Daily News & Opinion

Come 2020, Market Street in Adelaide will be home to a 16-storey Hotel Indigo property, the brand’s first property in South Australia’s capital. As is the case with every Hotel Indigo, the venue will draw architectural elements from its local area, namely the Adelaide Markets. Each of its 137 rooms, meeting spaces, four-level pool and rooftop bar will be coloured with the bustling vibrancy of its iconic neighbour.

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts has just signed its first Ramada Worldwide property in Vietnam: a 164 hectare resort set to open in Ho Tram in late 2019. Located less than two hours from Ho Chi Minh City along a two kilometre stretch of beach, the hotel will span 12 storeys and 241 rooms, including seven two-bedroom penthouses and 36 three-bedroom villas. Guests will also be located near a convention centre, a casino and a golf course designed by Greg Norman.

Beating out the likes of AxisRooms, BookLogic, Skyscanner and Travelopro, Cvent has been crowned Asia’s leading travel technology provider at the World Travel Awards. The accolade was determined with votes from travel and tourism professionals, and the company has described the win as a milestone for its Hospitality Cloud platform in Asia. Event planners and corporate travel managers source more than $16 billion dollars in business through Cvent’s online platforms each year.

Former Prime Minister of New Zealand Hon Sir John Key has been announced as a special guest speaker for the Conventions and Incentives New Zealand 2018 Conference, set to take place on November 1 in Auckland. Sir John, who served as Prime Minister for eight years until 2016 and also had a stint as Minister for Tourism, will impart his knowledge on international affairs and offer first-hand accounts of what New Zealand can offer business visitors.

Darren Waite, a sales veteran with extensive big-brand experience, has joined the MCEC as director of sales. Prior to the role, Darren was the regional director of sales and marketing for AccorHotels Victoria, and also held roles at IHG and Accenture Procurement Solutions. MCEC chief executive Peter King said “Our future will be determined by the innovative way we attack our sales targets, and Darren’s background is strongly focussed on leadership and customer centric behaviours.”

Adelaide is a great place to hold your conference, but its hotel offerings are comparatively meagre. Well, in the words of Sam Cooke, a change is gonna come, starting with the opening of Atura Adelaide Airport Hotel. The seven-storey venue offers 165 rooms (some with runway views), a large-scale lobby, quiet zones and a dining facility headed by executive chef Thomas Bator. The hotel also offers eight flexible event spaces with the capacity to cater for up to 320 guests.

The first phase of a $10m development of lavish boutique style accommodation on Kangaroo Island has been realised with the opening of Mistere Retreat. The luxury three-bedroom accommodation will be followed by 12 self-contained villas, 14 eco tents, seven luxury Airstreams with outdoor decks, and meetings space. Mistere Retreat is set on 100 hectares and offers panoramic views out the ocean.

Events across Queensland will receive a combined $799,000 in funding as part of the latest round of TEQ’s Queensland Destination Events Program (QDEP) supporting events and driving tourism throughout the state. Funding has been announced to support events which have strong potential audiences or participation numbers, and which positively profile host communities and deliver economic benefits. The next round is open for applications until October 10, 2018 for events held between May 2019 and May 2020.