A leading medical director has forecast that Covid-related mental health problems will overtake the pandemic as the cause of a decrease in employee productivity in 2021.

Starting 1 December, 2020, New Zealand's business events association will go by a new name: Business Events Industry Aotearoa (BEIA).

A new online business visa and the ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement (TCA) were the standout topics of the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy’s recent webinar “New Visa Policy: Challenges and Opportunities for Tourism in the New Normal Era: Part 1”.

Marriott International has launched their first Moxy Hotel in Taichung, Taiwan on 10 November, making it the sixth Moxy Hotel to open in Asia Pacific. Other countries with the free-spirited brand's footprint include South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and China. Moxy Osaka Shin Umeda is also slated to open end 2020.

Consumer electronics and home appliance brand, SHARP took its 2020 Dealers Convention to the virtual stage in July, but unlike many making the digital pivot this year, they didn't have to outsource its technology provider. Instead, Sharp utilised their in-house Remote Life Technology to power the hybrid event.

Since reopening its doors in July, Shenyang New World EXPO in northeast China has already hosted 16 events, with none of the 190,905 attendees reporting health issues during or following the events as well.

Singaporeans are among the region's most optimistic when it comes to travelling across borders, with eight in 10 (81%) expecting international travel to resume fully by 2H 2021, according to the UOB ASEAN Consumer Sentiment Study, which was conducted just after Singapore emerged from its circuit breaker period.

Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble deferred, but events like this week's TravelRevive trade show in Singapore remain key to reopening borders.

Even as Singapore gradually reopens its MICE industry and people start to trickle back into physical event spaces, the risk of community infection and restrictions on participant numbers have kept the majority out of these hubs and at home. Amid pandemic anxieties, digital participation has become a lifeline for the event industry, with virtual footfall making up for dwindling in-person participation.

The Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) is hosted its first trade shows last week since February. Between November 11 and 13, Informa Markets launched four B2B events at HKCEC’s Hall 1, normally reserved for major events like Filmart, Vinexpo or HOFEX.

Inbound foreign visitors to Singapore will now be able to purchase travel insurance coverage for Covid-19 related costs incurred locally, according to a joint media statement from Changi Airport Group (CAG) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

PCMA and the Corporate Event Marketing Association (CEMA) recently announced an agreement wherein CEMA will be acquired as a wholly-owned division of PCMA.

Like most events in 2020, TEDxSydney went virtual this year, attracting more than 3,000 global attendees.

The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) has added two new representatives to its Asia Pacific board of directors, both industry stalwarts from Malaysia.