SEOUL — The South Korean capital has cautiously reopened its business events and MICE industry, following the successful hosting of the Korea Landscape and Garden Expo 2020 from 3 to 6 June — the first event to take place in the city since the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

Several major world airports are offering or requiring Covid-19 testing on-site for arriving international passengers.

Dubai Business Events (DBE), the city’s convention bureau, has signed eight Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) across the public and private sector to formalise collaborations in an effort to ensure longer-term recovery of the meetings and events sector in Dubai.

SINGAPORE — Marina Bay Sands has launched a state-of-the-art hybrid event broadcast studio at Sands Expo and Convention Centre in a first for the industry, as the award-winning venue paves the way to redefine the future of meetings.

Pacific World has become the latest casualty of the Covid-19 pandemic, as the 40-year-old destination, conference and event company has announced the closure of its Hong Kong operations.

The pandemic may have delivered a significant hit, but Singapore’s business events industry is going all out to ensure they come out stronger and more resilient.

The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has partnered with 54 hotels and eight destination management companies (DMCs) to roll out a new 'Ease Up' campaign to entice international event planners to return to the Kingdom.

Chongqing – InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) officially opened the doors to its Chongqing Raffles City property on 12 August, 2020, as the brand continues with expansion plans through to 2023.

The Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office is hosting a half-day Virtual Destination Mekong Summit on 25 August – themed Balanced Tourism Recovery for a Better Future – to give actionable insights and action steps to businesses operating in the member countries of the Mekong Region.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has introduced a Meeting with Purpose initiative to offer meeting planners a selection of corporate social responsibility experiences that can be incorporated into a meeting agenda, with the aim of providing participants with purposeful involvement in home-grown sustainability efforts.

HONG KONG — the city's current social distancing restrictions are seeing MICE businesses suffer.

KULALA LUMPUR — Winners of the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB)’s New Norm In Organising Future Business Events contest revealed what business events will look like post-Covid — and it’s a future reliant on technology to deliver quality content, security, and wellness.

SINGAPORE — Event planners across APAC are struggling to budget for hybrid events as they try to find the balance between taking an event online and managing face-to-face attendee’s expectations, according to a recent survey conducted by the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).

BANGKOK –— Capella Hotel Group’s first property in the Thai capital is finally ready to open its doors from October 1, 2020, following a delayed launch initially slated for Q2 2019.