 Chasing the “Holy Grail” in a Da Vinci Code team-building exercise at Fremantle provided one of the highlights of a familiarisation visit to Perth by eight Indonesian based corporate buyers. The four day famil in early December 2007 was organised by the Perth Convention Bureau in conjunction with Garuda Indonesia, which provided the airfares and looked after the on-ground arrangements in Jakarta. Two Garuda Indonesia representatives accompanied the buyers from the mining, IT, communications, financial and pharmaceutical sectors. As well as the Merribrook team-building activity at Fremantle, other highlights included sailing on the Swan River, an exclusive lunch in the Cabaret Cave underground venue at Yanchep National Park and a night of dancing in the Ruby Room nightclub at Burswood Entertainment Complex. Perth bureau business development manager for corporate meetings and incentives, Marina McKeague, said “we were particularly pleased to work with Garuda Indonesia to bring these key decision makers to Perth. We see Indonesia as a developing market with excellent potential for growth in corporate meetings and incentives and it was encouraging to get such key buyers participating on the famil.”
Los Angeles-based AEG has acquired an interest in Brisbane-based Ogden IFC and will form a new division to operate arenas, theatres, stadiums, convention and exhibition centres across the Asia Pacific region. Details of the joint venture were announced in January by Ogden IFC Chairman & CEO, Harvey Lister, and President and CEO of AEG, Timothy J. Leiweke. The joint venture, to be known as AEG Ogden will be led by Mr. Lister and Rod Pilbeam, the company’s executive director who will work in conjunction with Bob Newman, the chief operating officer of AEG Facilities and other divisions of AEG, including AEG Live. AEG Ogden’s territory of operations will focus on the Asia region from China through India, including South East Asia; the Western Pacific, including Australia and New Zealand; and the Middle East and North Africa regions. The joint venture brings to 65 the number of venues affiliated with the AEG Ogden global family of facilities. It also creates one of the largest venue and events businesses in the world.
Some 450 passengers from the cruise liner The Mariner were entertained in style on a sunny and hot Christchurch day in November 2007. Suz Baker and her team at Eventionz organised a fabulous introduction to New Zealand with an early settler’s garden party in the beautiful gardens at Mona Vale with entertainment by Maori performers from Te Kotahitangi Kapa Haka, up and coming young singer Zara Doig-Wilford, the Ashley Clarke Swing Band and MC David McPhail. This was complemented by Continental Event Catering who served the delighted visitors high tea and bubbles within a big top marquee by Continental Event Hire on the Iris Lawn.
Rotorua could be seeing direct international flights from Australia into Rotorua Airport from 2009. Rotorua Mayor Kevin Winters announced in December that the Environment Court had granted the Rotorua District Council approval to proceed with airport developments. Mayor Winters said this was one of the most significant decisions in the modern history of Rotorua, adding that direct air services from eastern seaboard Australian cities had the potential to give Rotorua’s economy the sort of boost the city hadn’t experienced before. An equally delighted Rotorua District Council chief executive, Peter Guerin, said that planning, design and preparation work would start almost immediately while physical construction work was likely to get underway in mid 2008. “Our engineers estimate the whole process to plan and complete the runway extensions will take around 18 months, meaning flights from Australia could be landing and taking off at our airport as early as the middle of 2009,” he said.
The Perth Convention Bureau has appointed UK-based business tourism marketing agency Total Marketing Communications (TMC) to act as its sales and marketing representative covering Europe. The appointment comes in the wake of the Western Australian Government’s substantially increased funding commitment to marketing the state as a business events destination. The Government has committed an additional $11.9 million over five years to attract the larger, high yielding 900-plus delegate conferences, to be matched by an industry contribution of $2.2 million over the same period. This has effectively seen the bureau’s annual Government-private sector funding increase by 58 per cent from $2.6 million to $4.5 million in the 2007-08 financial year. TMC’s managing director is Deidre Keegan, an Australian who has been working in the tourism industry in Europe for the past 25 years. The company has other business tourism clients including the Greater Boston Visitors and Convention Bureau and the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.
A new wing of Copthorne Hotel & Resort Bay of Islands, located on the iconic Treaty Grounds at Waitangi, will have on it the largest single flat plate solar collection system in New Zealand. More than 100 square metres of solar panels will heat the water for the hotel’s pool complex and the guest rooms. “The use of renewable solar energy demonstrates Millennium, Copthorne and Kingsgate Hotels’ commitment to sustainability,” says managing director of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand Limited, BK Chiu.
A group of Australian-based incentive travel agents enjoyed the sights of Singapore and Bintan Island in late 2007 when they participated in a familiarisation organised by the Singapore Tourism Board and Destination Marketing Services, with airline partner Singapore Airlines and on-ground support by DMC Pacific World Singapore. The familiarisation was designed to give incentive planners a unique opportunity to explore the diversity of the two destinations - the animated and dynamic vibe of Singapore and the ambient and peaceful tropical surrounds of Bintan Island. In Singapore, the group stayed at Swissotel Sir Stamford and Raffles The Plaza and on Bintan Island, it was pure tranquillity at Nirwana Gardens Resort. The program was put together by destination experts Pacific World Singapore.
A $13 million refurbishment at Queenstown’s iconic Novotel Gardens Queenstown hotel has been completed on time and on budget. Queenstown building company Rilean Construction handed over the final 50 rooms of the major 16-month project in December. Novotel Gardens Queenstown is now the largest hotel property in the tourism resort, with 273 rooms catering for up to 546 guests - a 34 per cent increase in potential guest numbers. General manager Carl Braddock said he was absolutely delighted with the end result. “Not only do we now have the biggest hotel in Queenstown, but it is also the biggest Accor hotel within New Zealand,” he said. “We have 69 brand new rooms, 204 completely refurbished rooms, a 66-seat restaurant extension, a stylish new lobby, brand new gallery bar, and new-look meeting room, all in the best location in Queenstown.”
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