BALI – More than 300 people gathered at Wyndham Tamansari Jivva Resort Bali over the weekend of Jan 25-26 to plant 1,000 trees around the resort grounds, at nearby temples and at Lepang Beach, as part of the resort’s first green initiative of the year.

TOKYO – The Japan Tourism Agency, under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, has announced that it will adopt the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) criteria as part of its tourism policy. Japan’s commitment to sustainable growth can be seen in its approach not just to tourism, but also its industry for conventions and business events.

SINGAPORE – Grand Park City Hall, the flagship property of Park Hotel Group, has announced the appointment of Jeane Lim as the hotel’s new general manager.

BEIJING – A deadly virus that has prompted travel restrictions in China is sending shockwaves through Asia’s tourism industry, which has become increasingly reliant on growing numbers of Chinese visitors.

KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) said it has secured 42 business events for the year, with the events set to bring in more than 65,000 delegates from the healthcare, telecommunications, science and technology industries.

KUALA LUMPUR – Berjaya Times Square Hotel Kuala Lumpur (KL) is undergoing an RM15 million (US$3.7 million) makeover that will see all its rooms, ballrooms and meeting rooms upgraded this year.

BANGKOK – Even though hotels in Thailand have registered a 6% drop in revenue per available room (RevPar) in 2019, the prospect of 40 million tourist arrivals this year has led to the likely addition of 50,000 new rooms across the country over five years.

SEOUL – On the back of a successful co-marketing partnership with Gangwon, the Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB) is looking to expand that partnership with other major Korean cities in its bid to promote the country’s MICE industry.

HONG KONG – Langham Hospitality Investments (1270.HK) has announced that it has closed a sustainability-linked term loan and revolving credit facility amounting to HK$7.5 billion (US$965 million) with 11 banks.

ABU DHABI – Jumeirah Group has announced its MICE offerings for 2020 at two of its hotels in Abu Dhabi – the Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, and the Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort.

MUSCAT – Hotels in Oman have been banned from holding events for 40 days as the country mourns the passing of Sultan Qaboos bin Said, according to the Times of Oman.

JAKARTA – Semarang, a Central Java city known for its Javanese and Chinese cultures, has been named as the cleanest tourist destination in Southeast Asia.

SINGAPORE – As it enters the new decade, Singapore’s MICE industry is poised to “advance faster in the next 10 years than it has before”, said SACEOS president Aloysius Arlando.

HONG KONG – With wellness becoming an increasingly essential component of any meetings and events recently, the new global wellbeing collaboration between Hyatt and global meditation app Headspace couldn’t be more perfectly timed.