Business Traveller (Asia-Pacific)
EVENTS FOR THE NEW ERA
How and when will we start travelling again in Asia-Pacific?
Meetings are going to take a different form for some time to come – but hotel groups have been coming up with creative ways for physical and virtual attendees to get together.
Here we round up some of the major programmes in place to keep delegates safe – from hybrid events that combine in-person and virtual participation, to measures such as temperature checks and testing procedures.
HILTON
Hilton has extended its cleaning protocols to its event operations, calling it Hilton Event Ready with CleanStay. The programme includes meeting room seals and checklists, sanitising stations, a playbook offering guidance and resources to plan events (including testing providers) and a physical distancing meal service. Solutions for hybrid meetings include seamless connectivity, a planning playbook and expertise from dedicated team members, with a select number having dedicated presentation stages for highquality broadcasting technology. meetings.hilton.com/eventready
ACCOR
Accor is set to launch All Connect, a new hybrid meetings concept powered by Microsoft Teams.
The initiative will allow corporate customers and event planners around the world to combine physical in-hotel meetings with virtual interactions across multiple locations.
The concept focuses primarily on smaller meetings (eight to 50 physical participants) and meetings will take place on the Teams platform. Within the hotels’ meeting spaces, Microsoft Teams Rooms and Surface Hub 2S will connect onsite guests with remote attendees through audio and video technology.
The group is aiming for 100 per cent of hotels worldwide to comply with the new hybrid meetings standard by 2022.
FOUR SEASONS
The luxury group introduced Hybrid Meetings by Four Seasons in April. Hotels follow safety protocols from the group’s Lead With Care programme with additional measures for meetings and events. Solutions include Multi-Broadcast technology for global conferences, which offers a professional backdrop, stage and technology to stream keynotes and leadership addresses, or the Hub and Spoke model for smaller gatherings, which can connect regional groups across multiple properties. Simultaneous culinary surprises, such as individually served menus or interactive mixology kits can also be arranged. Four Seasons can also facilitate access to Covid-19 tests for guests at its properties globally, and teams will work with planners to provide guidance and recommendations on endto-end testing options and costs. fourseasons.com
HYATT
Hyatt is enabling meetings to simultaneously take place across various properties in Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific through a hybrid format. Content can be broadcast to meeting rooms across multiple hotels, allowing delegates to safely connect and engage. Each location can house 15 attendees and features a video monitor, two flipcharts and a dynamic device with multiple built-in cameras and microphones. The group plans to trial the use of mobile health passport Verifly for in-person gatherings, allowing attendees and colleagues to present their Covid-19 test results and complete all necessary requirements on the app prior to arrival. Delegates who meet the criteria will be able to display a green checkmark on the app for entry into the venue. hyatt.com
MARRIOTT
Marriott launched its Connect with Confidence programme last year, with enhanced sanitation guidelines and increased use of conference technologies. Onsite meetings feature thermal scanners, contactless checkin, social distancing signage, hand sanitiser stations, and grab-and-go food and drink for in-person delegates. Meanwhile, remote attendees can select preferred viewing angles for live streams and – at one event in the US – use free Uber Eats gift cards to order food to arrive at the same time as inperson colleagues. The group aims to hold future hybrid events throughout the world over the next few months. It is also exploring other initiatives, such as virtual breakout sessions and packaged welcome gifts, which would be posted in advance to participants at home. marriott.com
IHG HOTELS AND RESORTS
IHG offers two hybrid options for meetings and events under its Meet with Confidence programme. The Smart Solution is available at participating hotels globally, except in Greater China, and includes rapid onsite Covid-19 testing in partnership with Wellness 4 Humanity and digital collaboration technology from Weframe. Devised as an interactive, cloud-based touchscreen, Weframe One enables onsite and remote participants to work together.
The second option, the Expert Solution, is available at nearly 100 hotels in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the US. Additional services include virtual technology experiences and curated food and drink delivered to off-site attendees. ihg.com
Many of us haven’t set foot on a plane in well over a year – and we’ve become far too comfortable conducting Zoom meetings at home in our pyjamas. But with vaccination programmes starting to roll out, alongside initiatives such as travel bubbles and vaccine passports, could it soon be time to dig out our carry-ons?
LOCKED DOWN
Asia-Pacific nations handled the initial Covid-19 outbreak more effectively than Western counterparts. Fast responses by governments saw border controls, quarantine procedures, lockdowns and trackand-trace systems put into place early on, with preventative measures, such as masks and social distancing policies, implemented widely in local communities.
The hard-line strategy proved successful, with lower case numbers across most of Asia. But it also effectively cancelled travel, with conservative policies creating prohibitive restrictions for the travel industry and travellers alike.
The emergence of more virulent strains, coupled with a slower vaccine rollout across the region, has also taken its toll, from severe outbreaks in countries such as India to model examples facing relapses: Taiwan managed 253 days without a case of Covid-19 in 2020, before experiencing a significant outbreak in May.
This has further stumped efforts to reboot travel and caused misery for major events, including the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. The beleaguered sporting events are scheduled to take place from 23 July to 8 August and 24 August to 5 September, despite around 1000 new daily cases in Japan throughout June.
International travel has already been banned – and it is yet to be determined whether or not local fans will be allowed to attend.
RULES AND REGULATIONS
For the hardy few who have soldiered on with travel plans, the current mechanisms in place are frustratingly
Border controls, quarantine, lockdowns and trackand-trace systems were put into place early on
laborious, with extra admin, time and costs – plus a constant risk of changing rules and snap lockdowns.
Producing a negative Covid-19 PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test result has become a standard part of travelling. The tests – which range in unpleasantness from spitting to nasal swabbing – can cost US$200 a pop (or even $US450 in Japan), take 72 hours for results, and will likely have to be completed multiple times during the journey.
Once you’ve proved negative for Covid-19, you might also need to prove positive for antibodies via a blood test.
Then there’s the additional Covid-19-specific travel insurance required by most countries. And if you’re travelling to Cambodia, an extra US$2,000 deposit to cover accommodation costs while waiting for Covid-19 test results, medical examination fees, transportation costs from airport to hotel, and any further expenses should a fellow traveller test positive.
Quarantine regulations have been particularly severe across the AsiaPacific region. An excruciating three-week quarantine has been in place in Hong Kong and mainland China for most of the pandemic (though a 7-day quarantine for vaccinated travellers from specific countries. was announced in June). Singapore and Vietnam also ramped up quarantine periods to three weeks in May, following fresh spikes in case numbers.
Even for travellers prepared to jump through all the hoops – access to Asia-Pacific has remained largely off the table for visitors, with heavy barriers on entry to foreign nationals.
This zero-tolerance approach poses a huge problem to restarting travel. In June, Willie Walsh, IATA director general, commented: “Connectivity needs countries at both ends of the journey to be open. Many of the world’s largest air travel markets, such as Australia, China, the UK, Japan and Canada, remain essentially closed with no clear plans to guide a reopening.”
TRAVEL BUBBLES: TOIL AND TROUBLE
Travel bubbles were eagerly anticipated at the start of the year in Asia-Pacific, though a string of cancellations, suspensions and elaborate conditions has deflated some of the original enthusiasm.
One success story has been the Australia/New Zealand travel bubble, launched in April, with quarantine-free travel for respective residents. Both countries are also looking to widen the bubble to
Asia-Pacific has remained largely off the table for visitors, with heavy barriers on entry to foreign nationals
include Pacific Island nations, including Fiji, New Caledonia and Vanuatu.
Other attempts have been less successful. The Hong Kong/ Singapore bubble has popped twice before launch – first in November 2020 and then May this year (though not before ticket prices had shot up some 500 per cent). Similarly, the Taiwan/Palau bubble, which began on 1 April, was suspended on 25 May after a spike in cases in Taiwan.
Singapore was also recently forced to suspend its Reciprocal
Green Lane (RGL) agreements, designed for official and business travel between Germany, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, though an Air Travel Pass is still available for Australia,
Brunei Darussalam, mainland China and
New Zealand.
Aside from their fragility, bubbles also come with onerous red tape: mandatory vaccinations; negative test results; airport testing on arrival; Covid-19 travel insurance; downloading mandatory government health apps.
Launched in November, Vietnam’s Business Track agreement with Japan for short-term business travel requires detailed itineraries and meeting schedules, government escorts on outings and mandatory tests every two days – putting most travellers off.
Despite the false starts, these efforts are continuing to evolve, with enthusiastic support from governments and industry bodies. Indonesia’s ‘3B’ Bali-Batam-Bintan bubble has a new launch date scheduled for July, (while business travel corridors are being sought with the UAE, Qatar, China, Singapore, and the Netherlands). Hong Kong has announced exemptions for C-suite executives. And Thailand plans to restart tourism with the ‘Phuket Sandbox’, expected to launch on
The ‘Phuket Sandbox’ will offer quarantine-free entry to international travellers who have been vaccinated
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