Sydney's Historic Menzies Hotel Turns 50

The Menzies Hotel Sydney turns 50 years young this October, and to celebrate the and staff are going back to the 60s where all the fun began.

Over the month of October the hotel will step back in time with staff dressed in 60s clothing. Everything from The Beatles, to Jacqui O, the perfect 60’s housewife (and husband!) and the Hippy movement will be represented in staff uniforms. The lobby will feature a 60s inspired lounge room playing old school films and music from the era, where guests can capture a photo of themselves “back in the day”. Guests and patrons will also be able to enjoy 60s inspired alcoholic milkshakes in the Piano Bar.

Over the last 50 years The Menzies Hotel has played a large part in the history of Sydney City. Being the first international hotel built in the city since World War II, it was officially opened by The Beach Boys in 1963. The hotel hosted skating stars on a permanent, retractable ice skating rink - a restaurant showpiece and local favorite. The first ever Japanese Restaurant in Sydney opened at the hotel in 1972, called Keisan, and in 1979 Shell House, the office building adjacent to The Menzies became part of the hotel adding 196 rooms to the hotel’s inventory. As of March 2000, The Menzies joined international hotel group Accor as a 4-star hotel.

Today the Menzies hotel is known for its incredible hospitality and customer service, provided to its guests by the 200 loyal staff members who work there. Located near Sydney’s famous attractions including The Rocks, Opera House and Botanical Gardens, The Menzies overlooks Wynyard Park and is surrounded by restaurants, boutique shops and theatres. The hotel boasts 446 guestrooms, 14 function rooms accommodating up to 450 delegates, 2 restaurants, 4 bars, a gymnasium, indoor heated pool and souvenir shop.

Rally Australia Returns to Coffs Coast in 2014

The Coffs Coast has again been selected to host a round of the FIA World Rally Championship in 2014, Minister for Tourism and Major Events, George Souris, and Member for Coffs Harbour, Andrew Fraser, announced today.

This follows the success of the 2013 event on the Coffs Coast earlier this month.

“The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has confirmed that this prestigious international motor sport event will be held in and around Coffs Harbour next year, which is great news for regional NSW,” Mr Souris said. 

“The 2014 event will build on the success of this year’s event, which was estimated to attract more than 13,000 visitors to the Coffs Coast, generating more than 64,000 visitor nights and injecting around $9 million in visitor expenditure into the local economy.”

Mr Souris said adding the World Rally Championship to recently secured events such as the Sydney 500 Grand Finale at Sydney Olympic Park and the V8 Supercar Championship Series at Sydney Motorsport Park, together with the Bathurst 1000, confirms NSW as the headquarters of motorsports in Australia.

Coffs Harbour MP Andrew Fraser said that securing the Rally Australia event, which will have a global television audience, would not only benefit the local area but would have flow-on effects for the State economy.

“Rally Australia features some of the world’s best rally drivers as they attempt to conquer the challenging courses through some of the State’s most spectacular and rugged countryside.

“This is another great example of how the NSW Government is working toward achieving the target of doubling overnight visitor expenditure in the State by 2020 and doing so by securing major events for regional areas,” Mr Fraser said.

CEO of Destination NSW, Sandra Chipchase, said: “This event will take Coffs Harbour to the world as it will be watched by an estimated cumulative international television audience of more than 50 million viewers”.

Rally Australia Chairman, Ben Rainsford, said: “We are grateful for the support of the State Government which will ensure NSW and the Coffs Coast region are the focus of attention from all over the world by followers of the toughest motorsport championship there is.

“We are pleased to have been selected by the FIA World Motor Sport Council for the 2014 FIA World Rally Championship series that also visits 12 other countries.”

US Aussie Specialists Visit Noosa

Tourism Noosa hosted 10 Aussie Specialist Travel Agents from the United States visiting Noosa as part of an Australian familiarisation tour, coinciding with an Australia campaign partnered with Tourism Australia and Travel Leaders Consortia.

The Aussie Specialists were hand-picked as high-selling specialists on Australia and luxury products and visited select regions throughout Queensland including Noosa, Cairns and Lizard Island.

The agents stayed at the Outrigger Little Hastings Street Resort & Spa and enjoyed a day at Australia Zoo, visiting Fraser Island, a tour of the Noosa River as well as enjoying some of Noosa's hospitality and local produce at Season Restaurant and Noosa Boathouse.

General Manager for Tourism Noosa Mr Damien Massingham said "The inclusion of Noosa in this famil was a result of contacts made earlier this year at The Australian Tourism Exchange held in Sydney. This was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the region to this very targeted and proactive group of agents.  The United States is one of Noosa's top international markets with approximately 7000 visitors annually spending $18 million."

Michael Power, Director of Sales for Travel Leaders said "It was great to experience Noosa and discover the unique appeal of the region.  Being so close to Fraser Island is a great plus and really positions Noosa as the ideal place to stay on Queensland's Sunshine Coast."

After visiting Noosa, the agents headed to Sydney for an exclusive trade event featuring 60 of the top US Aussie Specialists. Tourism Noosa was invited to attend the trade event along with other destinations including Tourism WA, SA Tourism Commission, Tourism Victoria, Tourism NT and Destination NSW.   

Tourism Noosa Marketing Manager Ms Louise Terry said "It was wonderful to represent our region alongside other State destination partners and to reinforce the strengths of Noosa for the US market. Feedback from the agents highlighted that Noosa's combination of friendly locals, stylish offerings and unspoilt nature were key and that more and more American visitors are seeking out ecotourism and adventure-based locations."

THAI Airways in Multi-Tier Push

by Roderick Eime in Bangkok

Thai Airways International President, Mr Sorajak Kasemsuvan, reinforced the international full-service long-hail carrier's intention to expand operations while addressing media at the opening of Incentive Travel and Conventions Meetings Asia (IT&CMA) in Bangkok.

"2013 has been a remarkable and challenging year for THAI, with our management and staff across the company having worked very hard in all areas to improve our product and service standards, as well as developing new markets," said Mr Kasemsuvan.

He reiterated the focus on new destinations such as Sapporo (Japan) for THAI which will increase from four to seven weekly flights as well as wholly owned regional carrier THAI Smile heading to Chonqing and Changsha in China as well as recently announced route to Macau.

A fifth A380 will arrive this month and lift passenger numbers to Narita (Tokyo) while THAI Smile will gain two A320-200s and one B777 aircraft for regional and short-haul international routes. These acquisitions reflect the airline's strategy for meeting expected growth.

Mr. Kasemsuvan also reminded the assembled journalists that THAI Smile will shortly become an entity in its own right with formal approval being granted for corporate separation. The airline will shortly obtain its own two-letter code and staff will no longer rotate between the two airlines. While Mr Kasemsuvan could not confirm the adoption of the Star Alliance or Royal Orchid Plus membership benefits under the new format, he conceded the tie-in was 'probable'.

Although THAI was not currently servicing the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) market directly, Mr Kasemsuvan hinted that co-operation with 49 per cent THAI owned Nok Air was likely to increase in the near future.  

Official Press Conference Statement By Mr. Darren Ng Managing Director | TTG Asia Media

Good morning members of the media, ladies and gentlemen. A warm welcome to IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific – The World’s Only Doublebill Event in MICE and Corporate Travel.

This year marks the two events’ first decade of successful co-location. In an era where unions are short-lived, ten years is worthy of recognition. One aspect of this anniversary I must acknowledge is that Thailand has been our significant constant for the last 11 years. Thus, I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for the invaluable support of our partners: Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA), Airports of Thailand (AOT, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), and Thai Airways and the individuals – for achieving this milestone together.

Every year, IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific is committed to enhancing the value that it delivers to all delegates and stakeholders. The industry is extremely dynamic and so are we. This is a common theme that I’ve been highlighting annually for the last 21 years since IT&CMA’s inception. Though this year, the event’s accomplishments to raise the benchmark as a leading international MICE and Corporate Travel show is certainly one of our best yet.

Online Diary

One of the enhancements we have made is enabling up to 100% of all allotted business appointments to be scheduled before Exhibitors and Buyers arrive in Bangkok. This is made possible by the new Online Diary facility, in combination with the existing PSA system.  With this feature, we have given both Exhibitors and Buyers greater control and assurance that they can justify their business ROI even before the event begins. By knowing the other party in the meeting, onsite business appointments will also be optimised as conversations can be better planned ahead of time.

Having launched this Online Diary earlier this year at sister event IT&CM China with great success, we had no doubt that we would see extremely positive results here at IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific. We are delighted to share that over 100 exhibitors and buyers have already achieved 100% scheduled appointments as at 30 September.

Later today, Exhibitors and Buyers who have remaining appointment slots or wish to make additional appointments, will do so at the Buyers-Meet-Sellers (BMS) appointment scheduling session taking place on-site.

Exhibition Showcase

This year’s exhibition showcase attracted 122 new exhibiting companies. Many of these new companies are coming under the various national or CVB pavilions. With strong support from Japan’s private MICE sector organisations, we have created a Japan pavilion to help position the destination to the international buyers. Other new national pavilions include Jordan, India and New Zealand. We are also pleased to announce that Taiwan has doubled their space. Thailand MICE cities have also expanded with the addition of Phuket and Khon Kean. Overwhelming response from Thailand’s private sector resulted in 15 Thai spillover booths. This is on top of a strong contingent of 55 organisations in the main Thailand pavilion.

Sponsors and Media Briefings

The value of IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific as a platform to reach the international industry audience is also evidenced beyond the exhibition showcase. Companies like Frasers Hospitality, Travelport and Abacus International are leveraging on CTW Asia-Pacific as sponsors to reach the Corporate Travel buying segment – deemed as one of the most challenging industry segments to successfully engage.  Meanwhile, Tourism New Zealand, Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau, Airports of Thailand, Dusit International, sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck, Fukuoka Convention & Visitors Bureau, 3rd Planet Pte Ltd, Taiwan Pavilion and Kenes Asia are all taking advantage of our scheduled Media Briefings to announce their latest developments and campaigns to the international attending media – underscoring the importance of IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific as a global publicity stage.

Buyer Profile

This year’s buyer profile is a reflection of the event’s consistent commitment towards delivering one of the most relevant, dynamic and valuable buyer profiles than any other international industry event. Our buyer mix deliberately spotlights these important industry segments: MICE, Association, Luxury Travel and Corporate Travel. In particular, CTW Asia-Pacific continues to boast the largest delegation of hosted Corporate Travel Managers than any similar event or conference in the region.

As always, the show also ensures that we introduce fresh procurement prospects each year. This year, we will see about 60% new buyers and 47% new Corporate Travel Managers. In addition, more than 41% of our buyers to IT&CMA this year also procure luxury travel. This is a significant jump from less than 20% last year. Importantly, buyers who come to IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific know that we have the right mix of products and services that are relevant to their business.

Education

The show’s ability to bring in much sought-after niche segments such as Association Executives, Corporate Travel Managers and high-level Corporates accountable for performance targets has much to do with our tailored programmes dedicated to their needs.

All in all, IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific’s attention to meeting the educational objectives of our delegates is one reason why our formula as a leading industry event works. We collaborate with the best minds and expertise in the field to share their knowledge. This year, we have one of the biggest line-up of 35 industry speakers.

What makes our educational programmes distinctive is the way the content is shaped and developed. At IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific, we support our partners by actively contributing to and investing in the co-development and in the delivery of content. We engage our delegates, partners and speakers to ensure that our programmes are relevant. In the case of one of our partners, GBTA, we collaborated to conduct an Asian wide survey of the Business Travel market place. I am certain that the results of the survey which will be presented at CTW Asia-Pacific will prove to be very valuable to our customers.

Bite-Sized Information Highlights

With so much going on during the three-day event, we have gone a step further to present all delegates with a Show Preview that was launched yesterday. It contains announcements that our Exhibitors are promoting at the event, a visual gallery of our new buyers and corporate travel managers, educational highlights, all event activities at a glance as well as information on our new initiatives. This publication is intended to put everything significant about this year’s event into a handy take-away.

Leveraging On Technology To Truly Experience The Event

For more event statistics, do refer to the Fact Sheet that has been included in your Media Kit.

IT&CM Events

I would also like to announce that we have recently branded our 3 MICE events, namely IT&CMA, IT&CM China and IT&CM India as part of the “IT&CM Events” series. The “IT&CM Events” brand strategically positions and communicates our commitment towards delivering leading international MICE Events in these key Asian markets. It also embodies the organisational excellence, repute, quality and value expected of any of our events.

Acknowledgements

Finally, I would like extend my appreciation to the following organisations for their pivotal role and contributions to IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2013.

To our Thai partners’ for their loyal support and hospitality:

• Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB)
• Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)
• Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA)
• Airports Authority of Thailand (AOT)
• Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA)

Many thanks also goes to:

• Our host country – Thailand
• Our official airline – Thai Airways International
• Our official venue – Bangkok Convention Centre (BCC) at CentralWorld
• Our endorsing and supporting associations:
• Asian Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus (AACVB)
• Australasian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE)
• Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE)
• Enterprising Travel Agents Association (ETTA)
• Global Business Travel Association (GBTA)
• International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO)
• International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)
• Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI)
• Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
• Our industry partner – Kenes Asia
• Our technology partner – Crowdcomms
• Our 14 official and supporting hotels
• Our official media:
• TTGmice
• TTG-BTmice China
• TTG Asia Luxury
• TTG Asia
• TTG China
• TTG India
• Our 25 media affiliates from around the world 

Our partner events which include:

• Association Competencies Briefing and Assessment for Professional Association Executives by Australasian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE)
• IMEX-MPI-MCI-IT&CMA Future Leaders Forum by IMEX
• ICCA Database Workshop by International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)
• Meet Taiwan Networking Event
• TTG Travel Awards

And lastly, our sincere gratitude to all our exhibitors, buyers, media, sponsors, partners and everyone whose participation has played a part in growing this event’s value each year.

IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific Opens To Its Strongest Educational Line-Up

Delegates To Benefit From 35 Esteemed Industry Speakers and New Show Initiatives
Collaborating with the best minds and expertise in the field, IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2013 is set to deliver its strongest educational line-up this year with dedicated tracks catered specifically to the knowledge objectives of Association Executives, high-level Corporates accountable for performance targets and Corporate Travel professionals.

Headlining the show’s entire education programme is today’s opening Keynote Address delivered by Mr Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future Research. His topic shed insights on the future of business travel and business events, emphasizing the 5 megatrends that cannot be ignored, including the evolution of traveller expectations, the growing emphasis of the guest experience, impact of new innovative business models, technology and the emergence of a multisensory internet platform as well as new capabilities required of future industry leaders. Sharing her perspectives and insights on the subject was keynote panelist Ms Supawan Teerarat, Vice President, Strategic and Business Development of Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), alongside moderator Joseph Bates, Vice-President – Research of GBTA Foundation.

This year, delegates can expect to benefit from the knowledge of 35 speakers from across the industries – the show’s largest to date. “Every year, IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific is committed to enhancing the value that it delivers to all delegates and stakeholders. The industry is extremely dynamic and so are we. This year, the event’s accomplishments to raise the benchmark as a leading international MICE and Corporate Travel show is certainly one of our best yet,” said Mr Darren Ng, Managing Director of TTG Asia Media.

Ng continued, “Engagement through knowledge enhancement has always been a central component of IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific. This year, we have taken the emphasis on education to another level with a couple of new thrusts dedicated to Association Management and Corporate Performance.”

The debut of the show’s Association Day Forum and Corporate Performance Forum will take place tomorrow (2 October) and the day after (3 October) respectively. As part of a specially tailored one-day programme for Association Executives, the forum will be featuring carefully crafted topics on Association Management, spanning best practices, industry trends, updates and outlooks that benefits both suppliers catering to the Association business as well as the Associations themselves. Associations Executives will also have opportunities to engage with NTOs/CVBs during the destination presentations specially catered for them. The Corporate Performance Forum happening on 3rd October will focus on topics helping corporates accountable for performance targets to meet their objectives.

To bring the show to another level, organisers have also leveraged on technology to enable delegates to truly experience the event. Launched this morning, delegates received a copy of the Day 1 Video Dailies containing links to short event video clips in their email inbox. These video dailies are also available on the video sections of the event websites for delegates who want to catch up on the previous day’s highlights.

Another aspect of the organiser’s technology leverage efforts is with the IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific’s Smartphone event app that now features an exclusive chat feature that enables all registered delegates to send messages to one another via the app, thus providing an added facility for them to engage and connect with each other before, during and after the event.

“The new initiatives of this year’s show – from the Show Preview, Smartphone App to Video Dailies, are extremely useful for exhibitors like us. I like that we can catch up on event activities that we have missed through the video dailies because we are constantly at out booths. The Show Preview is also great for smaller companies like us who don’t get as much publicity as the bigger organisations. The Smartphone App will also be useful to keep information on the show handy at all times,” commented Dimple Danvani, Manager – Business Development of Sampran Riverside.

Rounding up the first day is the evening’s Opening Ceremony and Welcome Reception hosted by Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau. Held at the Plaza Athenee, A Royal Meridien, TCEB played host to all event delegates at the evening’s function themed ‘Connecting Asia’, referencing the business and networking connections between Thailand and the surrounding Asian regions.

“Hosting the Opening Ceremony provides an opportunity for TCEB to showcase Thailand as Asia’s Capital for business events connections. This year’s event marks an important milestone as the industry enters a new phase of development and collaboration. The exposure we are receiving in turn is tremendously beneficial for Thailand as the MICE destination,” explained Mr Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, President of TCEB.

For more information, log on to www.corporatetravelworld.com | www.itcma.com

Taiwan To Raise Its MICE Destination Profile With Thailand Buyers

Come 2 October 2013, Thailand’s key MICE and Corporate Buyers will find more reasons to bring their next event to Taiwan, at the MEET TAIWAN networking event held in conjunction with IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2013 in Bangkok.

Organised by the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) in Taiwan, this exclusive MEET TAIWAN networking event aims to raise Taiwan’s profile as a choice MICE destination among Thailand’s key industry buyers.

The country is already witnessing growing arrivals of Thai MICE travelers year on year. Presently, total Thai visitorship into Taiwan represents about close to 10% of the 1.2 million visitors from the South-east Asia region. Leveraging on the countries’ positive cultural ties and economic exchanges with one another, Taiwan believes that such added engagement with Thai industry buyers will certainly go far in establishing Thailand as a valuable resource for the country’s MICE industry.

“We are eager to share about Taiwan’s myriad of cultural experiences, gastronomic delicacies, natural scenic locations, as well as its modern convention and exhibition venues, accommodation choices and strong infrastructure facilities and resources. The multitude and diversity of options that Taiwan offers makes it easy to create programmes and packages for a variety of MICE agendas. Taiwan offers unlimited advantages for both buyers and sellers looking for innovation, value and fully integrated supply chain networks. There is certainly something for everyone!” said Ms Lily Su, Senior Manager of the MEET TAIWAN project. “Even Oscar-winning movie director Ang Lee and Hollywood actor Tom Cruise are fans of Taiwan.”

Ready to assist the 50 hand-picked attending buyers with their next event during the networking session are 4 of Taiwan’s premium MICE suppliers: Kuching Travel Service (Taiwan), Taiwan Tour, TW MICE Event & Destination Management Company and Zion Tours. Co-exhibitors from the exhibiting Taiwan Pavilion at IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific will also be on hand at the networking event.

About the MEET TAIWAN Networking Event

This MEET TAIWAN networking event is an initiative of the “Taiwan MICE Pilot Program” – the 2nd phase (2013 to 2016) launched after the “Taiwan MICE Advancement Program” that ran from 2009 to 2012. Taiwan’s emphasis on MICE took off after the sector was earmarked as one of the country’s major service industries of development in 2004. With Corporate Meetings (including Incentive Tourism) and International Conferences being identified as Taiwan’s main MICE thrusts, the country has since invested extensively in attracting buyers to organise their meetings in Taipei, Hualien, Kaohsiung, Kenting and other parts of Taiwan. Through the “Taiwan MICE Pilot Program”, interested buyers can seek hosting opportunities and assistance when bringing their international events to Taiwan.