SEOUL — The South Korean capital city will host the 8th Union of International Associations (UIA) Round Table in Asia Pacific as a virtual event on 17-18 September.

SINGAPORE – Event tech provider, Cvent, this week unveiled a new virtual event solution, known as Cvent Engagement Hub, to provide a one-stop-shop for event planners.

Langham Hospitality Group has appointed Bob van den Oord as COO, a newly created position in the group to support the company’s hotel operations and core business functions that are spread over four continents.

SINGAPORE – After announcing a risk management framework for small meetings and hybrid events (up to 50 pax), the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) recently held a series of webinars to showcase tech solutions to help support MICE and hospitality businesses drive digital transformation.

Travel may have come to a standstill globally, yet Taiwan has waged one of the world’s most successful battles against the pandemic — through swift border restrictions, firm leadership, robust testing, and working from lessons learnt during SARS.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Enterprise Singapore announced that the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) x Singapore Week of Innovation & TeCHnology (SWITCH) will expand to become the world’s first week-long round-the-clock, hybrid event. Running from 7 to 11 December 2020, participants will be able attend in person at key physical locations around the world, or connect via an 'online city' platform.

Hong Kong — Brand activation company, Pico Group, has designed and built a community treatment facility at AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE), as the city battles a new wave of coronavirus infections.

The successful pilot test of the ICC AOKpass for 10 offshore drilling workers' travel passage between Singapore and Thailand is bringing promise that the Covid-19 blockchain health app could be on its way to wider use as the world seeks a safe return to travel.

HONG KONG — Langham Hospitality Group will manage its third luxury hotel in Australia, with the opening of The Langham Gold Coast in 2021.

KAOHSIUNG — The year's ICCA Congress, set to take place from 1-3 November, will be a hybrid event, where attendees can experience the event live in Kaohsiung, at a regional hub, or virtually.

OSAKA — The 12th Kansai Hotel & Restaurant Show took place at INTEX Osaka last week (29-31 July), alongside five other exhibitions. A total of 460 companies at 830 booths filled the venue, marking the first large-scale B2B trade event since Japan lifted its national state of emergency.

BANGKOK — The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) recently unveiled a new subsidy scheme to encourage more domestic meetings and incentives. The new 'Thailand a Safer Place for Meetings' scheme is aimed at assisting MICE operators currently facing the loss of overseas business, and stimulating the national economy.

HUNAN — Accor has launched it 39th Pullman property in Greater China, in the ancient Chinese city of Yueyang, Hunan province.

PENANG — S P Setia Bhd has promoted Francis Teo as overall head of convention centres, where he will helm the Group’s convention centre arm, which includes Setia City Convention Centre (SCCC) in Selangor, as well as Setia SPICE Convention Centre in Penang.