Holloway. The opportunity to socialise with both suppliers and buyers was brilliant. The night had all the ingredients for a memorable experience, great food, great service, fantastic company and beautiful location. I think that Sell TNQ is one of the best famils I have attended. Very well put together with a lot of variety. Coming from Europe, it was my first experience with Tropical North Queensland and thanks to Business Events Cairns I have seen the beauty and possibilities that this region has to offer. Above: Gala dinner hosted by Nu Nu Restaurant in Palm Cove.
Laura Nathan, account executive of events at Willett Marketing: The people I met on the famil and dinner on the beach at Nu Nu restaurant, unbelievable location and food to match were my highlights. I would take a group to Mossman Gorge because experiencing the Daintree forest whilst listening to the captivating stories was such a unique experience.
branched out and got into not only tropical fruits but also vanilla, coffee, cocoa, dairy, cattle and not only just selling the milk away to one buyer but actually valuating that product into chocolates and cheese.”
sand and the palm trees and restaurant, it’s a place of calm,” says Holloway, who founded Nu Nu 11 years ago.
Squire also says that both the catering company and the restaurant use local produce in their menu as “this gives Ochre real credibility in the local market”.
“I think the greatest luxury is time and I think Nu Nu is the kind of place where you can take your time.”
The Sell TNQ gala dinner took place at Nick Holloway’s Nu Nu Restaurant situated onsite the Alamanda Palm Cove by Lancemore, right on the beachfront. The décor of pineapples, tropical flowers, lanterns and the sound of the Coral Sea was a highlight for many attendees, who by the end of the night had taken off their shoes and enjoyed the feel of the sand. “The cornerstones of Nu Nu’s brand would be luxury but I suppose how we would define luxury is a kind of barefoot luxury, this sort of seamlessness between the ocean, the
For Holloway, the region is one that offers a chance to relax, unwind and reflect on things.
The produce in the region is “bountiful, with the Tablelands providing ingredients that were planted by migrants who settled in the 50s and grow traditional style European vegetables to down south there’s the reef with tropical fruits”. The tropics is a changing and dramatic region that continues to surprise locals and entice foreigners. Holloway describes it as being “vivid and lush”. “That’s what I love so much about it, that when it rains, it really rains, when the sun shines, it booms down, it’s my idea of paradise.” www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 17
INDUSTRY REPORT
Making waves The Australian Event Awards recognises the best work in the Australian events industry, but digging deeper into the winners’ stories reveals the economic impact these innovative events are making beyond the industry, writes Bronwen Largier. A little over five years ago, things were not looking good for the boating industry in South East Queensland.
“There were a number of founding partners…and these guys all put in a little bit of seed capital to help it work.
“As a result of the GFC, every business in this industry just had to batten down the hatches and unfortunately had to scale back significantly on staff and investment just to survive,” says Stephen Milne, director of brand and communications at luxury boat builder Riviera.
“We literally started with $50,000 in the can. We just borrowed an office from the Gold Coast City Marina – they let us use the computers and the phones and everything – so it was an absolutely grass roots startup. The money went towards the marketing and purchasing whatever infrastructure or equipment was required.”
It was at this point that a number of businesses housed in the industrial Gold Coast Marine Precinct in Coomera – home to Australia’s largest boat building facilities and shipyards – got together and came up with the Gold Coast International Marine Expo. “We started with no money and a big idea,” says Milne, who was also the founding president of the association behind the Expo and remains a current committee member.
The resulting Expo provides a look under the hood of the entire boating industry, offering a rare glimpse of the nuts and bolts of boat building from apprentice level upwards. “There are lots of boat shows where people just put on lots of pretty boats and people wonder around and have a look at them,” he says. “But we wanted to something far more engaging and far more original and unique.
“We decided to open our doors and turn this industrial site…into a boat show precinct…there’s no other boat show like this anywhere in the world. “[Attendees] can see all these boats being worked on and built and that’s a very inspiring place to start as a platform for the boat show.” Five years on from the inaugural Expo and that unique peek into the engine of the industry is paying off. 2015 yielded the biggest event yet, with over 17,000 people through the gates and at least – which is to say, conservatively – $50 million in direct sales over the four days of exhibiting. The icing on the cake, says Milne, was taking home Best Exhibition at the Australian Event Awards in November. With the show governed by a pool of its exhibitors as a notfor-profit organisation, low fees also give smaller businesses
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the chance to exhibit at a major boating event. “I think it’s exciting that we have many exhibitors that come to Expo and this is the only boat show they actually go to in Australia because it’s the only boat show perhaps they can afford to go to,” says Milne. “We get very young, small, fledgling companies that might build one boat a year or three boats a year that come along and take advantage of Expo.” Since the Gold Coast International Marine Expo began, a number of the companies in the precinct have taken on more staff and apprentices – Riviera’s staff count has grown from just over 200 to nearly 500 and their apprentice count from just a handful to almost 40 – as sales and orders have picked up. While boating businesses on the Gold Coast are cutting out
enhance a city’s liveability and encourage ongoing investment in infrastructure,” he says, adding that the Tottenham Hotspur visit set a new benchmark for fan engagement in Australia.
Opposite page from left: Tottenham Hotspur fans at Sydney Opera House; Gold Coast International Marine Expo; Chelsea FC at ANZ Stadium; Innovation Asia Pacific 2015.
the middle man by running their own boat show, ANZ Stadium in Sydney has been similarly innovative in 2015, partnering with Destination NSW and taking on the role of event promoter for the first time, to facilitate friendly football matches between Sydney FC and two of the biggest teams in the English Premier League. The partnership saw the matches featuring Chelsea FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC draw over 150,000 football fans to ANZ Stadium, including thousands from outside of Sydney, and netted the organisations three Australian Event Awards – Best Sporting Event for the Chelsea game and Best Achievement in Marketing, Communication or Sponsorship and Australia’s Favourite Event for the Tottenham Hotspur match. Estimates from Destination NSW put the economic impact
generated by visitors for the games at $8 million each. Daryl Kerry, group managing director of Stadium Australia, which operates ANZ Stadium, highlights the benefit of government support to help events drive economic impact. “We are very fortunate in New South Wales to have a government that recognises the importance of major events and actively encourages us to host sporting and entertainment events that attract many thousands of people to Sydney and to NSW,” Kerry says. “Big events are often the key to increasing visitor numbers as international and domestic visitors travel to and within Australia specifically to see great sporting events.” Major events also have benefits broader than the visitor economy. “They can be a catalyst for participation and engagement,
“From the moment their superstars arrived, fan engagement reached new heights. They got out and about in Sydney to meet fans, and the entire Spurs team climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge with these images beamed globally, along with world-first bridge pylon projections, as part of Vivid Sydney.” Demonstrating the power of intelligent, targeted partnership, ANZ Stadium even collaborated with the Australian Tottenham Hotspurs fan group OzSpurs who then organised a series of their own events to engage Australian fans in the days surrounding the match. In Melbourne, Creative Innovation Asia Pacific 2015, the winner of Doltone House Best Corporate Event, is making a considerable impact on the innovation landscape beyond the direct visitor expenditure of the more than 900 delegates that attended the three-day conference. Featuring short keynotes – TED style but with greater actionable take-away value – master classes and a number of other interactive, thoughtprovoking sessions exploring innovation, leadership, business and creativity, the conference is gaining attention in the knowledge economy. “In terms of economic development and economic return, our conference focuses very much on the challenges and opportunities of disruption,” says social entrepreneur Tania de Jong, who organises the conference along with Creative Universe. “We teach delegates how to manage disruption and we show delegates what’s coming – we have some incredible futurists and innovators. It is the largest representation of very high calibre international speakers under one roof in any conference
that I’m aware of in Australia. “Our focus on innovation is regarded now as the leading innovation conference in the Southern Hemisphere.” De Jong describes the conference as “breaking out of the box”, and adds, “because of its style, because of the calibre of the speakers, its unique format, it attracts very high-level delegates”. “That does create economic return – it creates opportunities for collaboration that don’t usually exist. Some of the research around innovation is that innovation can really only occur through cross-pollination.” De Jong’s conscious linking of the conference to the not-forprofit sector furthers its agenda to cause unlikely and unusual partnerships. “It’s important for the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors to actually be in rooms together,” she says. “This is all about breaking down the silos that are typically in our society at conferences. It’s about breaking down the typical ways that we communicate and collaborate and creating more positive human collisions.” As well as partnering with Creativity Australia, de Jong’s own not-for-profit initiative, a number of scholarships are offered to Asia Pacific’s up-andcoming innovators to attend the conference and present ideas to a wider and highly influential audience. Clearly the eclectic conference, which has also featured artists, singers and poets-in-residence as well as composers and graphic recorders, is striking a chord with the mix of attendees reflecting the conference’s purpose. “We get more people registering each year; we get more people from different sectors coming and sometimes from where you’d least expect them,” says de Jong. As one delegate puts it, “I’ve never seen a conference put together like an artwork before. It was a stunning achievement of vision, serendipity, generosity of spirit and organisation”.
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 19
DREAMTIME
Selling Australia Adelaide was the host city for Dreamtime 2015, with the city turning it on in spades to show 95 international buyers what makes South Australia so special.
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Opposite page from left: Penfolds Magill Estate; al fresco breakfast at Vardon Avenue; Seppeltsfield winery in the Barossa; the official welcome at Adelaide Convention Centre.
Eat and greet Orana, one of the city’s most celebrated eateries, sees Scottish chef Jock Zonfrillo bring his passion for indigenous food to the plate using the best of the fresh produce available in the Adelaide region. Owner Ducan Welgemoed brings some South African fire to Adelaide with his award-winning restaurant Africola. Also makes his own wine in the basement. Clever chap all round.
As Tourism Australia’s signature bi-annual incentive showcase, Dreamtime has a lot to live up to, selling Australia to the world in a week. Luckily it’s something this country does really well, with Dreamtime 2015 perfectly encapsulating what makes Australia such a compelling destination.
outstanding business events, our local industry is second to none”. Ultimately though, this was South Australia’s show, with Adelaide and its surrounding regions really showcasing what Australia is so good at – great food and wine, unbeatable natural settings and a relaxed attitude that helps put everyone at ease.
It was Adelaide’s turn at the wheel, and the timing couldn’t have been better, with the city really starting to switch gears as it sees the fruition of a massive infrastructure investment transition it from a boutique city to a meetings hub with global ambitions.
The Dreamtime Welcome event was held at the Penfolds Magill Estate, with guests experiencing the absolute best in South Australian food, wine and hospitality, and some getting a personal tasting with chief winemake Peter Gago.
The business sessions held at the Adelaide Convention Centre started proceedings, giving the 95 buyers a chance to meet and greet with a wide selection of destination offerings from across the country.
Speaking at Penfolds Magill Estate, Adelaide Convention Bureau CEO Damien Kitto summed it up.
“The unprecedented level of business events infrastructure the city is undergoing, coupled with the strong food and wine heritage of South Australia means our hosted buyers and media will have a truly unique experience,” said Tourism Australia’s Deputy CEO, Frances-Anne Keeler. “In hosting Dreamtime we want to welcome guests to our home and also show them that when it comes to delivering
“Flawless events, offering genuine hospitality, outstanding fresh local food accompanied by some of the world’s best wine are all hallmarks of Adelaide and its business events industry.” Highlighting South Australia’s close proximity to the coast and prime winegrowing regions, Day Two saw guests visit Port Willunga and McLaren Vale, the Barossa Valley, central Adelaide and the
Adelaide Hills. After experiencing the best of South Australia’s business events offering over the course of two days, Dreamtime 2015 buyers bid farewell to Adelaide at a specially designed dinner at the National Wine Centre of Australia. The event celebrated South Australia through the stories of its people, and their passion and commitment to their home. Brought to life via three short films screened at the dinner, in which proud South Australians demonstrated the combination of creativity, innovation, and heritage that makes Adelaide and South Australia unique. “As they continue their Dreamtime journey, we trust they will take with them some amazing memories and the knowledge of what this vibrant city has to offer,” said Kitto. “We look forward to welcoming them back one day.” Dreamtime 2015 attendees then headed off to other Australian destinations for three day educational visits, where they experienced the business events offering of Cairns, Gold Coast, Melbourne and Sydney.
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 21
Sydney’s incentive to shine From quad biking and a net session with legendary cricketer Glenn McGrath to canapés atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney proved to 18 international buyers and media who were in town for Dreamtime 2015 why the harbour city is the top of so many bucket lists, particularly for its Asian neighbours. “Business from the region continues to grow for us,” said Lyn Lewis-Smith, Business Events Sydney CEO. “Events delivered from Asia have more than doubled over the last five years. And, over the past three years, incentive business has accounted for a growing share of the overall business secured by the company – increased from 45 per cent in 2013 to over 50 per cent in 2015.” Culminating in a spectacular harbour farewell on board the luxury MV Epicure yacht complete with a fireworks display, Sydney’s Dreamtime Educational delivered a mere taste of the once-in-a-lifetime activities that make Sydney an ultimate incentive destination. “There are so many outstanding team-building and reward activities available in Sydney and its outskirts,” said Lyn Lewis-Smith. “Our international guests have seen Sydney from all angles – from the air, on top of the bridge and sailing across the world’s largest natural harbour – I don’t think we’ve left them with any doubt about Sydney’s ability to deliver some of the best and most unique incentive programs the world has to offer.”
Gold Coast turns it on A feature dinner combining an eclectic mix of arts, cuisine and entertainment in a meticulously crafted event at The Arts Centre Gold Coast precinct with a lakeside dinner under the stars was one of the program highlights of the Gold Coast educational tour. The lakeside location featured some of the Gold Coast’s most enticing food trucks serving up local cuisine with the delegation enjoying the roving entertainment of stilt walkers, fire artisans and an acrobatic feature act in a bubble orb on the lake. “To win the opportunity to host this group of 21 key agents and five media representatives, we had to demonstrate that the Gold Coast has a world class offering,” said Gold Coast Business Events director Anna Case. “These corporate meetings typically are offered as an incentive to drive performance of employees in Chinese corporations so they are seeking dream destinations that will inspire achievement. “We must be able to demonstrate just how the Gold Coast can deliver a memorable, one of a kind experience that will leave their employees motivated to achieve.” A wilderness experience at O’Reilly’s Rainforest Retreat and Villas, picnic lunch at Canungra Valley Vineyards, a visit to Jasmin Organics and a dinner at Sea World capped off the four day trip.
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Made in Melbourne The Melbourne program was packed from morning until evening with unparalleled “made in Melbourne” experiences. “Melbourne has a strong track record of hosting large and small incentive groups and the reason we have such great success here is our city’s unique culture and immersive experiences,” said Melbourne Convention Bureau CEO Karen Bolinger. “We are able to offer a combination of the must-see experiences and combine this with unknown unique experiences that are tailored specifically to each group.” A welcome dinner at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne and Langham Hotel for the New Zealand and Japanese buyers respectively, a Melbourne Street Art tour, a meet and greet with Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge, and drinks at Secret Garden by Tommy Collins, a pop up venue located at Pop Up Patch on Federation Square’s rooftop carpark, were just some of the city highlights. The regions didn’t disappoint with a helicopter trip to Campbell Point House private mansion on the Bellarine Peninsula for a lunch prepared by celebrity chef Sacha Meier, gold digging at Sovereign Hill, and visits to Crittenden Estate and Port Phillip Estate on the Mornington Peninsula, and Rochford Wines and Oakridge Wines in the Yarra Valley all on the cards.
Aquatic adventures in Cairns It was all at sea for the Dreamtime educational in Cairns, with a reef to rainforest theme. The trip showcased a wide range of business events products and 5-star accommodation in Port Douglas and Cairns, with highlights including a trip to the Great Barrier Reef with Quicksilver, where delegates could snorkel, dive and helmet dive, in addition to being treated to scenic flights over the reef with GBR Helicopters. Delegates learned about the ancient secrets of the oldest living rainforest with elders from the Kuku Yalanji community during their Dreamtime Walk at the Mossman Gorge, while Harley’s Crocodile Adventures provided plenty of wildlife interaction with kangaroos, koalas and a crocodile cruise. A peek at the refurbishment project at Sheraton Mirage Port Douglas Resort & Spa was followed by lunch at Thala Beach Nature Reserve and Nu Nu Restaurant in Palm Cove. Other culinary treats included a beachfront feast at Boonooloo Beach House catered by Ochre Restaurant & Catering, rainforest dining at Flames of the Forest and waterfront dining at Dundee’s Restaurant in Cairns.
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 23
TEAM BUILDING
A new way to lead XVenture have launched an innovative program for events that allows 100 leaders from all walks of life to share their inspirational stories.
With a background in creating, capturing and sharing learning experiences to make a significant difference in individual, team and organisational development and growth, XVenture are now using their skills to bring that experience to events with their 100 Leaders program in partnership with Event Cinemas.
former bodyguard for President Mandela Rory Steyne.
Business partners Mike Conway (founder and CEO) and Daniela Kraus (director and COO) put the program together driven by a belief that leadership isn’t about one model and that each one of us takes a leadership role in our lives at different times over an 18-month period.
The interviews have been edited into three minute clips, supported by animation, music and imagery to deliver engaging, contemporary thoughts and views about leadership. There are clips of individual leaders, and clips featuring a crosssection of the leaders sharing insights on themes such as collaboration, creativity, belief and much more.
XVenture interviewed and recorded 100 people from all walks of life in many different countries to create the 100 Leaders program – from doctors and dancers to charity leaders and sports people. The result is an eclectic line-up including the likes of local heroes Ronni Kahn (OzHarvest) and Steve Waugh (Australian Cricket Captain) to
“Today, 100 Leaders is the largest leadership project of its kind is about making insights and messages from contemporary leaders accessible to the masses in an engaging, inspiring and lasting way,” says Conway.
“Each of the leaders share their unique stories and things which they believe are most important,” he says. “Leadership isn’t just about high profile people being leaders – there are people out there in the community and
around the world doing amazing things and leading people in different ways.” To turn it into an interactive leadership forum, XVenture partnered with Event Cinemas to host a two hour session, which can be tailored to include additional speakers or additional content such as a trailer, advertisement or sponsorship. A live voting app enables audiences to choose from a selection of the leaders and themes from the 100 Leaders project, with the session fully facilitated by an XVenture expert, with built-in time for audience discussion and reflection. In addition all of the leaders who are a part of the 100 Leaders project can be approached to participate in person as part of the Q&A session. With a background in experiential learning and neurobehavioural techniques, Conway says the clips and interactive leadership forum have been designed based on
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neurobehavioural principles. “XVenture have expertise in this field and believe that a cinema environment lends itself to best providing the most effective impact on engaging and retaining what is experienced,” he says. “It cleverly taps into all learning modalities in a relaxed environment. When we are in an environment we associate with entertainment and fun, our bodies and brains relax – this is when we are most likely to learn and develop, because we are open.” Designing and delivering the 100 leaders Program has also been a learning opportunity for Conway and the XVenture team. “There are so many incredible people we’ve had the opportunity to meet,” he says. “Steve Waugh said it’s about having a go and backing yourself. That’s what we did and what we do, every day. We feel extremely proud and lucky to be doing what we’re doing.”
INCENTIVES
More than 3.4 million climbers have scaled the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
A bridge not too far Now one of Sydney’s iconic must do attractions, BridgeClimb Sydney almost didn’t get the greenlight as no-one believed corporate teams had the courage to do it. In 1989, BridgeClimb Sydney was first conceived as a corporate team building activity, but founder and chairman Paul Cave was told at the conception that executives didn’t have the courage to climb it. October 2015 saw BridgeClimb celebrate its 17th year as a world renowned mustdo experience for international travellers and Sydneysiders alike. In those 17 years, BridgeClimb has taken more than 3.4 million climbers to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from more than 137 countries, aged from eight to 100 years. Look up at the Bridge at almost any time of day or night and see tiny caterpillar-like groups of climbers ascending the famous arches in blue and grey suits. It was almost 10 years before the doors opened, when it all started with just one caterpillar-like-group, an international corporate group on a team building activity. Cave helped conduct the Young Presidents Organisation World Congress in Sydney and
was contemplating activities for delegates. Like many activity planners, he aimed to find a team building activity that would deliver on multiple promises. Something that was interesting and original, that delegates would want to do and turn up for, that would inspire and be remembered and was iconically Sydney. Cave already had an affinity for the Sydney Harbour Bridge thanks to his father-in-law, who passed on to him the first ever ticket for the train crossing of the Bridge he’d bought as a child in 1932. Struck by the idea that climbing the engineering marvel would tick all of these boxes, he approached the Bridge foreman, who didn’t believe that corporate types had the courage to climb to the summit 134 meters above the harbour, saying he thought senior businessmen “are often wimps”. To prove him wrong Cave climbed with the foreman then-and-there in his business suit and formal shoes, and without any of the
BridgeClimb infrastructure that today that ensures the 100 per cent safety record. Having demonstrated that corporates did have the courage to climb, Cave succeeded in his mission to take the Young Presidents on the most unique team building activity they had ever experienced. The delegates’ feedback was overwhelmingly positive and a personal dream was born for Cave to do whatever it would take to share the summit of the Bridge with everyone. What it took was diligence, sweat and determination for more than nine years, longer than it took to build the Bridge. But today the option to climb to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge is open to individuals and business groups alike. Since its origin as a team building activity, BridgeClimb has made some giant strides in the corporate space and has hosted incentive groups as large as 2100, with larger groups expected in 2016.
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BOUTIQUE HOTELS
From left to right: COMO The Treasury; The Old Clare Hotel; Postal Hall at COMO The Treasury.
Breaking the mould The nation’s desire for boutique hotels continues to grow; with hotel groups offering guests an experience that is both old and new and blurs the line between business and leisure, writes Anastasia Prikhodko.
Set across two heritage listed buildings in Sydney; The Clare Hotel pub and the Carlton & United Breweries Administration Building, the former Clare Hotel has been revamped into The Old Clare Hotel under the international hotel group, Unlisted Collection. The design of the boutique hotel is a combination of the old pub and the new. “We believe in keeping the integrity of the building, because a piece of history is hard to come by these days and in order to keep the rooms current we brought in new life through the design, which is very old Clare,” says Wahida Masturi, business development manager of The Old Clare Hotel. The Old Clare property is situated on the re-developed Kensington Street precinct in Chippendale and features 62 rooms, three restaurants, two bars, along with a meeting
space that can accommodate up to 16 people around the staple piece; a wooden table that was part of the Carlton & United Breweries boardroom. “We believe that we are in a fantastic location, contrary to popular belief, Chippendale is a fantastic neighbourhood to be in. We like to feel that there is that juxtaposition of us being in a very old building, but yet, in an up and coming area,” says Masturi. The location and history of the hotel influenced the decision of making the venue an open space for the public so visitors can mix with the locals. “We focus very much on working with the heritage and the building itself,” says Masturi. “Also, being in an old pub that used to be quite a hot spot for university students and the ABC network executives, we wanted
to have spaces that engaged with the community a fair bit.” The downstairs bar, which has kept its old school ethos of indie rock posters and bohemian feel, the rooftop bar, the bottle shop that is used for pop-ups and the high calibre restaurants onsite are all open to the public. The hotel is a winner among foodies with three independent restaurants to choose from including; the 120-seat Kensington Street Social led by British chef Jason Atherton, who will also oversee the hotel’s room-service menu; Automata, headed by Clayton Wells from Momofuku Seiobo, Quay, and Silvereye, led by former Noma chef Sam Miller. Another historic precinct given a second lease of life is Perth’s 140 year old State Buildings, which is now home to COMO The Treasury.
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“It’s very exciting to bring COMO Hotels and Resorts to Australia, as it’s the first property in the country and I think that it has such a fantastic global reputation,” says Anneke Brown, general manager of COMO The Treasury. Although the hotel has only been open since October it has already seen great demand from the local market. “So far 80 per cent of our business has been from Perth – we know that it might just be because we are new and people want to try the new thing in town but I actually think it will continue,” says Brown. The hotel is looking at a 60 per cent corporate market and 40 per cent leisure market mix. “We have a very big corporate business in Perth and in 2016 we have events such as the Oil and Gas Conference in February with about 2000 delegates and then we have conferences throughout the year that also bring in that sort of number.” Additionally, Sydney and Melbourne are two strong markets, alongside the international markets of Singapore, Hong Kong, Jakarta and Kuala Lumper. Brown adds that the company is definitely pitching the hotel to a global standard and is bringing global hospitality to Perth.
“The service is obviously at that international level. My whole drive is about that international expectation and just genuine hospitality,” she says. “The size of the rooms is again something that sets us apart, our rooms range from 60 to 90 square metres – so they are the largest city rooms in Australia.” The hotel offers a rooftop fine dining restaurant Wildflower led by executive chef Jed Gerrard showcasing seasonal produce across the six indigenous seasons. “The seasons really celebrate and show you what produce you need to be eating at this time of the year,” says Brown. On the ground level of the hotel is Post, an all-day breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurant that has “its own identity and doesn’t really feel like a restaurant hotel”. In addition there is Petition Beer Corner, Petition Kitchen and Petition Wine Bar and Merchant; Long Chim, a Thai cuisine offering led by David Thompson, and Halford, a cocktail bar. The 48 room hotel contains an intimate boardroom that is attached to a library for smaller groups and less formal meetings. Another luxury boutique property that remains popular for staff retreats and the
local corporate market is Caves Beachside Hotel in the Lake Macquarie region, only 90 minutes from Sydney. “I believe our unique point of difference is our location,” says Adam Loades, function and conference manager of Caves Beachside Hotel. “We’ve been fluctuating because our accommodation was going through renovations, but now we can hold a residential conference for up to 100 delegates and sleep them here onsite, which in previous years has been a bit of a struggle.” Since finishing the renovations in 2015 the interest from the corporate market has continued to “grow dramatically and very quickly”. The onsite conference facility overlooks the shores of Caves Beach and consists of two rooms that cater up to 200 people for a sit down dinner and 300 for cocktail style. The space can also be divided into six smaller rooms all with bar and audio visual facilities, a private deck for pre-function drinks, a reception lounge area and a dedicated function kitchen. With their unique personalities, history and offerings boutique hotels continue to be a popular choice amongst local and international business travellers.
A luxury property located only 90 minutes north of Sydney, with state-of-the-art conference facilities and luxury accommodation for up to 90 guests. Caves Beachside is the ideal location for your next conference or company retreat.
27 Mawson Close, Caves Beach, NSW, 2281 Ph: 02 4980 9999 Fax: 02 4980 9988 www.cavesbeachsidehotel.com.au
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 27
VIETNAM
Enticing blend Vietnam’s profile is growing when it comes to business events and incentive travel in Asia, with the country capitalising on its solid infrastructure, fascinating history and political stability to lure more Australians each year, discovers Sheridan Randall. Clocking in among the top 50 in the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) country meetings rankings, and coming in at 13th place in the ICCA Asia Pacific & Middle East rankings, Vietnam is somewhat of a sleeper destination for Australasia. However, its mix of UNESCO world heritage sites, breathtaking natural landscapes and diversity of destinations from cosmopolitan cities through to idyllic luxury retreats is set to change that. Despite its turbulent past, over the 35 years since its reunification Vietnam has become one of the most politically stable and peaceful countries in the region, making it ideal for business events and incentive groups. The country attracted 306,103 visitors from Australasia last year, 275,360 from Australia alone; a number that has been steadily rising over the last five years. This comes despite the total number of inbound visitors taking a dip in the last year, with
3.8 million international tourists visiting in the first six months of 2015, an 11.3 percent drop from the first half of the previous year. The country has looked to stem the decline by scraping visas for visitors from five more European countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Spain and England, which join Japan, South Korea, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Belarus, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines in having access to a visa free entry policy. While Australia waits to see if it joins that list, organisers are still taking advantage of everything this South East Asian gem has to offer. Top of the list for organisers are Hanoi, which sits neck and neck with Auckland at number 26 in ICCA’s Asia Pacific & Middle East city rankings, and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon), which pips Adelaide at number 32. “We have been running events into Vietnam for over 15 years
and Australia is our largest source market for events, incentives and conferences,” says Paul Levrier, managing director of Destination Asia Vietnam. “We handle on average 35 individual programs a year ranging in size from 35 to 300 pax.” Capital city Hanoi is the cultural and economic centre of Vietnam's northern region. A potted history has resulted in a mix of Chinese, French colonial, Edwardian and Sovietera Russian architecture, with many venues taking advantage of the diversity. Hanoi's National Convention Center (NCC) is the largest convention centre in Vietnam set on 64 hectares, including a heliport. The fivefloor main building is 50m high, with a total floor area of more than 65,000sqm. Major hotel brands are also present in Hanoi, all with meetings space available including the 299-room Sheraton Hanoi, with 1800sqm of meeting space across three rooms, the 364-room Sofitel Legend
28 Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 www.cimmagazine.com
Metropole Hanoi, with three meeting for up to 250 delegates, and the 450-room JW Marriott Hanoi with more than 2300sqm of meetings space. Ho Chi Minh City is also a hub for meetings and events due to the number of major companies based in the city. “Ho Chi Min City is the access point for most groups, but short domestic flights so the beaches are also very popular,” says Levrier. The Saigon Exhibition & Convention Center (SECC) offers the largest meetings space in the city across its four indoor exhibition halls of 40,000sqm and outdoor exhibit space up to 20,000sqm. The SECC also has two international hotels, including the 530-room New World Saigon Hotel, and a 2000-seat arena. The Tan Binh Exhibition & Convention Center, the White Palace Convention Center and the Phu Tho Stadium complement the convention centre offering in the city. Ho Chi Minh City also offers a
New accommodation The Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group is developing a new Radisson Blu Cam Ranh Bay – its first property in Vietnam. The beachfront hotel is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2019, with plans for more hotels in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, and Danang.
Opposite page from left: Ho Chi Minh City at night; Ha Long Bay in North East Vietnam.
wide range of accommodation options with around a third of Vietnam's 5-star hotel rooms located in the city. The 345-room Le Méridien Saigon marks the first Le Méridien brand in Vietnam and features six meeting spaces totalling 780sqm. The 286-room Sofitel Saigon Plaza has eight function rooms. Other hotels with significant meetings space include the 470-room Sheraton Saigon Hotel &
From
only
450
USp$er villaht per
Towers (12,000sqm) the 333room Hotel Equatorial Ho Chi Minh City (5100sqm) and the 224-room Park Hyatt Saigon (2700sqm). The InterContinental Asiana Saigon and La Residence Hue Hotel & Spa – MGallery Collection are also popular luxury options. “We run more and more twin programs to Ho Chi Min and Da Nang on the central coast,” says Levrier. “That gives you
the combination of the buzz and nightlife of the city with a more relaxed beach destination. “The focus on Da Nang is increasing, with more high-end hotel developments there such as Sheraton, Marriott and Sofitel. It helps with the perception of the destination particularly for the corporate market.” Just north of Da Nang is the Banyan Tree’s Lang Co resort. Opened in 2013, this high-end
resort offers incentive groups the ultimate in luxury across its 49 individual villas, each with their own infinity pool and jacuzzi. A nearby beach, 18-hole golf and spa program complete the picture, and for those who actually want to drag themselves away temporarily the resort offers guided tours of Ke Bang National Park, the backstreets of Hue or majestic Truong Son Mountains.
MEET AND RETREAT
nig
Nestled in a crescent bay framed by a three kilometer private beach and green-clad mountains in Central Vietnam, Banyan Tree Lang Co, Central Vietnam creates the ‘space and opportunity’ for leaders to assess the present and invent the future. With intimate board rooms, spacious all-pool villas featuring the artistry of Vietnam, award-winning spa facilities, an 18-hole award-winning championship Sir Nick Faldo golf course, a host of dynamic teambuilding activities and situated near three UNESCO Heritage Sites, Banyan Tree Lang Co, Central Vietnam is the perfect location for executive retreats and luxury incentive reward programs.
• One full day meeting inclusive of two coffee breaks and one set lunch • One round trip private airport transfer per villa • One upgrade to Hillside Pool Villa daily • One round 18-hole golf or one 60-minute spa treatment from a specially crafted menu per person per stay • One group whiskey appreciation or high tea per stay • One private morning group yoga per stay • One private tour to Hue or Hoi An per stay • One group BBQ Dinner on the beach per stay • Full board dining at The Water Court (set menu) • Unlimited non-motorised activities For more information or to make a reservation, contact Vinh Nguyen at vinh.nguyen@banyantree.com, or call +84 8 3822 9252
* Terms and Conditions apply.
Book the Banyan Tree - Meet and Retreat from now until 31st March, 2017, from US$450 per villa per night for single occupancy or US$499 per villa per night for double occupancy and enjoy the following benefits:
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 29
PERTH
New face The pieces are falling into place for Perth which is moving beyond its image as a resource capital to a truly all round destination with an exciting raft of accommodation offerings, writes Sheridan Randall. The laid back capital city of Western Australia is evolving, with a raft of new hotels and major infrastructure developments already starting to make their impact felt. Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre (PCEC) ended the year on a high with the first half of 2015 seeing a rise in the number of event bookings from both national and international clients. This has flowed through to its revenue with the Centre recording a 28 per cent increase in revenue on confirmed business for January to June 2016 compared with the same period in 2014.
countries on show.
PCEC is looking ahead to 2016 with a similar sense of anticipation, with a number of big events lined up. In March, the Centre will welcome 2000 delegates for dual events the 17th Ottawa Conference and the 2016 Australian and New Zealand Association for Health Professional Educators Conference, which will run concurrently. The following month around 5000 delegates are expected for LNG 18, which the centre will host from April 11-15, with 250 exhibitors from 60
Three new hotels are on track to open in the coming months, with another 15 accommodation developments to open their doors by the end of 2018.
April and March will also see international meetings including the Australia and New Zealand Society of Respiratory Science, and The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand bringing 900 delegates for its annual scientific meetings, and a further 650 people are expected to travel for the Australia Pain Society’s annual event in March. The $2.6 billion Elizabeth Quay, which is adjacent to PCEC, will only add to its appeal with a variety of accommodation and entertainment options coming online from 2016.
Established hotels have also been upping their game with the increased competition on the horizon. The Parmelia Hilton Perth recently completed a million dollar refresh of its meeting and events floor, with a contemporary new look and feel, including its Argyle Ballroom.
David Constantine, Parmelia Hilton Perth’s general manager, says the hotel has been “delivering successful meetings and events for many years”. “With the refresh we can now proudly offer the Perth market the newest meetings and events product with our quality, personal service.” To complement the new look the hotel’s award-winning head chef, Ricki Fleming, has released new menus with a new wine list. Another CBD favourite, Pan Pacific Perth has welcomed new executive chef Paul Gaspa who will oversee the hotel’s two award-winning restaurants, Montereys and Origins, plus the hotel’s 24 hour in-room dining, Pacific Club Lounge and its extensive meeting and event facilities. “Diners can expect to see classic staples given a modern makeover, made with highest quality local produce,” he said. “This also applies to our beverage offering. We are blessed in Western Australia to have access to some of the best wines in the world and so our wine list is made up of many drops from the famous Margaret River region.”
30 Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 www.cimmagazine.com
Opposite page: City of Perth. Above: Parmelia Hilton Perth’s Argyle Ballroom. Right: The new menu at Pan Pacific Perth; Crown Perth Resort.
The invigorated menu comes at an exciting time for the hotel which has recently capped off a multi-million refurb across its accommodation rooms, meeting spaces and most recently its lobby.
bars, retail outlets, a new spa and increased convention space which will integrate with existing facilities are set to make the Resort and major drawcard for both international and intrastate visitors.
Crown Perth’s ambitious luxury hotel development Crown Towers is also on track for a 2016 December opening, with a recent “topping off” ceremony held in front of a select audience including local politicians, members of the business community, key tourism stakeholders and other guests.
Further afield, Quest Rockingham celebrated its grand opening with a cocktail party, marking the first of five new Quest properties in Western Australia, with another four properties scheduled to open over the next 18 months (Quest East Perth, Quest West End, Quest Mounts Bay Rd and Quest Fremantle).
Crown Towers comprises 500 new luxury rooms made up of larger than standard hotel rooms, suites and villas and brings the total number of rooms at the resort to just under 1200. In addition to luxurious hotel accommodation, a 9800sqm resort pool with various private VIP facilities, cabanas, gardens and private pools is set to become a major attraction for Perth. Restaurants,
Metro Hospitality Group is finishing off a multi-million dollar redevelopment of Metro Hotel Perth with the addition of 53 new rooms to its 94 room inventory to open in early 2016. The newly named Red Bill Restaurant has also undergone a revamp, while three new functions rooms will offer space for up to 180 delegates.
In Perth’s northern suburbs, the Joondalup Resort has added some new developments since it opened in 2013 including refurbished Lakeview hotel rooms (with Garden view Rooms to follow in 2016), wi-fi boosters and redesigned cocktail lounge View 180 ideal for pre and post conference functions. In addition, an upgraded Bistro 38 kitchen and new team building packages complete the picture. The wave of investment is not bound to the mainland with Rottnest Island also set to see the biggest infrastructure investment from the private sector in its history, including a rebuild of the Rottnest Lodge. The $20 million project will involve 80 contemporary self-contained units, short stay accommodation, café, licensed restaurant and bar, swimming pool, day spa and conference and meeting rooms. The resort will be open by Christmas 2018.
THEY’RE BACK AND THEY LOOK BETTER THAN EVER Parmelia Hilton Perth has just completed a million dollar refresh of its Meeting & Events Floor. With a bright, contemporary look and new menus by AHA award-winning Chef Ricki Fleming, Parmelia Hilton Perth is the best choice for your next meeting or event. For more information or a tour around the hotel, please contact our Events team on (0)8 9215 2440 or perhi-salesadm@hilton.com.
14 Mill Street I Perth I WA 6000 I Australia ©2015 Hilton Worldwide
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 31
EVENT REPORT
Above: BCEC on Grey Street.
The International Forum for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC), September 10-12, 2015
Overview The International Forum for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 2015 shone a much needed spotlight on living with PTSD which has killed more Australian soldiers than the enemy. It was attended by over 400 delegates including psychiatrists, psychologists and other medical specialists and support organisations from all around Australia, as well as the US and Canada. PTSD 2015 was hosted by Stand Tall, an organisation devoted to PTSD founded by former Australian test cricketer Tony Dell, himself a Vietnam veteran and sufferer of PTSD. Brisbane-based professional conference organiser Carillon Conference Management (CCM) managed the project and was a fundamental in turning the forum concept into exceptionally successful event. Brisbane was a logical choice for the Forum, given the very large Defence establishments and community in and around the city and its easy accessibility for national and international delegates.
Objective This inaugural event was designed to heighten awareness of the most misunderstood of all major illnesses and to draw together the many disparate groups working in PTSD treatment and research. “PTSD has flown under the radar for 100 years and is the least understood of all major illnesses,” Dell says. “Many, many people have been working in isolation and not communicating and others were achieving success with non-traditional forms of treatment but word was not being spread. On
top of this, treatment options are very much capital-city centric and an audit was needed. Collaboration and inclusiveness were essential and this led to the concept of the Forum as a way to bring everyone together.” A further objective was to raise the awareness of PTSD not only in the military, but in other first responders such as the police, ambulance, fire and emergency services.
Highlights The response from target organisations was exceptional and one of the real highlights of the Forum, according to Dell. As was the attendance of top level defence and firstresponder commanders including the Chief of the Australian Defence Force, Air Chief Marshall Mark Binskin, and former Chief, Air Chief Marshal Sir Angus Houston along with many senior officers from the three defence services and state police and emergency services. Further highlights were the quality of speakers and presentations in an innovative program that covered all aspects of PTSD. “There was also great support for the event as well, very notably by the Patron Sponsor, RSL Queensland, who really worked in partnership to deliver a first class event,” says Dell. “Most importantly was the genuine willingness to share knowledge and collaborate into the future. “The Forum exceeded all expectations. It attracted more delegates, greater sponsorship, a higher media profile and more institutional support than we ever dared hope for.”
Challenges CCM’s Ashley Gordon says that particular care
had to be taken with registration fees, so as to not prohibit participation by PTSD sufferers some of whom live on limited incomes. “We created special fees for veterans and used sponsorship to finance the significant discount for these delegates,” Gordon says.
Outcome “The very design of the Boulevard level at BCEC on Grey Street enabled us to accommodate keynote and concurrent sessions, catering, social events, live broadcast facilities and the exhibition all on the same floor, immediately adjacent to one another,” says Gordon. “The proximity of the various elements to each other really gave the event an energy and ‘vibe’ that would not have been possible in any other combination of spaces. Just as important is the fact that the Forum basically filled the entire floor even though it was a medium sized event – this meant no through traffic and a real sense of ownership of the space. It worked so well we have booked exactly the same footprint for the 2017 event.”
Legacies Dell says that as a result of the Forum the next two years will be incredibly active in the PTSD space for the Stand Tall organisation, its Patron RSL Queensland and other partners. “Transitional pilot programs for dealing with PTSD arising from the forum have been well received by the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defence,” he says. “The Forum has not only created a greater awareness and understanding of PTSD but is leading to real policy change – a remarkable outcome.”
32 Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 www.cimmagazine.com
Q&A
Inspiring change With the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME) just round the corner, CIM spoke with Karen Bolinger, chief executive of the Melbourne Convention Bureau, about keeping things fresh in 2016. Q: Following on from the feedback from the 2015 show what was the key thing you took from it? A: That the event is still as relevant today as it was 24 years ago, however it needs to continually evolve to capture the new trends, issues and opportunities that exist within the business events industry. The brand direction of “where inspiration begins” captures this evolution and we have changed the way we deliver the expo with the idea of AIME being the showcase business event that provides inspiration to all who attend. This is evident through a number of new initiatives that were developed following the feedback from attendees last year. These include offering Hosted Buyers unprecedented education sessions in
partnership with the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), the return of the MCB welcome event, and a networking hour on the show floor on Tuesday. Q: How do you refresh a show as established as AIME without taking away the elements that make it so successful? A: We set up an AIME advisory board in June last year consisting of the industry’s most experienced buyers, sellers and influencers to collaborate and shape the vision and strategic direction for the show. We keep what we know buyers, exhibitors and visitors find valuable – for example the networking opportunities, education and business development opportunities. We have also refreshed the “feature” areas
of the show as well as the program including speakers and topics at the education sessions. The trade visitor knowledge sessions will run over two days on the show floor and held in shorter bite sized sessions making them more accessible for visitors. Q: Your relationship with Reed Trade Exhibitions is still strong – what are the advantages of working in partnership with them? A: AIME is entering a new era, one that will see collaboration and inspiration re-invigorate the whole experience for attendees and stakeholders, and one made possible in part by the knowledge and history brought to the table by the team at Reed. Q: Inspiration is the theme, how do you keep inspired? A: I’m inspired on a regular basis by attending events and having the opportunity to network with not only our industry but outside it to gather ideas and be challenged in a different mindset. The dedication of my team and their unwavering work ethic to secure and deliver business events for Victoria is a daily source of inspiration.
GROW YOUR BUSINESS The Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME) is the leading business events and meetings exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region. It’s where 4,500 suppliers and buyers unite for two powerful days of business, knowledge and networking. Join us at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre on the 23-24 February 2016. Find out more about visiting at www.aime.com.au/visit AIME is owned by
Organised by
AIME is organised by
AIME is part of
ibtm events global partner
The ibtm® trademark is owned and protected by Elsevier Properties SA and Reed Exhibitions Ltd uses such trademark under licence. Reed Travel Exhibitions® is a registered trademark of RELX Group Plc.
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 33
VENUE UPDATE
Mantra on Salt Beach’s $1m refurb Mantra on Salt Beach in Northern New South Wales has completed a $1.5 million refurbishment of its hotel rooms and one, two and three bedroom apartments. Other upgrades have also been completed to both the lagoon pool and heated rock pool areas; and a refurbishment of the lobby space which doubles as a venue for conferences and events.
News in brief Auckland's first Adina Apartment Hotel opens TFE Hotels has opened the doors on its newest New Zealand hotel with the Adina Apartment Hotel Auckland. Overlooking Queen's Wharf in the CBD, the hotel offers 140 apartments appointed with fully equipped kitchens, comfortable living space and laundries. Meeting facilities include two conference rooms, one catering to 45 people theatre style and the other a boardroom for 12.
New Residences at Anantara Layan Phuket Resort Anantara Layan Phuket Resort has introduced The Residences by Anantara, 15 exclusive pool residences overlooking a secluded and tranquil beach setting on Phuket’s west coast. The Residences offer living and dining rooms, fully-fitted kitchens, deluxe bedrooms, media entertainment and spa rooms, as well as accommodation for live-in butlers and chefs.
34 Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 www.cimmagazine.com
Pan Pacific Perth offers guests a new welcome Pan Pacific Perth has debuted its new arrival experience and refurbished lobby, which offers guests an engaging and modern space to begin their stay. Upon arrival, guests will be greeted by a “Pacific Ambassador” who will be on hand to assist with their smooth arrival and departure, whether it be assisting with bags, helping with check in or directing guests as they arrive.
Distinction double for Whangarei and Hamilton Distinction Hotels Group has acquired two more hotels located in Whangarei and Hamilton, currently trading under the Kingsgate brand. Distinction Whangarei Hotel & Conference Centre will begin trading on January 25, 2016, and Distinction Hamilton Hotel & Conference Centre on February 11. Centrally located overlooking the Whangarei Quayside Town Basin, the Whangarei property has 115 air-conditioned hotel rooms and suites. It also offers a fully-licensed bar and restaurant, indoor heated swimming pool, spa, sauna and gym, as well as conference and event facilities for up to 130 people. The 147-room Distinction Hamilton Hotel & Conference Centre offers extensive guest services including a gym, steam rooms, three spa pools, outdoor swimming pool, two restaurants and bar and conference facilities catering for up to 600 delegates.
River views for new AVANI Hotel AVANI Riverside Bangkok Hotel is set to open in April, 2016. Set on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, the 26-storey hotel will offer 251 guest rooms and suites and a 4500sqm Grand Ballroom catering up to 1500 people.
St. Regis debuts in Macau St. Regis Hotels & Resorts has debuted in Macau with the opening of The St. Regis Macao, Cotai Central. The 400-room hotel will be followed by the unveiling of five new St. Regis hotels in 2016 across the globe including Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi in Malaysia, the Maldives, Changsha in China and Cairo, Egypt.
AccorHotels adds two Darwin hotels AccorHotels will increase its presence in the Northern Territory following the takeover of two existing hotels in Darwin – Rydges Darwin Airport Hotel and Rydges Darwin Airport Resort – in March 2016. The 136-room Darwin Airport Hotel will undergo an extensive refurbishment program and rebrand as Novotel Darwin Airport.
The RitzCarlton times two YTL Hotels has announced the signing of two management contracts with Marriott International to develop two new hotels under the luxury brand The Ritz-Carlton – The Ritz-Carlton, Koh Samui in Thailand and the new RitzCarlton Reserve in the all-season resort Niseko Village of Hokkaido, Japan.
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 35
PROFILE
A lifetime’s reward Jenifer Dwyer Slee, director of sales and marketing at the National Convention Centre in Canberra, recently received a Lifetime Award from the Professional Conference Organisers Association. CIM spoke with her about her long commitment to the business events sector.
“I worked with a number of transformational leaders early in my career and this was so rich and valuable,” she says.
As one of only eight Australians to be awarded the title, and the dual honour of being the first Canberran and first person to be awarded the Lifetime Award who is not an actual PCO, but rather a professional from the wider industry sector, Jenifer Dwyer Slee says it has been an amazing few weeks for her. “On the evening of the award I had a number of people comment on how forward thinking the PCO Association is to recognise a supplier,” she says. “We’re all in this together and have the same objective to deliver exceptional events for our customers. We want the same outcome.” As deputy chair on the Tourism Industry Advisory Council’s destination marketing and visitor experience subcommittee, which provides advice and recommendations to the Canberra Business Chamber on targeted tourism industry policy submission and advocacy, Dwyer Slee is a strong advocate of Canberra as a business events destination. “I’ve already seen a major change in the perception of Canberra, which for a city its size, is punching well above its weight,” she says. “In recent years it’s astonishing what has transpired here. In the last 12 months, the National Convention Centre alone has held 320 conferences and events, which has
“Ulrich Renner’s inspiring vision for Lilianfels Blue Mountains and Ton Van Amerongen’s for The Park Lane Hotel come to mind immediately. Both of them inspired my desire to be the best I could be.
brought $60.6 million to the ACT’s tourism economy. The past five years in Canberra have been busy. We’ve seen new award winning hotels, an ever expanding event calendar and an incredible evolution of our food and wine precincts.” Her current role at the National Convention Centre is the latest in a series of roles within the hospitality and events industry that has spanned more than 26 years. Beginning with Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort and Spa before joining the pre-opening team at the Park Lane Hotel Sydney and Starwood (Sheraton Noosa), she then joined AccorHotels where she held a range of positions over a seven-year period and established the Business Events Advisory Board. During that time she met some very influential people who would inspire her in her career.
“Mentoring is absolutely key and it must be ongoing for the commercial performance of any business. We were all once that young person with passion and desire, that young person who was hungry for someone to take an interest and help them grow and succeed.” The industry has adapted over the years, with more competitors than ever, ever changing digital capabilities and improved measurement techniques, which for DwyerSlee means there has never been a better time to be involved. “With the growth in tourism in the coming years, including in Canberra, there’s never been a better time to join our industry,” she adds. “Our industry is about people and collaborating. It’s a dynamic and exciting environment. It’s full of opportunity and that’s why it’s important for those of us who have been in the industry for a while to share knowledge and seize opportunities to mentor.”
36 Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 www.cimmagazine.com
MEETING PEOPLE
Brisbane’s Emporium Hotel has appointed Julie Manega as sales manager and Amy MacLeod (pictured) as marketing coordinator. Manega was previously at the Stamford Plaza Hotel for almost 10 years where her roles covered business development, banquet operations manager and conference and events executive.
AccorHotels has made a number of general manager appointments. Hayden Hughes has been appointed GM at Sofitel Brisbane and area manager Ibis Budget. Lisa Brown is the new GM at Pullman Port Douglas Sea Temple Resort & Spa. Anna Voss (pictured) is GM at Ibis Sydney Thornleigh. Jesse Bridge is GM at Ibis Budget St Peters.
AccorHotels has appointed Tricia Cornelius (pictured) as regional director of sales & marketing for Queensland and Northern Territory. She replaces Charlotte Gutte who has been appointed to the newly created role of national director of sales – meetings & events. Chris Lytas has been appointed director of sales – corporate, while Elizabeth Georgopoulos is on maternity leave.
The Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board has appointed Karen Prideaux to the role of travel trade manager, Australia & New Zealand. Based in Sydney, she will be responsible for trade relations across the Oceania market for L.A. Tourism, as well as promoting the redevelopment of LAX Airport.
ShowGizmo has appointed Dott Nemeth as head of production and client services. Mike Fuller (pictured) has also joined ShowGizmo as vice president of global strategic alliances. He was most recently strategic communications manager for the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux.
Rob Anderson (pictured) has retired as Best Western Australasia’s CEO. Succeeding Anderson, former GM sales & marketing Steve Richards has been appointed to the role of head of commercial and former GM regional services and quality assurance program Spencer Watson has been appointed to head of operations.
Matt Granfield has joined the Mantra Group executive committee as executive director – digital, overseeing the Group’s e-commerce and digital strategy. With over 15 years of digital and marketing experience, Granfield was previously head of customer marketing and digital at Heritage Bank.
Martin Radcliffe has been appointed general manager at Mayfair Hotel and Adabco Boutique Hotel in Adelaide. He was previously director sales and marketing at the Adelaide Convention Bureau.
Pan Pacific Hotels Group has appointed David Tonkin as general manager of the Parkroyal Melbourne Airport. Tonkin has spent 12 years with Rydges Hotels and Resorts managing their flagship properties and was most regional director, operations at Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia Pacific.
The Star Sydney has appointed Melinda Madigan as general manager – marketing and entertainment. Commencing January 11, 2016, she will oversee all marketing, communications and entertainment initiatives across the integrated resort.
Shellia McEachern has joined Luxperience as business development manager – buyer relations. She has 12 years’ sales and marketing experience in the travel industry.
Crown Perth has appointed Fiona Pascoe as director of sales. She recently moved to Perth from Sydney after spending time at ODE Speaker Management and Ovations Speaker’s Bureau.
Metro Hospitality Group has appointed Sam Kangais as property manager of Metro Mirage Hotel Newport in Sydney. He brings over 25 years industry experience to the role.
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 37
PCO ASSOCIATION
Going global Offshoring to a virtual assistant in the Philippines can save your business time and money, says Aimee Englemann. Despite the tyranny of distance, we Australians can truly say we now live in a global community – with a global market. And as our newest Prime Minister has touted recently, it is a global market that presents us with great challenges and great opportunities. Under ever-evolving conditions Australian small and medium businesses (SMBs) are having to drive innovation and adapt to what the global market is doing. One way that Australian SMBs can do this is by embracing offshore labour markets and the opportunity to hire staff in virtual assistant (VA) roles. Essentially, any standard task that can be performed at a computer terminal can now be completed offshore at a much lower cost. With cloud technology it is all possible – you can have your offshore virtual team undertaking everything from bookkeeping through to graphic design. So we have the technology, but is the talent truly available in offshore markets? The answer from the Philippines is an emphatic yes.
firm Knowledgefaber ranked Manila as the highest performing BPO location around the globe. It is even more apparent for Australian businesses that the Philippines is the way to go. Here’s why: English language proficiency. The Philippines has the 3rd largest English speaking population in the world. In the Business English Index (BEI) released by Global English in 2013, the Philippines was ranked as the top BEI country in front of Norway and the Netherlands. The BEI study was designed to quantify global workers’ English competency in the workplace, and has the Philippines clearly on top. Tertiary educated workforce. Filipino Universities are graduating approximately 500 000 students a year, half of which take up employment in the BPO sector. The large numbers of well-trained, customer-focused, English-speaking graduates is good news for Australian SMBs.
While the title “virtual assistant” is a bit of a catch-all for workers in the outsourcing industries, it doesn’t really do justice to the diversity and quality of staff available in the Philippines. From my own experience I can tell you there is nothing virtual about the offshore team I work with – they are real people producing highly professional work across all fields. But alas, “virtual assistant” seems to be the title we are stuck with.
Cultural proximity and time zone. Due in part to recent history, the Philippines has a close cultural proximity to western, English-speaking countries like Australia. Cross-cultural expert Geert Hofstede supports the view that Australia and the Philippines share common ground, in terms of doing business. If you also consider the two-hour time zone difference between Manila and the east coast of Australia you can see how Filipino offshore staff and Australian SMBs make an ideal partnership.
In 2010, an IBM Global Locations Trend Report named the Philippines as the top choice for business process outsourcing (BPO) all over the world, having unseated India, which had been topping the list for years. Likewise, in a 2013 study, research
Low cost. Filipino Virtual Assistants offer a cost-effective alternative for Australian SMBs looking to leverage their business. You can take advantage of the difference in labour and operational costs between the two markets while not having to
compromise on quality of service. With the virtue of the Philippine’s offshore industry well established we can look now to the ways in which an offshore VA can increase productivity for Australian businesses. Between the cloud and quality video conferencing tools like Skype there is no longer any reason why the performance of your offshore staff can’t be monitored in much the same way as your employees in your home office. That’s why tasks such as administration, customer service, bookkeeping, accounting, graphic design, digital marketing, telemarketing, software development, web development, market research analysis, data entry and business analysis are just some of those easily outsourced to VAs in the Philippines. Whatever task you could imagine delegating, consider if it can be done by a VA. Sending some of your work to a low-cost offshore team will give you more time to talk to your clients, work on your strategic projects and actually develop your business. In this way outsourcing can unburden SMBs and give entrepreneurs the pivotal support that they mightn’t otherwise afford, at a time they need it most. If our SMBs are given such a phase-critical opportunity, they’ll grow, and in turn hire more Australian professionals necessary to take their business to the next level. Aimee Englemann is the CEO and founder of Beepo, an Australian owned offshoring firm in the Philippines. Aimee is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, Certified Practising Marketer, and winner of the 2015 Young Entrepreneur Trailblazer Award.
38 Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 www.cimmagazine.com
Building Australia’s next 100 hotels With tourism booming it is vital Australia has enough supply in the accommodation sector to cope with the demand, writes Bryon Merzeo from Deloitte Tourism Hospitality & Leisure. We’re living in a very exciting time of our nation’s tourism sector. International tourists are flocking to our shores at record levels, while at the same time Australians are showing preference to stay within our borders. The tourism sector has welcomed this boom in traveller activity from both foreigner travellers and Australians, but one question remains – where will all these tourists sleep?
for the precious few that are left. Sydney is already feeling the strain of the room shortage, as the new International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney is blocking room allocations for 2017 and beyond.
Fortunately, our nation is in the midst of an accommodation building boom, with an unprecedented 100 new hotels and serviced apartments likely to open their doors in the next four years. Yet with our tourism sector going form strength to strength, will 100 new hotels be enough? Hotel occupancy levels in Sydney and Melbourne averaged over 80 per cent for 2015, with the peak nights of Wednesday for business guests and Saturdays for leisure guests notching close to 90 per cent. The National Visitor Survey released year to September 2015 data showing business travel nights increased 23 per cent, which equals 12,500 additional nights. This does not leave many rooms empty, and available for large business events or special events. Adding events such as Vivid Sydney, Australian Open, mega conferences, or even the Commonwealth Games to an already packed marketplace creates challenges. The major events book blocks of rooms months or years in advance, thus when the event comes around, our cities are nearly sold out and we see supply and demand at work, with room rates spiking to $500-plus
Amway China is expected to bring over 10,000 delegates in March 2017 to the ICC Sydney, yet March is typically around 90 per cent occupancy historically. With the rooms already reserved for these delegates, and thereby taken out of the available rental pool, the Australian family on holiday from Wagga Wagga or the small business traveller from Hobart may face $500 room rates. Looking to future on the international tourist front, Deloitte is forecasting arrivals to grow at 5.1 per cent per year to 2018, led by South-east Asia and China at around 8 per cent growth. The process to plan and construct a hotel in this country takes two years at a minimum, thus we owe much credit to Austrade and
Tourism Research Australia for identifying this shortage of rooms several years ago. When the monumental Tourism 2020 vision was announced in 2009, they predicted 40,000 to 70,000 new rooms were needed to reach our nations tourism potential. In 2013 this was revised to a more focused target of between 6000 and 20,000 new rooms for capital cities and two major tourism destinations TNQ and the Gold Coast. This set in motion a series of actions to attract investment, simplify the red tape, and start the construction process. Now here we are today with these projects keeping all of us hotel consultants extremely busy. Our 100 new hotels could not be coming at a more crucial time. Gateway capital cities will see the majority of this new supply, with around 80 properties. If you know the development game, not all projects succeed, yet even if a dozen plans do not eventuate, the new hotels may be able to open their doors to a nearly full house. Don’t expect to see any grand opening discounts though, with keen revenue managers well aware of the strong guest demand. Existing properties located in close proximity to the new builds, and those with older facilities may turn to discounting in order to keep bums in beds, yet this strategy is most often ill fated. If anything, we might even see hotel prices rise as this wave of new hotels reveal their swish facilities, hi tech gadgets and stylish décor. With a premium product, who wouldn’t see the value in paying a bit more for that new hotel feeling?
PCO ASSOCIATION NEWS The PCO Association has announced the 9th Annual PCOA Conference and Exhibition is be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC) on November 27-29, 2016. Bob O’Keeffe, BCEC general manager, said they were pleased to be given the opportunity to host the conference.
“The event provides an important platform for the industry to come together to discuss the drivers of business in the meetings industry in Australia and we look forward to welcoming our PCO partners and in-house meetings managers to Brisbane and the Centre next year.”
www.cimmagazine.com Convention & Incentive Marketing, December 2015/January 2016 39
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