Northstar

CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER THOMAS L. KEMP CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER LISA COHEN PRESIDENT, TRAVEL GROUP ROBERT G. SULLIVAN CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER MATTHEW YORKE EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/GROUP PUBLISHER DAVID BLANSFI ELD EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR ARNIE WEISSMANN SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, HUMAN RESOURCES JANINE L. BAVOSO SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION ROBERTA MULLER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, IT INFRASTRUCTURE & OPERATIONS RICH MASTROPIETRO VICE PRESIDENT, INFORMATION PRODUCTS GROUP SHEILA RICE VICE PRESIDENT, DATABASE PRODUCTS ELIZABETH KOESSER Published by NORTHSTAR TRAVEL MEDIA SINGAPORE PTE LTD SINGAPORE 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-08 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652 • TEL: (65) 6801 0450 FAX: (65) 6801 0469 BEIJING Room 024, Building 8, Qijiayuan Diplomatic Compound, No.9 Jianguomenwai Street, Chaoyang District 100600, China • TEL: (8610) 8532 3611 | FAX: (8610) 8532 5293 SHANGHAI Room 2553, The Headquarters Building, No.168 Central XiZhang Road, Shanghai 200001, China • TEL: (8621) 5179 8360 | FAX: (8621) 5179 8360 Head Office 100 LightingWay, Secaucus, N.J. 07094-3681 U.S.A. • TEL: ( 201) 902-2000 M&C/Asia ISSN 2424-8215 MCI (P) 051/09/2019 PPS 1871/11/2015 (025607) is published on a bi-monthly basis by Northstar Travel Media Singapore Pte Ltd, located at 91 Bencoolen Street, #05-08 Sunshine Plaza, Singapore 189652. All rights reserved. Please address all subscription mail to the above address. Alternatively, you can fax to +852 3020 5794 or go online at: www.meetings-conventions-asia.com/subscribe For reprints or copyright permission contact M&C Asia at +65 6801 0450 or email to reprint@ntmllc.com Printed by Times Printers Private Limited (L007/08/2019) A PUBLICATION OF NORTHSTAR TRAVEL GROUP VICE PRESIDENT/GROUP PUBLISHER, ASIA Irene Chua Tel: (65) 6801 0451 | ichua@ntmllc.com EDITORIAL SENIOR EDITOR Stanley Ho Tel: (65) 6801 0457 | stanley.ho@ntmllc.com EDITOR-AT-LARGE Ian Jarrett Tel: (618) 9433 6455 | ian.jarrett@travelweekly.com EDITOR Lee Xin Hui Tel: (65) 6801 0453 | xinhui.lee@ntmllc.com REPORTER Naomi Neoh Tel: (65) 6801 0461 | naomi.neoh@ntmllc.com CONTRIBUTORS Natalie Joy Lee, Alex Palmer, Brooke Thio ART DIRECTOR Lim Bee Bee Tel: (65) 9750 8405 | bb.bbcreative@gmail.com SALES & MARKETING REGIONAL ASSISTANT SALES DIRECTOR Kevin Ng Tel: (65) 6801 0459 | kevin.ng@ntmllc.com REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR Ng Whey Whey Tel: (65) 6801 0460 | whey.ng@ntmllc.com ASSOCIATE MANAGER, MARKETING AND EVENTS Melanie Ong Tel: (65) 6801 0458 | melanie.ong@ntmllc.com EVENTS EXECUTIVE Mondre Yuen Tel: (65) 6801 0454 | mondre.yuen@ntmllc.com AD TRAFFIC AND PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Rena Koh Tel: (65) 6801 0455 | rena.koh@ntmllc.com IT & DIGITAL DIGITAL & IT OPERATIONS Jake Mak Tel: (65) 6801 0464 | jake.mak@ntmllc.com CHINA OFFICE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR (Shanghai) Roger Wang Tel: (8621) 5179 8360 | roger.wang@ntmllc.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Susan Li Tel: (8610) 8532 3611 | susan.li@ntmllc.com MEDIA REPRESENTATIVES HONG KONG/MACAU/TAIWAN ZAM International - Manna Ma Tel: (852) 9731 2090 | manna.ma@ntmllc.com INDIA MHI Communications - Smriti Khanna Tel: (9198) 1040 7483 | skhanna@mhi.com.hk JAPAN R Project Incorporated - Hiroki Fukunaga Tel: (81) 90 4958 0658 | hirokif@rprojectinc.com KOREA Young Media Inc - Keon Chang Tel: (822) 2273 4833 | ymedia@chol.com MIDDLE EAST The MediaVantage - Lenora Bennis Tel: (971) 52 846 6212 | lenora@themediavantage.com PHILIPPINES MMPRMedia Group, Inc - Marie Monozca Tel: (63) 917 328 7658 | marie@mmprmedia.com AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR - ASIA Patti Mo | patti.mo@ntmllc.com DATABASE & FULFILLMENT MANAGER Zoe Chu | zoe.chu@ntmllc.com FINANCE ASIA FINANCE MANAGER Julia Tham Tel: (65) 6801 0452 | julia.tham@ntmllc.com M&C Asia is BPA audited, with 10,100 print circulation and 11,458 eNewsletter circulation as of Jun 30, 2019. Around the world, BPA is the preferred third-party auditor for advertiser-supported business publications (including print and digital editions). BPA verifies paid, controlled, or any combination of paid and controlled circulation, and reports the data in a single Brand Report. Founded in 1931 BPA Worldwide is an independent, not-for-profit, self- regulating organization governed by a tripartite Board. Editor's Note 2 NOV-DEC 2019 MEETINGS & CONVENTIONS MCMAG-ASIA.COM I had the good fortune of having tea with Dream Cruises president Michael Goh recently. An amiable man with a wealth of experience gleaned from a stellar 30-year career in Asian hospitality, Mr Goh was sharing his outlook on the travel industry in 2020. "Regardless the economic situation, it's our job to create opportunities," he told me. "When times are good, we do 10 things. When times are not-so-good, we should be doing 20 things." Indeed, in times of uncertainty in the current global, socio and economic landscape, the meetings industry will do well to hold on to such optimism, drive, and challenge the odds. The past year, we have witnessed the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka, the turmoil played out on the streets of Hong Kong, and the collapse of Thomas Cook. Issues on sustainability, ight shame, US-China trade war and Brexit have also cast a pall on the market. While these events may have left the meetings industry shaken, it is up to us to prove our resilience. As the old adage goes: Adversity breeds innovation. During tough times, instead of feeding the negative narrative, we can take the chance to reinvent ourselves, learn to be more creative in our business practices, forge strategic partnerships, and turn adversity into opportunity. Just look at Christchurch. Following the devastating 2011 earthquake, the New Zealand city became a living classroom for innovation in limited damage construction. So much so it won the bid to host the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE) Congress, which will bring 550 global structural engineers to the city in September 2020. We at M&C Asia are condent the meetings industry will be bigger and better in 2020. Together, let's do 20 things and make it happen. I WELCOME YOUR COMMENTS. EMAIL ME AT STANLEY.HO@NTMLLC.COM Stanley Ho SENIOR EDITOR A bigger and better 2020

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