Daily News & Opinion

Buyers from Australia who organise events with upwards of 80 guests can now apply for financial support to complete a site visit in Thailand. The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has shifted its policy to accommodate for smaller buyers, having previously reserved the support for large-scale conventions. Buyers will be able to find out more and apply for site inspections at the TCEB sponsored roadshows on April 2 in Sydney and April 4 in Melbourne.

Brisbane Airport and Brisbane Marketing have both scored coveted awards at Routes Asia 2019 – the leading aviation route development forum for Asia. While the former was the Overall Winner for its achievements in route development marketing, the latter took out Destination Category for its innovative marketing campaigns. Lord mayor of Brisbane Graham Quirk congratulated the recipients on their work to market air routes and attract more visitors to the city.

The 14th annual Meetings Africa exhibition took place at the Sandton Convention Centre last week, a two-day event which saw more buyers and exhibitors gather for business exchange than ever before. The staggering attendee numbers included 343 exhibitors, a number which increased by 37 on last year, and 462 buyers from 65 different countries, which is 70 more than last year. This year’s scheduled buyer and exhibitor meetings also increased by 2800. Business conducted at the event is predicted to generate 3 billion ZAR.

Melbourne corporates love a ‘pop up’ to celebrate the festive season, so Showtime Event Group has created a ‘Street Food Festival’ in South Wharf for Christmas parties up to 2500 people. Following on from the success of the Asia Pacific Market held over the recent AIME exhibition, Showtime Event Group will replicate the event for corporate events from mid-November through till the end of December 2019.

Attendees at AIME on Tuesday, February 19, will be invited to continue the networking after dark at the Asia Pacific Street Food Festival along South Wharf Promenade. The event will have a “night noodle market” vibe, courtesy of the Showtime Event Group. On arrival, guests will receive tokens they can redeem for drinks or food from one of the seven market food stalls.

Late last week, Marriott International disclosed a large-scale data breach which impacted up to 500 million customers who have stayed at Starwood-branded hotels over the last four years. For the majority of customers, the breached data included names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, passport numbers and more. Malwarebytes Labs has suggested that potential affectees change the password for their Starwood Preferred Guest Rewards Program, review their bank accounts, consider a credit freeze and watch for breach-related scams.

Howard Smith Wharves is the gift that keeps on giving. The latest opening in the hotly-anticipated revitalisation project is Mr Percival’s, an overwater bar-plus-dining spot located on the Brisbane River. The venue officially opened on Thursday, November 29 to a party of 300, who sipped on champagne and feasted on Moreton Bay-inspired canapés to mark the milestone. Mr Percival’s, which is named after the much-loved pelican character in the 1976 movie Storm Boy, has taken ambience cues from Europe’s unpretentious beach clubs.

November 29 marked the end of another IBTM World, with this year’s instalment achieving more pre-scheduled buyer meetings than ever before. Over 77,650 business meetings took place over the three-day event in Barcelona, with exhibitors and event planners reporting positively on both the quantity and quality of meetings. Exhibitors from over 150 countries attended, and new buyers were up by 20 per cent. Next year’s event will take place between November 19 and 21 at Fira Gran Via in Barcelona.