UFI has decided to postpone the 2020 UFI Asia Pacific Conference due to the outbreak of the new coronavirus in China. The event was scheduled to be held in Macau between March 5 and 6. In a statement, the organisation said “Although we know that this is disappointing, of course, we always put the health and safety of our members and staff first. As soon as we have confirmed the new dates, we will share them with you”.
Safety comes first.
International events leader Lee-Ann Dahl has been appointed client services manager of Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre. Ms Dahl previously worked at the Durban International Convention Centre where she was part of the sales and events team for more 11 years. On her new role, Ms Dahl said “I’m looking forward to creating events that really put the spotlight on Christchurch – it really is a wonderful, innovative city”.
I’m actually getting really excited about the opening. Only seven months to go.
Several airlines have either suspended or significantly cut back flights to China in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. British Airways has halted all flights to China, as well as Air India and South Korean budget carrier Seoul Air. Indonesia’s Lion Air plans to do the same, and Finnair, Cathay Pacific and Jetstar Asia are all slashing services.
Makes sense.
Accor has announced its commitment to join the UN Global Tourism Plastics Initiative and to remove all single-use plastic items from its hotels by the end of 2022. In addition to its previous commitment to eliminate plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds, the new commitment includes the removal of individual plastic toiletry amenities and cups, and plastic items in guestrooms, meeting areas and restaurants.
I’ve never even seen plastic cups in a hotel room… which is probably a good thing.
The Eventbrite Australia 2020 Event Trends Report was released yesterday, a resource which presents the thoughts and intentions of 1000 Australian event organisers. Some of the findings were that 72 per cent of respondents intend on making sustainability a focus in 2020; 58 per cent indicated that they will focus on diversity; and interactive and immersive experiences emerged as the hottest trend for the year.
What do the other 28 per cent plan on doing? Being more wasteful?
The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) has launched a social media campaign targeting school leavers to consider a career in the exhibitions and business events sector. The social media vignettes are centred on the core message that ‘it takes all kinds of people with all kinds of skills to create an event’. The vignettes highlight the diversity of roles available, the many different job types and roles as well as the pathways for study into the events industry.
Great idea. They are the future of the industry, after all.
Yesterday, Business Events Australia (BEA) launched ‘Event Here This Year’, a campaign aimed at encouraging organisations to choose Australia as the destination for their events. On the campaign, Federal tourism minister Simon Birmingham said “the [business events] sector has taken a hit in recent months with increases in cancelled events as well as a reduction in international event bookings. The fact is, many fire-affected regions still have the facilities to host both small and large-scale events.”
Hopefully this campaign works!
Rydges Sydney Airport has unveiled a new restaurant, bar and lobby. The new restaurant, The Ascot, has drawn on the heritage of the area, which was a racecourse before being converted into the current Sydney Airport site. The fare is Australian with an emphasis on locally-sourced ingredients. The bar – Smithy’s Bar – features an extensive international wine and beer list.
Not a bad way to pass some time before a flight.