ASIA – At CWT Meetings & Events, clients have sought the group’s advice on many fronts since the pandemic started. From advising customers on postponements, cancellations to virtual meetings, it has been striving to support the best interests of customers and help them with their strategic events.

WORLDWIDE - Hilton is working with RB and Mayo Clinic to launch an industry-defining standard of cleanliness and disinfection in its properties around the world. RB is the maker of Lysol and Dettol.

SEOUL – South Korea has secured entry ban exemptions for its citizens with Vietnam and seven other countries to allow 3,020 South Korean business travellers to enter their territories.

BANGKOK – Thailand’s hopes of restoring confidence in travellers once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted has provided the impetus to roll out theAmazing Thailand Safety and Health Administration” campaign. This is aimed at lifting tourism health and safety standards.

BANGKOK – Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has garnered over 41 new business leads to bring meetings and incentives to Thailand worth about 2.5 billion baht (US$76.9 million) since March 2020. These are primarily from regional markets like China, India, Singapore and Japan.

DALIAN – When frontline medical teams arrived at Hilton Dalian Golden Pebble Beach and were confined to their rooms, the hotel management wanted their guests to experience the beauty of the Golden Pebble Beach in a creative and interactive way.

USA – In the last couple of years, the hotel landscape was showing buoyant sentiments. Marketing budgets were increasing, new brands such as Hilton’s Tru and IHG’s Avid, were being introduced at a never before seen pace, existing brands were being upgraded, new companies were getting into the travel business, and the airline industry was expanding into new markets.

KOTA KINABALU: Echo Resorts has shown its resilience despite global travel restrictions and the Movement Control Order imposed by the Malaysian government. The group’s other businesses remain buoyant even while hotel operations have temporarily ceased.

BANGKOK - IHG will debut its boutique luxury brand, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, in Asia with the opening of Kimpton Maa-Lai Bangkok in Thailand in Q4 2020.

WORLDWIDE – Marriott’s newly launched Global Cleanliness Council will focus on developing the next level of global hospitality cleanliness standards, norms and behaviour.

BANGKOK - Anantara Hotels, Resorts and Spas is implementing a new health and hygiene programme, Stay With Peace of Mind, with a renewed focus on guest wellbeing.

SINGAPORE – Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will launch the second phase of its Marketing Partnership Programme to include the rest of the MICE sector in early May. Under this $20 million (US$14.02 million) programme, STB will support part of the marketing costs, and award additional funding to companies that work with other tourism stakeholders to create value-added experiences to visitors.

TOKYO – The postponement of the Olympics has created a severe space shortage in Tokyo for exhibitions. The country’s largest exhibition centre, Tokyo Big Sight, had been requisitioned by the Tokyo Olympic Committee and International Olympic Committee to be converted into the official international broadcast and press venues.

HONG KONG - A web conference attended by some 1,500 travel trade representatives on 24 April 2020 heard about Hong Kong Tourism Board’s (HKTB) strategic framework for recovery.