MICE AFFAIRS M-A-M 2021 Issue

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MICEAFFAIRS

C O N T E N T S 6

How innovation in Hamburg’s event sector has driven hybrid & digital events

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Exclusive Coverage Mice Update Australia

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PCMA releases updated business events compass 3.0

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Global DMC Partners Releases Results and Key Findings of Q4 Meetings & Events Survey

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CEIR Announces 2020 Third Quarter Results Exhibition Industry Remains at a Standstill

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UFI Global Barometer provides 2020 results and 2021 perspectives for the exhibition industry

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#REEVENT the rallying cry to revive business tourism in the Principality in 2021

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Vaccination Drive Paving The Way for Exhibition Business

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I foresee a great year for exhibitions in India in 2021 with India undergoing the world’s biggest vaccination drive - Anbu Varathan

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Two important actions that UK meetings and event organisations need to carry out now in order to maintain business in Europe

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Changing Trends of Exhibition Business In Conversation with Yogesh Mudras

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Exclusive Conversation Featuring Edward Koh

Editorial

Sachin Manocha Publisher & Editor

Published and Owned By:

Kanodia group Mice spendings to go supersize in 2021- reveals Vishal Kanodia during “Corporate Conversation”

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IN CONVERSATION WITH Mr Naresh Rawal

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Messe Frankfurt India joins hand with Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ) to launch MedTech Innovation Forum in India

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Messe Düsseldorf closes the Covid-19 year 2020 with a turnover of EUR 119 million

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REED EXHIBITIONS announces Anna Dycheva Smirnova as Ceo of REED EXHIBITIONS UK

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Singapore’s tourism sector emerges from 2020 with greater resilience and reinvention

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UFI releases first Industry Partners Benchmark Survey

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Merger of SingEx Holdings and Sphere Exhibits

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MCEC welcomes live music back to Plenary First exhibition in HKCEC in 2021 reinforces value of face to face events The Time is Now Initiative is helping us revive the meeting & events segment Sanjeev Tandon General Manager, Courtyard By Marriott Agra

Associate Editorial

Ms.Anjali

Publisher & Editor

Avighna Business Promotion Experts, LGF 51 Wave Silver Tower Sec 18, Noida INDIA, www.miceaffairs.com ; Periodicity Quarterly

Marketing Team

Web Support

Mr.Raj Kumar

Mr.B Pandey

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Mice Affairs is printed and published by Sachin Manocha on behalf of Avighna Business Promotion Experts and printed at D 86 sector 10 Noida 201301 and published at Lgf 51 wave silver tower sec 18 Noida. Editor Sachin Manocha

Disclaimer The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors and forum participants in this magazine do not necessarily reflect the opinions,beliefs and viewpoints of Mice Affairs Team Members. The publisher does not accept any responsibility for any errors of translation. Publisher disclaims liability for incidental or consequential damages and assumes no responsibility or liability for any loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of use of the information provided in the magazine. The publisher reserves the rights to accept or decline any editorial/advertising material. Acceptance of any material whether editorial or advertising does not imply any endorsements from our side. We welcome letters to editor. All rights reserved .

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FROM THE DESK OF

Editor

D

uring the recent times a series of new developments in all spaces of MICE Business worldwide has been getting noticed. Industry is talking about restart and to complement this fact we all could see exhibitions returning back like Gulf Food Dubai, Acetetch Mumbai and Aahar Delhi this month.

Moving to Travel events, TTF Kolkata already went off really well and SATTE is also gearing up for March end.

Moving on to Meetings and Incentives groups, movements to Dubai in the range of 2000, 750 Pax and 350 pax were executed by Big Guns from India.

Big numbers but precautions & safety are must while handling these groups. As the second wave is already acting as a speed braker to MICE activities worldwide.

Namaste Welcome you all to another power packed issue of Mice Affairs Magazine

India has started second round of vaccinations countrywide starting 1 st March 2021 for the age group 60 and above. So these developments are definitely going to reinstate confidence in safe resumption of activities.

GOI is putting in lot of efforts on domestic tourism front as 2021 is said to be the year of Domestic Tourism. All states are putting in untiring efforts for the tourism promotion.

We have also started a survey in public domain to get the “India’s Most Preferred Destination” We shall announce the results very soon.

Another initiative is our commitment to #HelpRestartMICE. Under this campaign run exclusively

by Mice Affairs Media Group, our team shall be approaching MICE Buyers from all domains and feed them with latest updates which shall be helpful for them to decide MICE Projects.

The current issue contains focused news from Global MICE domain covering all spaces. We are also launching our first physical event very soon. Do follow us on social media and stay updated.

Letters to editor may be emailed to sachin@miceaffairs.com

Sachin Manocha 5 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

MICEAFFAIRS

G L O B A L M I C E U P DAT E

How innovation in Hamburg’s event sector has driven hybrid & digital events

“In the current climate, it’s essential for the business event industry to adjust and change its offering to meet current requirements’, says Florian Gerdes, Marketing Manager Conventions at Hamburg Convention Bureau. “Venues and event agencies throughout the city have demonstrated huge innovation, creating high quality events that are engaging and relevant.”

Venues and event organisers across Hamburg are fast expanding their skill set to deliver high quality digital and hybrid events, hosting a range of European and national events over the past few months. Here are some highlights The eye of the law considers Covid One of the largest legal events MICEAFFAIRS

to be focused on the pandemic to date took place, for the first time in its history, as a hybrid event . The German Lawyers Convention was held in September, attracting 200 participants to Hamburg Messe and more than 5,500 participants followed the event via live stream. Under the title ‘Pandemic and Law - Forum of the Deutscher Juristentag e.V. Hamburg 2020’, the event included contributions from the Federal Minister of Justice and the Hamburg Senator of Justice and discussions centred on topical concerns - ‘Fundamental rights in times of pandemic’ and ‘Sharing the burden of the pandemic’.

Heike Mahmoud, Chief Operating Officer of CCH Congress Center Hamburg,

comments: Although we’re ultimately looking forward to welcoming back large numbers of participants at live events once it is safe to do so, we’ll continue, in the interim, to focus on producing high-quality, hybrid events, such as the Forum Pandemic and Law Financial leader celebrates 30th anniversary Proaktiva, one of the leading private asset managers in Germany, celebrated its 30 th anniversary with its national network of employees, clients and stakeholders via a hybrid event.

Hamburg-based event agency KahnEvents facilitated and moderated the event which took place in September. 24 people attended the live event 6 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

GLOBAL M ICE NEWS at Hansegate Hamburg ,an event venue alongside the River Elbe, and digital attendees were able to join the celebrations with the help of an ”online party box” providing them with food and drink.

Torben Peters, Managing Director of PROAKTIVA GmbH, explains: “We wanted to strengthen our with clients during these difficult times and the event – thanks to its high production values and interactive elements – managed to deliver this.”

Medical sector switches to virtual The Hamburg branch of professional congress organiser Interplan had to quickly switch from live to virtual events, turning a face to face meeting into a virtual congress within a matter of weeks. Since then Interplan has organised and hosted an impressive list of 15 virtual congresses and 7 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

exhibitions.

These events include European and national events in the medical sector such as the virtual ECMO Day for the European Extracorporeal Life Support Organisation’s (EuroELSO); the Pain and Palliative Care annual meeting for the German Pain Society, the German Ophthalmology Society’s annual meeting, ENDOCLUB (gastro intestinal endoscopy) virtual congress and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) annual meeting.

Stefano Del Prato, President of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) said:

“We have together embarked on a new virtual adventure and have received many positive responses from our industry partners for the excellent work the Interplan team has delivered.”

The call of the wild Tierpark Hagenbeck, Hamburg’s park and zoo, now houses a new studio dedicated to producing digital and hybrid events for up to 180 attendees. Venue operator Gerresheim has partnered with event technology specialists Nordlite to create the facility which has four separate studio sets along with a small conference room, production office and crew area.

Florian Gerdes from Hamburg Convention Bureau summarises: “These innovations demonstrate some of the flexibility, adaptability and sheer ingenuity shown by the city’s events sector during this crisis.

We hope that these innovations will give people confidence to plan and attend face to face meetings and events around the world when it is once again possible.”

MICEAFFAIRS

GLOBAL MICE UPDATE

Exclusive Coverage MICE UPDATE AUSTRALIA Domestic events restarting Ongoing infrastructure in Australia as appetite for development face-to-face events grows With COVID-19 cases in Australia at low numbers, domestic events are restarting while Australia’s infrastructure boom continues to yield new hotels and venues alongside significant refurbishments of existing properties.

Despite 2020 being a difficult year, there were some exciting developments for meetings and incentives in Australia. Several new hotels with event space opened, including Oval Hotel

Perth, Western Australia

hotels from the Crystalbrook Collection to debut in Cairns, one of the gateways to the Great Barrier Reef.

New openings are expected to continue in 2021, with a new W Hotel opening in Melbourne and The Langham Gold Coast

Events with up to 900 attendees have been held in Perth, Western Australia, and Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre hosted almost 1,900 people at an event in October 2020.

The current focus for Australian industry is on delivering local ‘COVIDSafe’ events with the same creative flair Australia is known for internationally while also complying with state-by-state COVID- 19 gathering restrictions.

MICEAFFAIRS

Guest room at the new W Hotel in Melbourne

at famous cricket stadium, the Adelaide Oval in South Australia; the luxury beachfront Samphire Rottnest on Rottnest Island near Perth; and Flynn, the last of a trifecta of five-star

due to open its doors as part of a A $1 billion development The Jewel on the Gold Coast. The Cairns Convention Centre in tropical North Queensland is also scheduled to begin hosting 8 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

G L O B A L M I C E U P DAT E to allow members of the same group to stay closer to one another.

There are also plans for the Badges to be used in a heat-mapping system which could give organisers valuable event data beyond the pandemic to understand high-traffic areas in their event layouts.

Guest room at Samphire Rottnest, on Rottnest Island, Western Australia

events again in May after the first stage of its refurbishment is complete.

Melbourne will see two exciting new venues debut in 2021 – THE LUME, an immersive digital art gallery set to take up residence at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, while Melbourne Skyfarm, a sustainable rooftop event space featuring an urban farm and event capacity for up to 500 people, is scheduled for completion by November 2021.

Perth will also open its largest commercially available rooftop space on top of the Art Gallery of Western Australia.

Australian innovation for events during the pandemic Australian event company Harry the Hirer has developed the Smart Badge with social distancing, contact tracing and 9 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

capacity monitoring capabilities for events.

As well as use in the events industry, Smart Badges are being embraced across various industries as workplace safety devices while businesses navigate the challenges of operating in the COVID era.

Guest room at Oval Hotel at Adelaide Oval, South Australia

The wearable technology, which works in conjunction with nodes placed around an event site, issues warnings when delegates are too close to one another and can capture secure live contact tracing data and monitor room capacities in real time. Badges can be modified

Government ramps up support for domestic events With the focus shifting to domestic activity to sustain the Australian business events industry until Australia reopens its borders to international travel, several Government initiatives aimed at encouraging MICEAFFAIRS

G L O B A L M I C E U P DAT E

Artist impression of Melbourne Skyfarm

and supporting the return of domestic events have been put in place. These include the Business Events Grants program, which subsidises up to 50 per cent of costs for businesses to attend approved multi-day business events in Australia, and Tourism Australia’s Business Events Boost Program, which offers financial support to industry-led marketing projects which seek to encourage a restart to events.

Research reveals appetite for face-to-face events Tourism Australia’s Executive General Manager of Events, Penny Lion says building confidence MICEAFFAIRS

Smart Badges in use in Canberra | Credit : Canberra Convention Bureau

intermittent domestic border restrictions, there has been more of a local focus on events within each state.

“However, research we’ve undertaken during the pandemic has shown there is appetite for a return to face-to-face events once Event space at the new W Melbourne circumstances allow.” with corporate and “At the same time association decision larger scale events Ongoing research by makers that events that have taken place Tourism Australia is could be run in a since restrictions have tracking the evolution ‘COVIDSafe’ way was eased across Australia’s of the attitudes of essential for events to states and territories corporate decision restart in Australia on a have shown that not makers towards the large scale. only are ‘COVIDSafe’ restart of domestic events possible, they are events. Between August "We are already seeing delivering imaginative and December 2020, that confidence being experiences and the face- the number of decision established, with hotels, -to-face connection that makers indicating their venues and experiences we’ve missed during the companies intended to implementing pandemic. hold events in the next comprehensive seven to 11 months rose measures to maximise “While there has been from 43 to 55 per cent. visitor safety,” Ms Lion some uncertainty says. around travel due to 10 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

GLOBAL MICE UPDATE

PCMA RELEASES UPDATED BUSINESS EVENTS COMPASS 3.0

Global business event participant demand research turns positive as vaccine distribution commences PCMA released an executive summary of the December 2020 update to Business Events Compass, an actionable framework of insights and strategies for business event professionals and their business partners for the pandemic and beyond. Takeaways from the updated research include: Recovery is coming: Twenty-eight percent of business event survey respondents now expect a greater than ten percent increase in their 2021 face-to-face business 11 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

event participation, relative to 2019 levels. This compares to ten percent in October.

In Asia-Pacific, 39 percent of participants expect a ten percent or greater increase in 2021 face-to-face participation.

Comparables for the Americas and EMEA are twenty-three percent and twenty-four percent respectively.

Digital event preferences are growing: As the pandemic continues, participants are becoming more comfortable with digital platforms as a viable option. Thirty percent of participants reported that a key reason for their expected change in face-to-face participation was that

they “prefer digital events.”

This compares to 18 percent in October and likely reflects continued improvements in digital event technology and available provider partners.

“Compass now points to a light at the end of the tunnel,” said PCMA president and CEO Sherrif Karamat, CAE. “And business events will be a vital part of the restoration of economic and social well-being in a post-pandemic world. It won’t be easy, and it won’t be the same but our role in bringing people and ideas together to create opportunities will be foundational”

MICEAFFAIRS

CANCELLATION OF BOOT

DÜSSELDORF 2021 Due to the ongoing pandemic and worldwide lockdown measures, Messe Düsseldorf decided to cancel boot Düsseldorf 2021. The next boot will open its doors from 22 to 30 January 2022.

The continuing high level of infection and the not foreseeable end of the lockdown make a resumption of trade fair operations at the end of April appear unrealistic. Our priority is the health and planning security of our exhibitors, visitors and service providers.

Therefore, we decided to cancel early.

In 2022, boot Düsseldorf will return to the known concept and will accompany watersports enthusiasts into a new season.

We’re looking forward to open the doors for boot Düsseldorf from 22 to 30 January 2022 and to network with international exhibitors, well-known business partners and trade visitors of the whole maritime sector. boot Düsseldorf will start with the registration portal for interested companies in May this year. See you in 2022!

MICEAFFAIRS

UNION

BUDGET Mr. Madhavan Menon Chairman & Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd.

Against the challenging backdrop of the COVID era, the Union Budget 2021-22 is an expansionist budget We welcome the much needed investments in healthcare, focus on capital expenditure, prioritisation of assets, privatisation and no change in taxation – structured around a clear pivot to inspire economic growth.

While the six pillars of the Budget presented a diversified approach to fundamentals, across health, capital, infrastructure, inclusive development, human capital and innovation, focus on the Travel and Tourism sector has been noticeably absent.

For an industry that is a crucial contributor to India’s GDP and a powerful force multiplier, priority tourism related announcements – an imperative to revival and sustenance - were clearly missed. We are looking at a long road to recovery and the Union Budget has not

provided the helping hand that was expected of it.

We welcome the focus on transportation infrastructure that forms a crucial base for Inbound & Domestic Tourism - with the announcement of a Rs.1.18 lakh crore outlay for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (proposed 3500 km corridor in Tamil Nadu, 1,100 km in Kerala, 675 km in West Bengal and 1300 km in Assam in the coming 3 years); equally the proposal of a future-ready rail system by 2030 and the next phases of metro projects in key cities with the 'Metro Lite' & 'Metro New' concepts for tier 1 & 2 regions. From an aviation perspective the announcement of airport privatisation in tier 2 and 3 cities/towns will serve as a boon towards access and affordability; the creation of a hub & spoke model will serve to catalyse the governments initiatives around Project UDAN and Regional Connectivity.”

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MEETING INCENTIVE CONFERENCE EXHIBITION 13 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

MICEAFFAIRS

GLOBAL REPORTS

Global DMC Partners Releases Results and Key Findings of Q4 Meetings & Events Survey Global DMC Partners (GDP), the premier, one-stop global resource for virtual, hybrid and in-person events , today shared the results of its Q4 Meetings & Events Pulse Survey. Conducted from December 3-29, 2020, the survey polled 242 respondents from the meetings and events industry. Of these, 93 percent were planners versus vendors or suppliers. The survey had respondents from nearly every part of the globe, with the majority from the United States (57 percent), and the United Kingdom (28 percent).

Participants were primarily third-party/independent planners (53.3 percent), as well as association planners (8.3 percent) and those in pharma, technology, and insurance.

Global DMC Partners President & CEO, Catherine Chaulet, shared key insights and data from GDP’s Q4 Meetings & Events Pulse Survey during the company’s virtual 2021 Trends & Panel Discussion that took place on Wednesday, January 27 to an audience of nearly 350 attendees.

Key insights from the responses included: A clear shift towards hope for face-to-face meetings to resume MICEAFFAIRS

in the latter part of 2021 with most planners (53 percent) now predicting that their in-person meetings and events will resume sometime in Q3 & Q4 2021.

General health and well-being of planners and their family and friends is the top concern now, as opposed to fear/uncertainty, travel & government restrictions, and job security in Q3 2020.

92 percent believe a vaccine is the most important factor in bringing back face-to-face events, an increase of 10 percent from Q3 2020.

Biggest COVID-19 Crisis Concern There was a notable change in the responses to this question between Q3 and Q4.

As compared to Q3 responses, general fear and uncertainty

decreased by 8 points while health and well-being of myself/ family/friends increased by 7 points in Q4 responses.

“We know that the pandemic is still going to play a big role in the way our industry operates throughout 2021 and even beyond,” said Global DMC Partners President & CEO Catherine Chaulet.” “According to a live audience poll that we conducted during our virtual 2021 Trends & Panel Session, 53 percent of the audience members are hoping for a more balanced pace of post-pandemic work/life as compared to 47 percent who miss their ‘old life’ and wish for work/life to go back to the way it was before the pandemic. Based on this sentiment being almost half and half, it will be interesting to see if our industry quickly goes back to a fast-paced, nonstop 14 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

GLOBAL REPORTS travel lifestyle or how things may become more balanced moving forward.”

Employee Travel More US companies are allowing their employees to travel than non-US companies (35 vs. 28 percent) and this has increased as compared to Q3 responses.

Non-USA companies became slightly more conservative regarding allowing their employees to travel, with 44 percent responding that travel is not allowed, compared to 40 percent in Q3. The timeline for travel continues to pushback with most planners (59 percent) reporting that they predict their companies will allow travel starting in Q2 or Q3 2021.

Return of Face-to-Face Meetings When asked about when companies and clients will start to host face-to-face live events, meetings, or incentives again, the industry was hopeful in Q3 of 2020 for face-to-face programs to resume in Q1/Q2 2021, but there is a clear shift towards the latter part of 2021 with most planners (53%) now predicting that their in-person meetings and events will resume sometime in Q3 & Q4 2021.

While many are still unsure about their target attendee numbers, 46 percent report that they would expect less than 250 attendees at their largest in-person event in 2021. The majority (57 percent) are predicting average 2021 attendee numbers to decrease, 15 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

with many respondents noting that attendees may not feel comfortable traveling or attending an event, along with the potential that programs will incorporate a hybrid/virtual component.

2021 Budgets When asked about budgets for meetings, conferences, incentives and events, most respondents noted they were either decreasing or staying the same in 2021.

Virtual Events in 2020 vs.

2021 The vast majority (78 percent) of planners pivoted to virtual events in 2020, with the necessary trend increasing as the year progressed. The majority (54 percent) are also shifting their in-person events to virtual in 2021. In Q2 2020, only 13 percent reported they were taking their programs virtual in 2021, and in Q3, 30 percent reported they were taking their programs virtual in 2021. Once more, the pivot to virtual not only increased throughout 2020, but is becoming more of a long-term solution as the pandemic wears on.

That being said, according to a live audience poll during Global DMC Partners’ virtual 2021 Trends & Panel Discussion, 63 percent of audience members reported that audience engagement was their top concern surrounding virtual events, followed by budget, and a sense of dissatisfaction with managing virtual events due to virtual not being their area

of expertise nor their area of interest.

Incentives 2020 vs. 2021 With the overall sentiment that incentive trips are largely irreplaceable, many are still just postponed, however, as 2020 went on gifts and cash became increasingly popular as replacements for the incentive trip. 67 percent of respondents did report that incentive trips are still taking place in 2021 or 2022.

“We’ve heard loud and clear from planners that they are eager to travel and get back to in-person events in 2021, but there are still many challenges to overcome. However, DMCs, hotels and other event suppliers are ready to support planners with their face-to-face events by helping them implement health and sanitation procedures that will ensure every attendee stays safe and healthy at the event ,” said Chaulet. “For example, recently we are hearing more often that planners are looking into having COVID testing for attendees onsite at events. With their local connections and access, DMCs and hotels are going to be the best resources to help make this possible.”

For example, we are now hearing more and more that planners are looking into having COVID testing for attendees onsite at events, and with their local connections and access, DMCs and hotels are going to be the best resources to help make this possible for planners.

MICEAFFAIRS

“

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For more information, visit www.itb-asia.com Tel: +65 6635 1188 | Email: exhibitor@itb-asia.com

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GLOBAL REPORTS

CEIR Announces 2020 Third Quarter Results Exhibition Industry Remains at a Standstill The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) reports that the exhibition industry remained at a grinding halt in the third quarter of 2020, with approximately 97% of originally scheduled events cancelled. As a result, the CEIR Total Index, a measure of exhibition industry performance, registered a 98.1% decline from a year ago (see Figure 1). The industry experienced a more moderate year-over-year decline of real (inflation-adjusted) GDP at 2.9%, which increased at an annual rate of 33.1% from the previous quarter. The latter had been somewhat boosted by continued reopening of businesses, strong residential investment, and online and other consumer goods purchases.

Real GDP vs. CEIR Total Index, 2020 Q1-Q3, Year-over-Year % Change Despite the economic rebound enjoyed in the third quarter, the exhibition industry remained largely stalled given the persistence of COVID-19.

A second wave of the virus in July prompted a number of states to pull back on reopening their economies and impose stringent group size limitations, all contributing to a lack of trade show activity. About 3% of events did take place as mostly small, regional events.

The continuance of stringent 17 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

rules imposed by states and municipalities, as well as ongoing no travel corporate policies, caused most events scheduled for the third quarter to be canceled or postponed to 2021. These two reasons are cited as the top two reasons why business-to-business (B2B) exhibition organizers say they were forced to cancel, according to CEIR’s June poll. These policies mute participation potential. Other opinion polls tracking consumer sentiment record reluctance to travel, with air travel continuing to remain well below 2019 levels.

Excluding the cancelled events during the third quarter, the Total Index dropped by 36.1%.

All exhibition metrics posted sharp year-over-year declines.

Attendees suffered the largest fall of 57.6% and exhibitors decreased 29.2%, whereas net square feet (NSF) tumbled 26.3%.

Real revenues declined 24.6% from a year ago.

Quarterly CEIR Metrics for the Overall Exhibition Industry, Year-over-Year Growth, 2020Q3 The U.S. economy has been growing since May. With a sharp rebound in the third quarter, the real GDP was only 3.5% below its peak in the fourth quarter of 2019. Recent monthly economic indicators point to continued moderate growth in the fourth quarter, though newly imposed

restrictions in some states will restrain recovery around the turn of the year. As a result of Congress failing to quickly pass a Phase 4 rescue plan combined with a relatively high rate of new COVID-19 cases, economic growth in the first quarter of 2021 is likely to slow significantly. Nonetheless, CEIR expects economic growth will accelerate again in the second quarter as more people are vaccinated and the impact of the Phase 4 rescue programs start to kick in. CEIR expects real GDP to surpass its previous peak in the third quarter of 2021.

“The strong underlying macroeconomic factors should lay a firm foundation of support to the B2B exhibition industry when state and local governments ease restrictions on group gatherings during the second half of 2021,” said CEIR Economist Allen Shaw, Ph.D., Chief Economist for Global Economic Consulting Associates, Inc. “The exhibition industry is transforming and innovating itself with a rise in virtual or hybrid events to fill the void while physical events are paused,” added CEIR CEO Cathy Breden, CMP, CAE, CEM. “With a full recovery in the economy and a majority of the population vaccinated, the recovery of B2B exhibitions should take hold in 2022.”

MICEAFFAIRS

GLOBAL REPORTS

UFI Global Barometer provides 2020 results and 2021 perspectives for

the exhibition industry

The impact of COVID-19 in 2020 has been severe, but there are posit ive signs for 2021 Industry revenues are expected to double in 2021 compared to 2020, when revenues represented just 28% of 2019 revenues

There are also positive signs regarding a quick recovery in 2021.

Globally, between April and

54% of companies have had to reduce their workforce, with half of these by more than 25% 64% are confident that COVID-19 has reinforced the value of face-to-face events, and that the sector will recover quickly The research provides dedicated profiles for 29 markets and regions UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has released the latest edition of its flagship Global Barometer research, which takes the pulse of the industry.

Results highlight the severe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the exhibition industry worldwide, in 2020.

MICEAFFAIRS

August 2020, more than half of all companies reported no activity. This situation changed from September, where the majority of companies declared some operations, at reduced levels for most. Looking ahead to 2021, the share of companies expecting a return to “normal” activity is expected to grow from 10% in January to 37% in June.

These results vary depending on region, and are primarily driven by the “re-opening date” of exhibitions. In all regions, most companies expect both local and national exhibitions to re-open by the end of June 2021, with international exhibitions resuming in the second half of the year.

Company operations also include, while face-to-face events are not possible, working into the development of digital solutions.

When asked what element would most help with the “bounce back” of exhibitions, the majority of companies, ranked “readiness of exhibiting companies and visitors to participate again” (64%), “lift of current travel restrictions” (63%) and “lift of current public policies that apply locally to exhibitions” (52%) as key factors.

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GLOBAL MICE NEW GLOBAL MICE NEWS

#REEVENT the rallying cry to revive

business tourism in the Principality in 2021

The health crisis provoked by the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the tourism industry hard.

While individual tourism is ticking over at a reduced pace, business tourism – characterised by gatherings of professionals from all backgrounds – has come to a complete halt.

With hopes of a recovery expected in this year, stakeholders in the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE) industry, whether event organisers or host venues, are conscious of the need to rethink their model, while offering the security 19 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

guarantees that everyone has a right to expect.

In the Principality, industry professionals linked through the Tourist and Convention Authority are working to make a success of this change, which is considered to be essential. It will require inventiveness and innovation, and must focus on intellectual capital, flexibility, and optimising transport and spaces, with an approach which is as environmentally friendly as possible.

“In this context, Monaco has all the advantages to establish itself as a pioneer of this

transformation: its expertise, its acknowledged excellence in event organisation and its bespoke approach, not to mention its historical commitment to environmental conservation and ongoing search for sustainable innovation,” said Guy Antognelli, Head of the Tourist and Convention Authority.

More motivated than ever to lay the groundwork for the industry’s future, the Monaco Convention Bureau, a catalyst for the Principality’s MICE offering, has launched a new communication campaign with the slogan #REEVENT. MICEAFFAIRS

INTERVIEW SECTION

Vaccination Drive Paving The Way for Exhibition Business IN CONVERSATION WITH

S BALASUBRAMANIAN PRESIDENT IEIA

Indian exhibition industry is recovering well from the after effects of last year’s pandemic.

We are at the start of what looks to be a promising year for exhibitions and events. The vaccine is coming at the right time when industries have restarted their operations and exhibition organizers are planning to organize shows.

India has already initiated perhaps the biggest vaccine drive in the world and this will give a morale boost for the public to attend exhibitions.

The country’s economy is on the revival path, many industries have been reporting encouraging orders and sales in the recent past, and MICEAFFAIRS

exhibitions have to follow naturally.

Although digital exhibitions have gained popularity due to the lockdown and travel restrictions, people prefer face-to-face exhibitions for direct interactions with technology providers, the sheer experience of touch and feel for a product cannot be replicated on the digital platform. It is believed that over the long term digital exhibitions as well as in-person exhibitions will both co-exist.

Although the vaccine is out in the public domain, people should continue to follow the social distancing norms and protocols while attending

shows.

Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) is all set to organize physical shows, the venue has created its own SOPs for exhibition organizers and will be extending all possible support during events held at the exhibition centre. From April onwards shows organized by national and international exhibition organizers will be hosted at BIEC. IMTMA will also organize its flagship IMTEX & Tooltech 2021 exhibition at BIEC from 17 - 23 June 2021.

BIEC ensures that exhibitors and visitors will be welcomed by a safe environment when participating in IMTEX and other shows at BIEC.

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INTERVIEW SECTION

I foresee a great year for exhibitions in India in 2021 with India undergoing the world’s biggest vaccination drive Anbu Varathan - President , UFI

"Covid Vaccine Is Here" Few words which the whole world was waiting for long. With two vaccines allowed in India and Mass vaccination already in progress, so would there be any impact on the Exhibition Business? To find out more and gather expert views on the same subject, Mice Affairs Media spoke to the current President UFI - The Global Association of Exhibition Industry.

Globally, the exhibition industry has undergone unprecedented times with severe economic disruptions. Exhibition industry acknowledges the efforts of the scientific community, pharmaceutical industries and health workers who have been frontline warriors in the fight against coronavirus.

knowledge of technology and products through ‘touch and feel’ cannot be replicated digitally.

Studies and surveys undertaken by UFI and other organizations in various countries have given strong indications that stakeholders were eager for physical exhibitions. Regular exhibitions weren’t happening due to social distancing norms stipulated and to apprehensions of the contracting I am glad that vaccines have been developed on virus in events. a fast-track mode and various countries have initiated the vaccine drive to safeguard the lives The finding of the vaccine will certainly restore and livelihoods of people. I foresee a great year for confidence among people to participate in shows. exhibitions in India in 2021 with India undergoing the world’s biggest vaccination drive and as this Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) happens successfully, physical events will begin is ready to host shows from April onwards with all sooner than expected. the necessary SOPs mandated by the Government of India for conducting safe and secure exhibitions.

Lately, digital events gained popularity with BIEC ensures that exhibitors and visitors will be organizers unable to hold shows due to travel experiencing a safe environment for participating restrictions and physical and social distancing in IMTEX and other shows held at BIEC. norms. However, the real joy of having first-hand 21 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

MICEAFFAIRS

INTERVIEW

INTERVIEW

Two important actions that UK meetings and event organisations need to carry out now in order to maintain business in Europe Michael Begley, managing director of venuedirectory.com

“Im in regular contact with venues, agencies and planners across the UK and many are currently unaware of the impact of Brexit on UK GDPR and EU GDPR, and the action they now need to take to ensure their business continues to operate legally,” says Michael Begley, managing director of venuedirectory.com, the largest data centre of venue information about the UK MICE industry.

“There are some simple and immediate steps that organisations should take in order to address data protection regulations and ensure that events can continue once the world opens up again.

To support our industry on the road to better business Ive partnered with data protection expert Arvi Virdee from Smartec to launch a series of short and focused webinars to guide them through this challenge,” Michael Begley explains.

How Brexit has affected the event industry’s EU data The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in 2018, requiring organisations to put data protection measures in place when either offering goods and services or monitoring the behaviour of individuals within the EU. GDPR reach is global, so can impact on any company regardless of where in the world they are based. Failure to comply can lead to hefty fines and considerable reputational damage.

The UK’s GDPR regulations are now separate from the EU’s GDPR regulations, following the trade deal which came into effect on 1 January MICEAFFAIRS

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INTERVIEW this year. This means there are now two data protection legislations instead of just one UK GDPR covering individuals in the UK and EU GDPR for individuals in the EU. Businesses holding both types of data, will now need to adhere to each of the two separate legislations.

The UK is now officially considered a ‘third country’ under the EU GDPR. This means that UK businesses serving EU consumer will need to ensure they comply with both the UK and EU GDPR measures.

What does this mean for the business events industry?

There are two actions that meetings and events organisations now need to take: Firstly, UK companies which hold data for the EU now need to review and update their existing data sets. This is to determine which proportion is EU data (and therefore subject to EU GDPR regulations); which is UK data (subject to UK GDPR regulations) and which data falls outside of both of these categories, for example, data sets for individuals based in America or Asia.

Secondly – and perhaps more significantly - UK businesses need to appoint a representative within the EU to deal with any queries. These could be queries around a data breach or a data subject access request. This representative should reside in any one of the 27 EU countries, preferably the country in which 23 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

a business has the most dealings - and therefore be in situ to deal with requests from individuals, companies or authorities.

UK businesses need to appoint an EU representative only if they do not already have a branch or office in the EU. If they do, this branch or office would act as the representative, although privacy notices would need to be updated to this effect.

It’s important to note that these new measures work both ways. UK law now requires EU companies who hold UK data to have a representative in the UK, and EU based companies need to review and separate their data sets to determine which is now subject to UK GDPR regulations.

What are the implications UK businesses don’t undertake these two activities?

The meeting and event industry is truly global with many different companies – venues, DMCs, agencies and corporates - all involved in planning a single event. This means that there are many different kinds of personal data often shared between these organisations – and across borders - to allow them to perform their service.

For example, if you’re a UK agency hosting a conference in Dubai, with delegates from all over Europe, you’ll be affected by these changes. If you’re a London based agency using a DMC in Greece, you’ll be affected. If

you’re a global agency with offices in London co-ordinating an event in New York with attendees from across the globe, you’ll be affected.

The upshot of not adhering to the new data protection requirements is potential loss of business.

For example, if a UK venue is approached by an EU based corporate but doesn’t meet EU GDPR measures, they will not be able to fulfil the essential requirements for delivering the business. Webinars to support event professionals

Michael Begley continues: “Event professionals should act now, using this current time when meetings and events are currently on hold, in order to ensure they’re fully prepared and have the correct elements in place in order to do business again.

“Having access to the right information and support is crucial and I hope to provide support through a series of forthcoming webinars. We ve partnered with data protection expert Arvi Virdee from Smartec to run a series of free webinars guiding event professionals through the process.”

MICEAFFAIRS

INTERVIEW SECTION

INTERVIEW SECTION

Changing Trends of Exhibition Business

In Conversation with Yogesh Mudras Covid Outbreak has changed almost every business segment. What changes Organizers foresee in the new phase of Exhibition Business?

A: The pandemic has indeed played havoc with public health, necessitating a lockdown that had a huge impact on the economy and has resulted in an overall business loss of more than INR 1,25,000 crores as no exhibitions were held since March 2020. Even though, the global spread of COVID-19 had brought trade shows and exhibitions to a halt, it is also unleashing a new era of change for the business. Likewise, the trade show industry has also adapted to virtual events. With the right technology, these virtual trade shows enabled the industry communities to stay connected and fill the gap. But now with the government’s nod to re-opening physical trade expos, we will be delighted to kickstart the proceedings with trade exhibitions in the new year.

This will be done with complete adherence to the government’s extremely balanced SOP, further ring-fenced by Informa’s AllSecure health and safety standards. Looking ahead, there will be more hybrid engagements, combining the best of physical and virtual platforms. These will enable us to offer efficient, impressive and state-of-the-art solutions for our stakeholder’s evolving requirements.

Managing Director of Informa Market India

Yogesh Mudras

MICEAFFAIRS

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INTERVIEW SECTION

Virtual can’t replace physical shows. What’s A: Our exhibitors are all fueled by the purpose of re-starting their businesses and to choose the your viewpoint on virtual space with most viable option to enable them to continue reference to exhibition business?

A: Physical exhibitions, now enhanced by the digital corpus, will always remain relevant.

Professionals in different industries are passionately curious, prefer the touch and feel aspect of products, and view networking as more than just a clinical process. Face-to-face aspects in some key sectors such as jewellery, food ingredients, leisure or where large machines are involved are even more relevant. However, 2020 has irrevocably transformed us and our businesses and the digital medium will be an intrinsic part of our shows. Our virtual events are safe and a key element for engaging with our stakeholders and their evolving needs. We have already been making the most out of the virtual space, having conducted more than 125 events seamlessly. These offers personal space to each attendee as they can be a part of any event from their remote locations and leads to growth in audience engagement as participation is not bound to a city or a country.

The feedback that we get from attendees is quick and transparent, leading to an even more state-of-the-art experience.

As an organizer, what’s the feedback from exhibitors market. How interested are exhibitors to plan for their next participation?

their critical business conversations and networking. With the Government’s go ahead to trade exhibitions, many establishments were keen to re-start. At the same time, given the unprecedented and unpredictable nature of the pandemic, and the various national and international currents of thought, some of them decided to be more cautious and be able to participate wholesomely in the coming year. We respect their wishes and are ready when they are.

Please share key developments at Informa Markets for our readers?

A: To cater to the new normal in India, Informa Markets created the ‘AllSecure’ safety standard.

A detailed set of enhanced measures, All Secure provides attendees with the reassurance and confidence that they are participating in a safe and controlled environment. These international protocols are based on 10 Key Commitments of enhanced cleaning, personal hygiene, non-contact registration, physical distancing, the highest standard of food safety, avoiding physical contact, wearing PPE kits, accessible first-aid kits, screening participants and trace-and-contact participants (if necessary). We also are consistently keeping in touch with our stakeholders, association members and the government.

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FOCUSED

FOCUSED GLOBAL MICE INDUSTRY MAGAZINE GLOBAL MICE INDUSTRY MAGAZINE

MEETING INCENTIVE CONFERENCE EXHIBITION MEETING INCENTIVE CONFERENCE EXHIBITION

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MICEAFFAIRS

EXCLUSIVE CONVERSATION FEATURING Edward Koh Executive Director, Conventions, Meetings and Incentive Travel Singapore Tourism Board Mice Affairs Media Group catches up with Edward Koh to get the latest and first hand information

Edward Koh, Executive Director, Conventions, Meetings and Incentive Travel Singapore Tourism Board

SM: Whole world is appreciating Singapore’s methodology to combat covid. How would you like to sum up 2020 as far as MICE Business is concerned?

EK:2020 has been the toughest year so far for travel tourism, hospitality, and allied industries. MICE Business will be first to get hit and the last one to get recovered is what we predicted a year ago. Somehow Singapore managed to get most events postponed than MICEAFFAIRS

cancelled.

Before the lockdown, Singapore launched SG clean certification program which depicts a high standard of hygiene excellence.

And as of date, SG Clean has been awarded to 30000 + establishments in Singapore including hotels and other MICE entities.

The next big step is to go digital. Once things resume back, maximum digital experience while you are in Singapore is on the cards.

Starting from Immigrations to all possible touchpoints, visitors to Singapore shall have maximum no-touch experience with usage of sensors, robots and other possible technological means.

Most of the attractions are alos adapting the pre-bookings process, which shall be an

add-on to manage traffic at all these high-traffic places in a more systematic manner.

Most of the players including venues, Hotels, Travel Establishments are managing to better use their assets in other means, starting from Cargo, food deliveries, and so on. We feel proud to share that our industry has shown resilience and adaptability to innovative methods to the given situation.

SM: Getting back confidence is talk of the town. Share your views on the same along with plans for India Market?

EK: “ Since Oct 2020, we have allowed activities to resume back safely in Singapore. This is the first step to allow events to take place but with new rules and procedures. Other things to follow includes 26 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

Program 1-Always Mask up 2-1 Metre Distance 3-3 Metres distance to the stage for first row 4- A Table to offer max 8 seats 5- and last maximum event size 250 pax Singapore has already done some event testing implementing the new techniques. Even last year few events were organized successfully in physical format including Travel Revive where 65 International delegates joined the event. To make sure community safety and set example for safe events, a lot of test procedures were adopted starting from daily RT PCR testing, Pre departure and arrival testing too. Singapore has already started regaining confidence of organizers in Singapore. World Economic Forum’s special annual meeting 2021 is already announced in Singapore from 17-20 Aug 2021. From late 2021 to 2028, a series of events are lined up in Singapore.

As far as India is concerned, it is 3rd largest source market for Singapore after China and Indonesia. In the year 2019-20, we have received 1.42 million visitors from India. India is also a top source of business traffic for us especially Meeting & Incentive domain. And to welcome MICE groups back, we already have our specially curated support schemes A: INSPIRE (In Singapore Incent ives & Rewards) Offering Exclusive Dining & Tour Experiences B:BIES Business Events in Singapore – Funding Support C: SMAP Singapore MICE Advantage 27 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

D: STARS Special Travel Agents Rewards in Singapore All these support schemes are curated to inf luence decision during the bidding stage.

SM: When Singapore is going to open its gates to welcome MICE back?

EK: “WHEN” is the question everyone is eagerly waiting for an answer. It all depends upon the real recovery. And that will happen once borders are fully open. Singapore right now have implemented green lane arrangements with few countries. A lot depends on the vaccination. So that going forward countries may allow vaccinated travelers to their respective regions.

This has been a discussion point at various G2G levels for now. We really hope that Time comes up very soon so we can welcome MICE back with new protocols and safety guidelines.

SM: Share your Key message for the Industry?

EK: Singapore is reimagining the future of Business events. As they say, all three buttons shall be pressed simultaneously Accelerate, Pause & Reset. So right now time calls for Partnering with local Industry and pushing boundaries with technology and creativity . A lot of innovation, adaptability and resilience has been showcased by Singapore Business Events industry and we are confident that Singapore will lead the way to safe and high quality business events.

We all st Singapore look forward to welcome back our friends overseas very soon with more warmth, safety

MICEAFFAIRS

INTERVIEW SECTION

KANODIA GROUP MICE SPENDINGS TO GO SUPERSIZE IN 2021- REVEALS VISHAL KANODIA DURING “CORPORATE CONVERSATION” WITH MICE AFFAIRS MEDIA Corporate Conversation is an advance series of interview program initiated by Mice Affairs Media Group, where our team is speaking to corporate buyers across India and their plans for MICE projects in 2021. The current conversation features Mr. Vishal Kanodia, Managing Director, Kanodia Group.

With the market presence in UP, Delhi, Haryana, Uttrakhand and Bihar, Our one Grinding Cement Unit at Amethi in Uttar Pradesh having a Capacity of 1.5Million tonnes per annum was expected to operational in Oct/Nov-20, which is delayed by 4-5 months due to Covid -19 and now expected to commence by April-May-2021 When asked about the role of distribution channel partners in business, Mr. Kanodia shared his viewpoints

“In Cement Business, Channel Partners Like Distributor, Mr. Kanodia summed up 2020 Stockists & Retailers play a key saying role in success as they are the “The Financial Year 20-21 started main binding force in between with Covid-19 Pandemic and due Company and the end-user/ consumer. Certainly, the onto 68 days complete lockdown -ground promotional activities/ construction activities were visit during the Covid-19 very badly affected in Urban as was almost nil. However, as well as Rural Economy. Urban everyone is aware that there India also faced construction is a transformational shift to workforce limitations due to the digital age, so going ahead migration movement due to on the same lines, we have lockdown, However in Rural established and strengthen India cement demand picked our relationship with channel up with the govt sponsored partners by various E means employment generation including Zoom Meeting and programs but the overall other virtual formats. Moreover, demand was much lower in we have worked towards comparison to corresponding strengthening our presence on period to last financial year. social media. And this is going Although the current financial year turned up to be really tough to be our major thrust area in times to come. for the construction sector yet we have registered growth of Quite positive reaction from Mr. 35-40% until December-2020.

Kanodioa on new work culture At present, our capacity is 3.60 of Working from home and how Million Tonnes Per Annum.

MICEAFFAIRS

relevant and productive new norm stands out to be in their business line, "The New norm is much relevant in the cement industry as well, being digital life occupying the professional space at large has now become part & parcel of daily routine And till the uncertainty is over, E meetings are the answers for many businesses. But on the other side with positive news of vaccination and India rolling the mass vaccination starting 16th Jan, we are confident businesses will turn to normalcy very soon" Quite interesting and motivating lines were quoted from Kanodia Group MD, when asked about their plans for MICE projects in 2021 “MICE is an integral part of the promotional budget of any Business. In Cement Business close to 30% promotional budget is allocated to MICE projects. During the current FY, we were not able to utilize any significant portion of the allocated budgets under MICE, but definitely, in the next financial year we will give major thrust on MICE spendings through Channel Partner Meets, Conferences & Seminar as well as Outbound tours. We really hope the entire Cement Industry is thinking and planning on the same lines to motivate their channel partners. #WeSupportMICEIndustry 28 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

I

N N CONVERSATION CONVERSATION WITH WITH

Q. Year of redesigning business is what 2020 stands for many. Is it true in case of Cruise Business as well. What’s the inside story?

Many will remember 2020 as a challenging year that has affected and changed the landscape of various industries, including the cruise sector due to the global pandemic. Cruise lines alike including Genting Cruise Lines had taken this valuable opportunity to rethink, redesign and enhance its safety and preventive measures to adapt to the new norm and age of traveling.

Mr Naresh Rawal Vice President – Sales (India & South Asia), Genting Cruise Lines sustainable and responsible traveling environment to gain the confidence of both the local authorities and consumers alike. For instance in Singapore, protocols are in place that include pre boarding and post cruise Antigen Rapid Test for all guests, ship operating at 50% capacity, ship equipped with an Infection Control Officer and a PCR machine for on board COVID-19 testing, on board social distancing and compulsory face mask wearing etc.

Q. Restart is on cards. How is cruise industry planning a new start?

Q. Corporate Cruise Events are always a hit in MICE domain.

Any strategy to entice them back quickly?

Genting Cruise Lines has been at the forefront and was the first cruise line in the world to restart the cruise industry with successful safe pilot cruises

by Dream Cruises, starting in Taiwan since July 2020 and subsequently in Singapore from November 2020 onwards.

We were able to adapt and tailor made a deployment model with safety protocols that meet the requirements of different countries. This is crucial in order to create a

Rebuilding the travel and leisure industry, including the cruise industry is a collective effort from cruise lines to travel agents to local authorities, as we instil confidence and educate consumers across different target market segments, including the MICE sector.

Developing the MICE sector will be a careful and gradual process due to the restrictions such as social distancing requirements, number of persons per group

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etc. As such, it’s important for cruise lines to work with local authorities closely to monitor the local situation and identify suitable and safe opportunities and timing to offer and conduct MICE events in the future.

Q. Any further plans and initiatives, you may add As we head into 2021, we remain highly optimistic of the continued demand for cruises and with these steps in place, it will set the blue print for us to continue to work with various local authorities to resume safe pilot cruises in various countries in the not too distant future.

Also, with the development and wider spread of distribution of vaccines in 2021, we hope it will build confidence among travellers - complemented by our enhanced and stringent safety protocols that are readily in place across our fleet.

MICEAFFAIRS

INDIA EXHIBITION INDIA EXHIBITION NEWS

Messe Frankfurt India joins hand with Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone (AMTZ) to launch MedTech Innovation Forum in India With an objective to draw attention to the growth opportunities and latest developments in the Indian Medical device industry, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India has joined hands with India’s first integrated medical devices manufacturing ecosystem – AMTZ. The joint cooperation aims to provide further impetus to indigenous manufacturing of medical devices and bring forward innovations and specialised medical tools and technologies that can attract domestic and global investors.

As the nation takes steps to develop its healthcare infrastructure including an ecosystem for its medical device industry, the launch of MedTech Innovation Forum aims to create a collaborative platform for medical device manufacturers, innovators and technology experts to exchange advancements and innovations for the development of the Indian medical devices industry.

Slated from 7 – 8 October 2021 in Visakhapatnam, the first edition of this key business event is expected MICEAFFAIRS

to bring industry leadership together with government and medical consultants to address integral challenges of import dependency, need for technology collaborations as well as medical technology advancements that can be introduced in the industry.

The forum has received strong support from apex industry bodies - AIMED (Association of Indian Medical Device Industry) and ADMI (Association of Diagnostics Manufacturers of India) ADMI.

Mr Raj Manek, Managing Director, Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd said: “India’s response and agility in scaling up manufacturing of medical devices together with strong initiatives by the government on making the sector ‘Atmanirbhar’ makes it

opportune time to introduce a forum that focuses on bringing medical technology innovations to the forefront. We are proud to combine strengths with AMTZ in this goal and are confident that the critical insights on MedTech advancements and challenges will enable the sector to create an environment for improved trade and investment opportunities.”

The Indian medical devices market, which accounts for more than 13% of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) medical devices market, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% through 2025. Dr Jitendra Sharma, MD & CEO, Andhra Pradesh MedTech Zone elaborated: “The industry is poised for significant growth in the next five years, however, it is still largely import-driven with 90% of sophisticated devices being imported from around the world. The dialogue with medical device manufacturers and innovators will open up opportunities to empower the country’s strong healthcare and medical devices industry in the post COVID-19 era.

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INDIA EXHIBITION NEWS

INDIA EXHIBITION NEWS

Dr Sharma further added that AMTZ aims to put the Indian medical device industry on the global map by encouraging sector innovations and we are happy to join hands with Messe Frankfurt in this endeavour as their expertise and reach across sectors in India will help bring in key stakeholders together.”

Messe Frankfurt India has been actively involved in tracking industry growth and addressing rising concerns on counterfeit products in the pharmaceutical industry through its Pharmasafe India conference and webinar series. In August 2020, the

ventilators. As a scientific infrastructure supported by the government, the zone intends to reduce import dependence and lower cost of healthcare by an estimated 40 to 50% and is taking active steps to develop R&D, testing labs and provision for acceleration for start-ups.

The joint cooperation between Messe Frankfurt India and AMTZ will play a crucial role in highlighting India’s strengths in medical technologies, promote indigenous manufacturing, ease the sector’s reliance on imports and empower the country’s strong healthcare and medical devices.

Indian subsidiary held the first virtual edition of the Medical Device Innovation Summit to address growing demand for specialised medical equipment and is now closely working with industry leaders in the sector to launch Medtech Innovation Forum as a large-format Confex in October 2021.

Touted as India’s largest medical devices manufacturing park, the Andhra Pradesh Medtech Zone (AMTZ) has dynamically contributed to the fight against COVID-19 pandemic through large-scale manufacturing of domestic rapid testing kits, PPE and 31 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

MICEAFFAIRS

Messe Düsseldorf closes the Covid-19 year 2020 with a turnover of EUR 119 million Strategic package of measures initiated for 2021 2021 trade fair year kicks off with boot Düsseldorf in April Lord Mayor Dr. Stephan Keller elected new Chairman of Supervisory Board Despite the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, Messe Düsseldorf closes the business year 2020 with a still strong equity ratio of just under 55%.

Thanks to sound and sustainable management over the past years, the company has created financial leeway which is having a positive effect for managing the current situation. Furthermore, the company counters the current pandemic with a powerful package of measures.

shareholders continue to positively rate the continued important market position of Messe Düsseldorf as a partner for the industry as well as its financial stability: over the past years it has stood out with profitable and sustainable management, which will help coping with this difficult year.”

Keller goes on to emphasise the importance of the trade fair as an economic driver for the location:

“The numerous cancelled leading international trade fairs not only proved a tough setback The Board of Managing Directors of Messe Düsseldorf for Messe Düsseldorf but especially for local has informed the Supervisory Board in its meeting business and all associated sectors of industry. today about business developments in 2020 as well Travel restrictions prevented exhibitors and as the forecast for 2021. The Messe Düsseldorf Group visitors from travelling, which led to slumps in reports a turnover of EUR 131.5 million, which is 65.3% food service sales, in hospitality, in transport, in lower than in the previous year (EUR 378.5 million) retail and in skilled crafts. This is another reason due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The why we must do everything we can to overcome situation is similar for Messe Düsseldorf GmbH, which the Covid pandemic.” at EUR 118.9 million posts a 65.4% lower turnover than in 2019 (EUR 344 million). The GmbH profits have Board of Managing Directors initiates package of dropped to EUR -64.7 million (previous year: EUR 70.6 measures As things currently stand, Messe Düsseldorf million). Despite this development Messe Düsseldorf GmbH forecasts sales of EUR 107.3 million and a loss GmbH continues enjoying a very high equity position at of EUR 77 million for the business year 2021. “Against EUR 364.3 million (previous year: EUR 448 million). The the backdrop 2 of the negative effects of the Covid-19 equity ratio of 54.8 percent (previous year 64 percent) pandemic on the exhibition industry we focus on long-term strategic measures in order to counter the remains at a high level. current, Covid-19 induced decline in operations in a New Chairman of the Supervisory Board In the sustainable manner that secures the substance of the Supervisory Board meeting, Dr. Stephan Keller, Lord business,” stresses Wolfram N. Diener, President & Mayor of the state capital Düsseldorf, was elected CEO of Messe Düsseldorf. new Chairman of the Supervisory Board. Dr. Stephan The central aim is to secure liquidity, emphasizes Keller: Bernhard J. Stempfle, Managing Director Finance “As expected, the annual results ended up lower & Infrastructure. This is why short-time work will be than in the previous year in view of Covid-19. It extended to the end of March for the time being, new is therefore all the more relevant now that the hires will be suspended and vacancies not be filled, MICEAFFAIRS

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fix-term contracts will expire and partial retirement schemes are being discussed.

Furthermore, other planned budget lines as well as investment and maintenance will be cut back to an acceptable minimum. In 2020 investments stood at EUR 35.7 million (planned: EUR 70 million) and maintenance costs at EUR 10.2 million. 2021 will see investment total EUR 10.5 million and maintenance EUR 7.6 million.

German trade fair after the lockdown in spring. Add to this the guest event “DoKomi” held by the subsidiary Düsseldorf Congress GmbH, which welcomed Europe’s biggest Anime and Japan Expo with 28,000 participants on 26 and 27 September 2020.

“We have thus shown that successful trade fairs are possible under the greatest possible protection for all participants, even in Covid times,” says Erhard Wienkamp, Managing Director Operative Trade Fair Business. “The events marked the re-start of the trade Virtual formats to complement physical trade fairs fair operations that the economy urgently needs. It On top of this, Messe Düsseldorf expands its lines needs platforms for presenting, gathering information, of business by strongly driving digital formats, for exchange and networking. In addition, there are example. 20 to 22 October 2020 saw glasstec VIRTUAL numerous companies associated with the events,” being held as the first virtual-only event by Messe explains Wienkamp. According to a study of the Düsseldorf, attracting 10,000 participants from Munich based ifo Institute, the Düsseldorf trade fair more than 110 countries. Around 800 exhibitors and congress business alone induces EUR 2.98 billion from 44 countries presented themselves in the so- of sales across Germany every year (in Düsseldorf: -called Exhibition Space. Around 45,000 trade visitors EUR 1.66 billion), secures 27,692 jobs (in Düsseldorf: from 169 nations took advantage of the offerings at 16,664) and generates additional tax revenue of EUR virtual.MEDICA and virtual.COMPAMED from 16 to 567 million Euro (in Düsseldorf: EUR 36.3 million). One 19 November; in addition, 1,500 exhibitors from 63 third of all overnight stays at hotels in Düsseldorf are countries were present. Wolfram N. Diener, CEO of accounted for by trade fairs and congresses.

Messe Düsseldorf, stresses: “Our virtual events attract a broad-based international audience. This is where Positive signals for international event business In industry players from all over the world can network, 2020 the home base Düsseldorf hosted seven trade find out about industry trends and forge partnerships, fairs in total with 5,558 exhibitors und 534,914 visitors even in times of Covid-19.” The virtual commitment of – spread across four Messe Düsseldorf events (boot, Messe Düsseldorf, he is confident, will also pay off after EuroShop, CARAVAN SALON, TourNatur) and three the pandemic: “There is a trend towards dovetailing partner and guest events (PSI, PromoTex Expo und physical and digital formats. For our trade fairs this viscom). Abroad, a total of 16 events were held, most means that they are increasingly complemented by of them in China (7). There, business has already virtual content. We bet on hybrid trade fairs – i.e. a mix picked up again: from July 2020 the subsidiary Messe of the physical event on site and digital ranges. This will Düsseldorf Shanghai successfully organised six trade consolidate the pole position of Düsseldorf’s global No. fairs with more than 3,200 exhibitors and 160,000 1 trade fairs as central communication and information trade visitors. The cycle was kicked off by the 100th platforms for their respective industries – during the China International Occupational Safety & Health physical trade fairs and all year long.“ Goods Expo (CIOSH) from 3 to 5 July 2020. It was one of China’s first trade fairs, held with 1,035 exhibitors and Trade fairs instrumental to re-starting the economy 21,207 visitors, after the pandemic-induced standstill.

Messe Düsseldorf has developed a comprehensive This was followed by the retail trade fair C-star (134 hygiene and infection protection concept based on exhibitors and 9,006 visitors), wire China and Tube the Corona Protection Ordinance of the state of North China (953 exhibitors and 36,552 visitors), All in Print Rhine- Westphalia in order to make physical trade fairs China (687 exhibitors and 70,000 visitors) as well as possible. 4 to 13 September 2020 saw CARAVAN SALON ProWine China (400 exhibitors and 22,542 visitors).

Düsseldorf held with 107,000 visitors as the first major 33 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

MICEAFFAIRS

APPOINTMENTS

APPOINTMENTS

REED EXHIBITIONS ANNOUNCES ANNA DYCHEVA SMIRNOVA AS CEO OF REED

EXHIBITIONS UK

R

eed Exhibitions announce that Anna Dycheva-Smirnova has been appointed CEO, Reed Exhibitions UK, in addition to her role as CEO of Russia, Turkey and the Middle East, effective from 1 January 2021.

Dycheva-Smirnova joined Reed Exhibitions as Deputy General Manager of Reed Exhibitions Russia in 2008 and became CEO of Reed Exhibitions Russia in 2017. In 2019, she was named CEO of Reed Exhibitions Turkey and Reed Exhibitions Middle East.

Dominic Feltham, Reed Exhibitions President of Europe, Middle East & Africa commenting on the appointment, said, “I am delighted that Anna has accepted the challenge and I’m looking forward to working alongside her in this new chapter for Reed Exhibitions. Her international expertise, deep events experience and understanding of our high performance culture will be crucial to us as we rebuild our UK business and thrive well into the future."

Dycheva-Smirnova said, “I am delighted to be joining such a passionate and knowledgeable team in the UK. In 2020, our industry underwent a tremendous shock right around the world. My first job will be to support our teams in the UK and rebuild our business integrating our digital expertise into our future events – delivering compelling value for our customers and driving our company back to growth. I cannot wait to get started.”

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G L O B A L M I C E U P DAT E

SINGAPORE’S TOURISM SECTOR EMERGES FROM 2020 WITH GREATER RESILIENCE AND REINVENTION

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espite enduring its toughest year on record, Singapore’s tourism sector has taken strides to reimagine its offerings and experiences, while supporting nationwide efforts to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tourism-related companies have benefited from various government support measures to transform their products and offerings, while building new capabilities to position themselves for future growth opportunities.

Mr Keith Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said: “Singapore’s tourism sector has had to fight for survival in 2020. Our tourism businesses have displayed immense resilience and adaptability throughout this difficult period, reinventing their business models and leveraging technology to find solutions in a COVID-19 world. I am also grateful for their commitment to keep Singaporeans safe and well.

STB remains confident in Singapore’s position as one of the world’s safest and most attractive leisure and business destination, and the long-term prospects of Singapore’s tourism sector.

While mass international travel is unlikely to resume in a major way in 2021, STB will

continue standing together with our industry partners to prepare for recovery and to start building a better and more sustainable future for tourism.”

CONTRIBUTING TO COVID-19 EFFORTS AMID ADVERSITY Due to unprecedented global travel restrictions and border closures, Singapore saw a decline in both visitor arrivals and tourism receipts in 2020.

Visitor arrivals (VA) fell by 85.7 per cent in 2020 to reach 2.7 million visitors (nearly all from MICEAFFAIRS

G L O B A L M I C E U P DAT E in migrant worker dormitories earlier last year, the cruise industry provided the world’s first migrant worker dormitory on cruise ships as accommodation for more than 8,200 workers who had recovered from COVID-19. Around 600 cruise industry workers and business partners including Genting Cruise Lines and SATS-Creuers Cruise Services were involved in the operation between April 2020 and September 2020.

the first two months of 2020), while tourism receipts (TR) declined by 78.4 per cent to S$4.4 billion in the first three quarters of 2020.

Even during this difficult year, tourism businesses played a key role in Singapore’s battle against COVID-19. Hotels offered their properties for various accommodation purposes, including Government Quarantine Facilities, Swab Isolation Facilities and Stay-Home Notice Dedicated Facilities (SDFs). For example, more than 70 hotels have served as SDFs at various points in since March 2020. As of 31 December 2020, SDFs have accommodated more than 80,000 Persons on Stay-Home MICEAFFAIRS

Notice, with the support of over 2,300 frontline workers in the hotels industry.

The Integrated Resorts also contributed in other ways. More than 2,000 Resorts World Sentosa staff served at the Community Care Facility at Singapore EXPO and MAX Atria, and the Big Box warehouse mall. They managed operations, provided meals and packed care kits. Marina Bay Sands donated around 15,000kg of food to The Food Bank and packed 15,000 care kits for migrant workers and low-income families affected by the pandemic.

To help contain the outbreak

Many tourist guides stepped up as Safe Distancing Ambassadors (SDAs), capitalising on their people and language skills to urge compliance to safe management measures (SMMs). Since 7 April 2020, about 150 tourist guides have served in this capacity at tourism precincts, hotels and other tourism establishments. In the coming months, STB expects to grow this group to over 250 SDAs as activities such as business and leisure events gradually resume in Singapore.

RE-OPENING TOURISM SAFELY As Singapore’s economy gradually re-opened in the second half of 2020, the tourism sector faced a new challenge: working out how to resume operations safely while providing meaningful customer experiences. STB engaged industry stakeholders to develop their re-opening proposals and implement the necessary SMMs. As of 25 January 2021, 45 attractions, 270 hotels, and 1,686 tour itineraries have received approval to resume 38 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

G L O B A L M I C E U P DAT E operations.

From November 2020, Singapore also piloted cruises with enhanced safety protocols and no ports of call for two of Singapore’s homeported cruise lines – Genting Cruise Lines and Royal Caribbean International. To rebuild consumer confidence and demand for cruise, STB established the world’s first CruiseSafe Certification – a mandatory audit and certification programme for cruise lines before they commence sailing. As of 31 December 2020, 33 cruises carrying over 42,000 passengers have been completed with no reported incidents of COVID-19 transmission on board.

Many tourism establishments have also been certified SG Clean, a national mark of excellence that indicates our businesses adhere to high standards of environmental public hygiene on their premises.

As of 25 January 2021, STB has issued more than 1,390 SG Clean Quality Mark certificates to tourism-related premises.

RESUMING MICE AND LEISURE EVENTS From 1 October 2020, STB began accepting applications for organisers to pilot MICE events of up to 250 attendees. As of 31 December 2020, Singapore has held 29 MICE event pilots, with the first being the Singapore International Energy Week in end October 2020.

Singapore also developed testing 39 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

protocols for foreign delegates and other visitors arriving for events such as TravelRevive and the ONE Championship events, to safeguard public health. MICE and leisure event organisers also had to adapt, innovate and leverage on technology to reimagine what events would look like in a COVID-19 environment. As a result, a number of lifestyle and sporting events adopted hybrid formats for the first time, from the Singapore Food Festival to the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2020.

STIMULATING DEMAND FOR TOURISM With international travel at a standstill, domestic demand became critical to support tourism businesses. In July 2020, STB, Enterprise Singapore and Sentosa Development Corporation rolled out the SingapoRediscovers campaign to rally locals to support tourism businesses and promote hidden gems and experiences in Singapore. As of 31 December 2020, there were 1,145 promotions offered by 213 merchants.

To complement the SingapoRediscovers campaign, STB launched the S$320 million SingapoRediscovers Vouchers (SRV) scheme in December 2020.

As of 1 January 2021, over 300,000 Singaporeans had used the SRV scheme to make bookings with Singapore hotels, attractions and tours, spending S$35.9 million in SRV redemptions and out-of-

-pocket payments.

STB also forged new partnerships with e-commerce players, banks, payment gateways and online travel agents (OTAs), including Visa, DBS, Expedia, Klook, Airbnb Experiences and Mastercard, to promote Singapore tourism offerings, exchange insights and enhance visitor experiences.

MAINTAINING MINDSHARE To ensure that Singapore remains top of mind even while travel is curtailed, STB’s regional offices launched new initiatives to engage our fans and strengthen Singapore’s brand image around the world. STB partnered with technology, media and tourism industry players in key source markets to jointly promote Singapore as an attractive destination for future travellers.

SUPPORTING INDUSTRY TRANSFORMATION Since the start of the outbreak, STB has worked closely with industry partners to chart a new path for the tourism sector. In February 2020, the Tourism Recovery Action Task Force (TRAC), comprising tourism leaders from both the private and public sectors, was set up to develop and implement joint recovery strategies. TRAC helped to identify opportunities arising from COVID-19, driving and implementing measures to co-create recovery plans and MICEAFFAIRS

GLOBAL MICE UDATE

G L O B A L M I C E U P DAT E

instil confidence in Singapore’s tourism sector.

certified over 200 SG SafeEvent ambassadors.

The Alliance for Action on Enabling Safe and Innovative Visitor Experiences under the Emerging Stronger Taskforce (EST) [1] was formed to explore and pioneer new ways to facilitate safe and innovative visitor experiences in a COVID-19 environment. Co-led by Mr Lee Seow Hiang of Changi Airport Group and Ms Kwee Wei-Lin of Singapore Hotel Association, the Alliance comprises industry stakeholders and government agencies. It developed its first prototype for safe tradeshows and exhibitions, safe itineraries, as well as digital enablers, which was trialled in November 2020 at TravelRevive. In addition, the Alliance also successfully launched COVID-19 insurance coverage to provide added peace of mind for visitors to Singapore.

STB and the Singapore Hotel Association supported the hotels industry’s efforts in upskilling their workers. Compared to 2019, the number of trainees funded under the Training Industry Professionals in Tourism (TIP-iT) scheme more than doubled in 2020. This is testament to our tourism businesses’ commitment to upskill employees to future-proof their workforce. To alleviate manpower challenges and provide job expansion opportunities, the hotels industry, including Grand Hyatt Singapore, PARKROYAL on Kitchener Road and Raffles Hotel, implemented job redesign initiatives to train existing employees in new skills that allowed them to be redeployed to other areas outside of their specialisations.

Our MICE businesses also took the lead in transforming their own sector. To guide the industry in developing innovative hybrid business models and pathways for new capabilities, the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS) collaborated with STB and Enterprise Singapore to launch the Event Industry Resilience Roadmap. This established best-in-class standard for safe business events comes with an industry-led accreditation SG SafeEvent programme[3] that has

To accelerate recovery and rebuild for the future, STB unveiled a series of programmes and partnerships in 2020.

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In April, a S$20 million Marketing Partnership Programme (MPP) was launched to support marketing efforts by tourism businesses to build demand, alongside the Singapore Stories Content Fund (SGSCF) to encourage content creators to create compelling stories about Singapore. To date, 260 tourism businesses have benefited from the MPP and 20 projects have received funding from the

SGSCF. With support from STB’s various initiatives and grants such as the Business Improvement Fund (BIF) and the TIP-iT scheme, tourism businesses were able to innovate and adapt. STB also developed tools to further accelerate the pace of industry transformation, including the Tourism Transformation Index (TXI), and the Singapore Tourism Analytics Network (Stan). To build new digital capabilities, STB partnered digital players such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Airbnb Experiences and Amazon Explore to conduct online Masterclasses or workshops for the tourism industry. Please refer to Annex C for details on initiatives to support innovation and industry transformation.

Tourism workers and businesses have benefited from economic-wide measures to support jobs and livelihoods impacted by COVID-19. These include rental waivers, property tax rebates and temporary bridging loans.

In 2020, over 7,000 tourism businesses received support through the Job Support Scheme (JSS) to retain local employees.

STB also provided support to defray third-party professional cleaning costs by tourism-related establishments impacted by COVID-19 cases. As at 31 December 2020, 57 grant applications had been approved.

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GLOBAL REPORTS

UFI RELEASES FIRST INDUSTRY PARTNERS BENCHMARK SURVEY Exhibition organisers and venue operators state that service providers have a relatively high impact on overall event success.

venues. It also identifies areas for improvement with regard to collaboration. More than 200 companies contributed to the project, the majority of whom are from Europe and the AsiaSatisfaction with service -Pacific region. “We believe providers within the industry is this is the first survey of its kind relatively high, whilst the length in our industry to focus on the of collaboration between clients value that organisers place on and customers has a big their suppliers. The survey will impact on overall satisfaction be of great interest to suppliers levels. and partners worldwide, by providing key insights into the Key areas of investment over true nature of the relationships the next 12-18 months are between organisers and perceived to be marketing and the companies that support communications, and event their events,” says Ravinder technology and software.

Sethi, Chair of UFI’s Industry Exhibition organisers and Partners Working Group. venue operators state that The survey demonstrates service providers have a that industry partners are relatively high impact on regarded as an essential and overall event success. This valuable component of the is a core finding from the first exhibition industry, with overall edition of the new Industry satisfaction levels with regard Partners Benchmark Survey, to service delivery being released by UFI, the Global relatively high. The results Association of the Exhibition also indicate that some of the Industry. Developed by less-utilised services may the UFI Industry Partners have a stronger impact on the Working Group, the survey outcome of an event than those benchmarks and assesses more heavily relied upon, while the relationships between the duration of cooperation industry partners/suppliers between industry partners and exhibition organisers/ and their customers has a 41 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

strong positive correlation to satisfaction levels. Despite the overall positive feedback, the survey highlights a demand for more innovation from industry partners, and indicates that an increase in data sharing between industry partners and their customers could bring additional value.

“

This survey is a result of UFI’s Industry Partners Working Group, which has been set up for and run by our industry partner members – a diverse group of motivated industry experts offering a broad range of services.

The collaboration between organisers, venues and service partners is more important than ever, now that we are dealing with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic,” says UFI President Anbu Varathan.

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Merger of SingEx Holdings and Sphere Exhibits Temasek and Singapore Press Holdings Limited (“SPH”) have entered into an agreement to merge their respective meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) subsidiaries, SingEx Holdings Pte. Ltd (“SingEx”) and Sphere Exhibits Pte Ltd (“Sphere Exhibits”), to form SingEx-Sphere Holdings Pte Ltd (“SingEx-Sphere”). Temasek will own 60% in SingEx-Sphere, with SPH owning 40%.

Mr Robin Hu, Chairman of SingEx, said, “Events and Exhibitions remain the most robust marketing channels for businesses around the world. Both SingEx and Sphere Exhibits, with over five decades of combined experience in organising and hosting trade and consumer shows across a variety of sectors, have built a strong foundation for the MICE scene in Singapore and our region.

SingEx-Sphere aims to be a regional MICE market leader for hybrid events driving best-in-class solutions from a combined portfolio of events management, venue and consultancy businesses.

The ambition of the merged entity is to continue building on its firm foundation by adding to it additional intellectual properties in the form of new events and exhibitions via both organic curation and inorganic investments.

Not with standing the short term challenges posed by COVID-19, the parties see tremendous potential in the MICE space. Singapore, for instance, remains a dynamic business hub with a spanning ecosystem that connects businesses globally. The region was the largest MICE market in 2019.

We believe COVID, while having a dampening impact in the short term, had given rise to new opportunities in the form of hybrid activities hitherto unimagined. Our industry is fast becoming a digitally enabled intellectual property business. Those who are adaptable, nimble and unafraid to reinvent will succeed.”

Becoming Asia-Pacific’s MICE industry champion The merger brings together two leading MICE players with an ambition to become a MICE industry champion of growth for the Asia-Pacific region. Driven by an intrepid team of cross-disciplinary specialists, an established track record in holistic venue and events businesses hybrid or otherwise, and multiple awards and accolades in designing impactful experiences, SingEx-Sphere will be in a unique position to provide end-to-end solutions within the MICE industry, fostering the development of new value creation and communities as industries intersect in a post-COVID world order.

Mr Ng Yat Chung, CEO of SPH, added, “We look forward to working with Temasek to achieve SingEx-Sphere’s vision and push the MICE industry in Asia-Pacific to greater heights for the benefit of both consumers and businesses.

This merger will allow us to tap on each other’s expertise, resources and networks to seize new opportunities to enhance the portfolio and achieve growth regionally."

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Mr Robin Hu will be appointed Chairman of SingEx-Sphere. The completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

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MCEC EVENT CAPACITY INCREASES TO 75% Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) is now able to host events at up to 75 per cent capacity per event space, to a maximum of 5,000 attendees, following the implementation of stringent health and safety measures to keep customers safe.

beverage service and physical distancing, as well as preventing attendance at events by delegates from designated red zones.

MCEC has an approved COVIDSafe Event plan from the Victorian Government and is approved to hold seated or standing events of up to 75 per cent capacity.

Each prospective event organiser seeking to hold their event at MCEC can work with venue staff to ensure their type of event complies with the approved MCEC plan, and that they provide any required additional information to the Department of Health and Human Services so that their event is safe.

These approved measures include methods to ensure contact tracing, changes to food and

Peter King, Chief Executive of Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, said

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MCEC is excited to see the gradual return of events to the venue.

“Whilst we have been innovative throughout the pandemic to ensure continued use of the space, we are thrilled to be able to host exhibitions and other events again,” he said.

“At MCEC we are incredibly proud to be acknowledged as a standout venue for COVID-safety, as our customer health and comfort is our top priority” MCEC’s comprehensive VenueSafe Plan includes:

VenueSafe advisors to work alongside event organisers, employees and contractors to ensure all health measures are followed.

Restricting building access to event attendees only, with no general public access allowed.

Health check stations at each entry point, including access to regular hand sanitising Frequent routine cleaning and signage prominently displayed to indicate 1.5 metre physical distancing.

All employees trained on coronavirus (COVID-19) safety

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GLOBAL NEWS

Accor announces the global roll-out of its digital key solution, “Accor Key”, in line with the Group’s strategy to provide a contactless guest journey in its facilities. This exciting new step for Accor confirms its ambition to innovate and invest in high-quality technological solutions to deliver the very best and most convenient experience for its guests.

16% even say it’s a “must have”.

The demand is even higher for frequent travelers. "

Floor Bleeker, Chief Technology Officer, Accor, said:

The focus of the rollout will be to provide customers with a keyless door entry solution, while ensuring that hotels do not lose the human touch that guests require. On arrival at their destination, customers will receive their room key virtually upon downloading Accor’s digital key app. Customers will then be given access to rooms, entry to meeting rooms and f loor access via lifts using their smartphone. Once departing the hotel, the mobile key will automatically be deactivated.

Patrick Mendes, Chief Commercial Officer Accor, in charge of Sales, Marketing, Distribution and Loyalty, said: “We are thrilled to announce 45 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

the launch of “Accor key” within our entire network. Making contactless and seamless guest experiences a reality is a priority for Accor. “Accor key” is a great example of how the Group can build solutions and deploy them efficiently in all Accor operating countries.”

Accor key program will be delivered through a partnership with STAYmyway.

Faustino Fernandez, STAYmyway founder & CEO commented: "We are honored to be working with such an innovative company at such a critical time in our industry.

A recent Deloitte study shows that 60% of travelers are more likely to stay at a hotel that allowed contactless check in and the ability to use a smartphone as a room key—

“We always strive to adopt technology which can improve the overall guest experience. Guests increasingly seek contact-light travel and hotel experiences.

Therefore, the easy to operate and highly practical application will provide a streamlined process for our guests.”

Following successful pilot programs in North America, Europe and Asia, the roll out will start in all new Accor hotels opening in 2021 and extend to existing properties with an objective to equip 500 hotels with Accor Key this year, and at least 50% of all rooms across the network within the next five years.

By providing customers access to their rooms without a physical key, Accor will also help reduce the amount of plastic used for traditional key cards and cardboard for the key holder.

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MCEC

WELCOMES LIVE MUSIC BACK TO PLENARY

P

lenary at Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre (MCEC) saw a return to live music for the first time since March 2020, with renowned international singer and songwriter Ben Folds performing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra on Sunday January 31st and Monday February 1st.

MCEC is now able to host events at up to 75 per cent capacity per event space, to a maximum of 5,000 attendees, following the implementation of stringent health and safety measures, seeing Ben Folds as the first live performer to return to the venue since COVID-19 restrictions were introduced.

Darren Waite, Director of Sales at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, said MCEC was excited to have Ben Folds and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra as the debut for the return of live music at the venue.

“We were thrilled to welcome Ben Folds and the MSO as the first musicians to perform in MCEC’s Plenary since we closed our doors early in 2020" he said.

"We welcomed on average 1600 attendees each night of the concert and received extremely positive feedback to our Venue Safe plan. It was fantastic to

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see such respect from attendees as they followed strict protocols regarding queuing, temperature checks and the use of QR codes” “At MCEC we are incredibly proud to be acknowledged as a standout venue for COVID-safety, which means we can host world class performers like Ben, safely. We look forward to this being the start of return of business events, exhibitions and conferences at MCEC.” Folds is widely regarded as one of the major music inf luencers of our time; a renowned pop artist as well as a critically-acclaimed classical music composer, and best-selling author. Known for his musical versatility across the pop and classical genres, Folds has travelled the globe performing with some of the world’s best orchestras for over a decade.

“I grew up playing in orchestras, so being on stage with one feels like home to me,” Folds said.

Conducted by Benjamin Northey, Ben Folds with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra took places at the Plenary on Sunday 31 January and Monday 1 February.

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GLOBAL EXHIBITION NEWS

First exhibition in HKCEC in 2021 reinforces value of face to face events

T

he Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (“HKCEC”) welcomed the Hong Kong International Dental Expo and Symposium (“HKIDEAS”) during 22-24 January, the first exhibition in 2021. With average daily attendance of over 3,000 dental professionals, the three-day event is the first trade exhibition in Hong Kong since the fourth wave of COVID-19 hit the city in late November 2020.

Stringent preventive measures were implemented by the organiser and the venue. The success of the event reinforces the irreplaceable value of physical events.

HKIDEAS is an annual recurrent event at the HKCEC and the August 2020 version was postponed due to the pandemic. Exhibitors, visitors and delegates were thrilled to get together physically after the long wait. Ms Kanas Ng, Associate Sales Director of iTero, Hong Kong & Taiwan, one of the exhibitors, was 47 | WWW.MICEAFFAIRS.COM

excited, We are eager to participate in HK IDEAS and promote our products at one of the biggest events in the dental industry. With all the comprehensive preventive measures implemented by the event organiser and venue, we feel safe and sound.”

Dr Century Tsang, President of Hong Kong Dental Association cum Honorary Chairman of Organising Committee of HKIDEAS, was happy with the outcome and attendance, “Thanks to the support from Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (Management) Limited (“HML”), we are excited to host the physical expo and symposium successfully at the HKCEC to allow face-to-face interactions and exchange of ideas among our members.”

Ms Monica Lee-Müller, Managing Director of HML, confident with the long term positive growth of the industry, pledges to stride ‘Onwards and Upwards’ in the

New Year, “The well-attended exhibition is a great kick-start of 2021. It clearly demonstrated strong demand for physical events and assured us that physical events cannot and will never be replaced. We are committed to work closely with organisers to implement stringent preventive and social distancing measures to enable events to be held safely. We will also continue our investment in facility renovation and the construction of 5G network. We are fully geared up to welcome events and visitors back to the HKCEC once they are ready.”

HKIDEAS featured 23 parallel sessions and four workshops, which incorporated live video conferencing. It was well attended by industry professionals from Hong Kong, China, UK, USA, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Lebanon, sharing latest clinical insights and international intelligence.

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THE TIME IS NOW

Initiative is helping us revive the meeting & events segment- Sanjeev Tandon General Manager, Courtyard By Marriott Agra

With the marketing opening up, the travel industry is slowly and gradually coming back to normal. Still, MICE business in the travel industry is considered to be the last recovery. There are a lot of factors contributing to this opinion of many.

Venues/Hotels are leaving no stone unturned to attract meetings back to their properties. Mice Affairs Media is trying to get first-hand information from these hotels and venues. In the latest of the series, we are presenting Courtyard By Marriott, Agra Mr. Sanjeev Tandon, General Manager at Courtyard

By Mariott Agra reveals the various initiatives to welcome back MICE events.

Mice Affairs: Share new developments at the hotel for MICE Planners. What all can be expected in post covid era at CBM Agra?

ST: Apart from taking necessary precautions for example laying new guidelines for health and hygiene, sanitization and no-touch models of business, etc. there are plans by the management of several units on revised policy planning, cancellation policy, transparent communication with customers, employee management and optimization, etc. Crowd monitoring, use of electrostatic sprayers for disinfecting of public spaces, sanitization stations will be promoted as safety measures for our venues. The hardware and software readiness of the venues will be checked with our property space promoting physical distancing. The true spirit of hospitality lays with the power of resilience, commitment, trust, and handwork. The renunciation of the struggle was exemplified with revival mode through constant adaptation of changes which helped us to re-start the wheel in order to bounce back stronger.

Mice Affairs: How Ready Is CBM Agra for MICE Projects?

ST: "At the beginning of 2019, an unprecedented and uncanny situation laid upon the economy. The consequences faced with utter rigidity to change the perception of the people towards the new normal.

Hence the significant shift falls in the MICE industry where some changes will be permanent and others will be temporary. The hybrid events will be trending, but in-person and live events will be pivotal to most people including MICE. The hygiene with the quality standard will be the preferred choice, as we focus upon Marriott’s ‘Commitment to Clean’ program. Adding to that, we have spaces and arrangements that can facilitate live meetings without compromising on safety and security. We have sprawling 24,000 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor banquet spaces. 6 indoor spaces including the magnificent ‘Ballroom’ and the lush outdoor lawns.

Event specialists are at hand to assist with planning, implementing, and executing events to perfection with attention to detail.

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Mice Affairs: Any new strategies to rebuild the confidence of staging MICE Events ST: We think regaining guest's confidence ought to be the initial phase, imparting a feeling of well-being in the visitors will play a crucial part. Along these lines, further exacting hygiene and cleanliness estimates are applied across the property, with new practices set up to screen and control the environment wherein the meetings will take place. Communication will play a lead role in connecting with the guests and should be done unobtrusively. Delicate, so it addresses the guests' wellbeing in their preferred choice to plan and voyage once again. As an industry, we ought to be prepared to adjust our strategies towards the guests who have been confined within the limits of their homes. Our global Groups and Events offer ‘The Time Is Now’ is specially tailored to suit individual meeting needs. This initiative is helping us revive the Meeting and Events segment at Courtyard by Marriott Agra.

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