Dubai celebrated the return of MICE with the ‘Ai Everything x Restart Dubai Summer Conference’ held last week (16 July) at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

A group of leading destination management companies in Thailand have come together to establish uniform health and safety standards with the launch of the Thailand Hygiene Plus Initiative (THPI).

The digitisation of meetings and events is not new, so why are we still scratching our heads when it comes to online engagement?

In the age of the coronavirus which has severely impacted the meetings industry and ushered in a whole new set of best practices, the need to sharpen one’s skills and expand on their industry expertise just went from a good-to-have to a must-have.

MALAYSIA – Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak) has announced a trio of new initiatives to kickstart the business events industry, including enhanced incentives for event organisers.

SINGAPORE – One of Accor's most iconic luxury brands, Raffles Bali soft-opened over the weekend on 4 July, with a distinct focus on wellness travel to woo crowds seeking to rebalance body, mind and soul amid the global lockdowns.

HONG KONG - The Hong Kong Book Fair, which was due to kick off today at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, has been postponed due to a spike in locally transmitted coronavirus cases.

Domestic market recovery is leading the aviation sector’s global return, and this could spell the resumption of domestic meetings and events.

AUSTRALIA – A surge in coronavirus cases in Melbourne last week has caused Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to reintroduce stage three restrictions across the city.

GLOBAL — Planners expect to see local meetings dominate the sector in the next 12 to 18 months, while prospects for national and international events continue to improve, according to Northstar Meetings Group's latest Pulse Survey.

GLOBAL — The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) has ceased operations and will file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to a notice on the association’s website. As such, ACTE will liquidate its assets and disband.

Macau – With Macau’s border reopening delayed following a new wave of COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong and Guangdong, the SAR government has turned to domestic tourism —already proving to be a hit — as hotels have found creative ways to win back both the leisure and business events scene.

GLOBAL — Event planners who missed the live-streamed EduMonday conference when PlanetIMEX launched in May can now access on-demand educational content.

AUSTRALIA — The Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) has received the green to open its doors following months of closure due to Covid-19.