SINGAPORE - The Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers' (SACEOS) legal advisors hosted a coronavirus legal clinic to review planners’ business contracts last Friday. Priority was given to members and SMEs without in-house legal counsels/advisors and with urgent needs for contracts to be reviewed.

SINGAPORE - E-commerce fraud prevention brand Forter, has launched its Loyalty Program Protection solution offering protection from fraud and abuse. These include transactional fraud, account-based fraud, and policy abuse.

SINGAPORE – The Covid-19 outbreak is thrusting industry leaders into the spotlight on a daily basis. Red Shoe Communications’ managing director, Ms Kathy O’Brien, shared how senior leadership can provide effective communication in these uncertain times. The company was the 2019 gold winner of Best Employee Communications Training Provider by HRO.

BANGKOK - Hotel JAL City Bangkok opens on May 8, 2020 after being rebranded from the currently operating Hotel Verve Bangkok. Located on Sukhumvit Road in Thonglor tourist and business district, the venue will offer special rates for One Harmony members.

HONG KONG – Hotel Alexandra, a new Victorian era inspired hotel, is set to open this spring with views over Hong Kong’s cityscape and Victoria Harbour.

TEL AVIV - The Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality has launched its first Tourism Master Plan to make the city one of the most popular urban destinations in the world by 2030.

SINGAPORE – Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has announced that it will form a Tourism Recovery Action Task Force to lead the tourism industry towards “a strong recovery” backed by a healthy pipeline of business events.

USA - CWT has launched a new messaging service, myCWT messaging, to 24 global clients. This new, text-based channel allows clients’ employees to quickly reach a CWT counselor 24/7 from their desktop, mobile device or other third-party client approved messaging app.

Jonathan T. Howe is founder and senior partner of the Chicago and Washington, DC, law firm Howe & Hutton Ltd, specialising in meetings and hospitality law. He recently contributed an article to Northstar Meetings Group for US meeting planners. We feature a condensed version here.

PUERTO RICO - Creative problem-solving and exceeding client needs were among the themes emphasised at the annual conference for the Association of Destination Management Executives International (ADMEI) earlier this month.

MELBOURNE - Melbourne & Olympic Parks (M&OP) has announced that it will showcase its new convention centre, CENTREPIECE at Melbourne Park at AIME 2020.

CAM RANH – Swiss hospitality brand Mövenpick has opened the doors of its 500-key beachfront Mövenpick Resort Cam Ranh in central Vietnam.

MOSCOW – Russia’s flagship carrier, Aeroflot, has launched ticket sales for their new Moscow to Singapore route, which will begin later this year on Oct 25.

SINGAPORE – Intensified precautionary measures to safeguard the well-being and safety of all attendees have kicked into full gear at this week’s biennial Singapore Airshow 2020. The trade days are from 11 – 16 February at the Changi Exhibition Centre (CEC). This comes amid a wave of cancellations from participants since the outbreak of the coronavirus.