The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) will hail new era in the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) industry on Friday 2nd September 2011. The TCEB-sponsored Meetings Industry Forum will be attended by Mr. Martin Sirk, CEO of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA); Mr. Sumate Sudasna, President of the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA); Mr. Thananchon Rojkittikhun, Department of Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Commerce; and high-level participants from government, Thailand’s private sector and associations.
Mr. Akapol Sorasuchart said, “One of the key shifts in the MICE industry has been the rapid growth in the business events industry. Moving forward, we can anticipate continuing growth not only in corporate and association meetings, and in B2B and B2C trade shows, but also in other business events, including mega-events such as the World Expo or the Formula 1 Racing. It is because of the growing significance of business events such as these that we chose the theme for this forum – ‘Business events as the next step of MICE in Thailand.’

Uzbekistan and the World Bank are working on furthering cooperation in tourism and hospitality industries.
State Property Committee of Uzbekistan held a meeting with World Bank officials led by Mr. Takuya Kamata, head of WB resident mission in Uzbekistan.
Today the tourist industry of Uzbekistan is one of the most promising ‘growth points’ of the economy, given the strong potential of the country’s historical heritage, world-famous city sights and resorts. At the same time the development of the industry entails the development of a wide range of other areas – hotels, sightseeing, transportation, handicrafts, stimulate job creation, improvement of infrastructure at the sites of historical and architectural monuments. In this regard, now Uzbekistan is actively working on a development strategy for tourism.

Hilton Hotels & Resorts today opened its 10th hotel in China – Hilton Xi’an. Conveniently located in the heart of midtown Xi’an and just minutes away from the Ming City Wall and city landmark Bell Tower, it is Hilton Worldwide’s first Hilton Hotels & Resorts property in Northwest China and the company’s 20th hotel in the country.
Martin Rinck, president, Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide, said, “Xi’an has always been an important cultural and industrial hub, and now it is continuing its growth as a center of tourism. Hilton Worldwide’s portfolio of hotels in China is growing rapidly with more than 80 properties in the pipeline, and we are extremely excited to now have a presence from our flagship Hilton Hotels & Resorts brand in such a key location.”

by Reinhard Hohler, Chiang Mai
According to media sources in Phnom Penh, Cambodian and Thai travel agents are scheduled to meet to discuss ways to boost tourism in both countries after being affected by continuous border dispute since 2008, Chairman of Cambodia Association of Travel Agents (CATA) Ang Kim Eang said.
The one-day meeting will be held on August 27 in coastal Sihanoukville, some 230 kilometers southwest of Phnom Penh, he said, adding that it will bring together 28 Cambodian tour and travel agents and 66 Thai travel agents.

Werner Gessner, the wellknown Hospitality Specialist, has received the honorary award from the New York City Food & Beverages association for his contribution to the culinary field and trend setting in California cusine in Los Angeles / USA. He guided and planed several openings in Miami, New York City and Seattle. Washinghton was his latest opening, before returning back to Europe and then back to the middle east where he opened several 5 * hotels.
Now he is taking a creative break in Switzerland

Close to 1000 hosted buyers responded to the IMEX in Frankfurt 2011 post-show survey and results once again confirm IMEX’s commitment to outstanding business, networking and education opportunities. Lending further credence to a continued upswing in overall market activity and optimism, buyers confirmed they placed orders worth $508 million during the show, a rise of nearly 12.8% (2010: $450 million). The 1000 buyers also expect to place orders valued at around $2.2 billion in the nine months following the exhibition.
Other findings show that 14 hours was the average amount of time hosted buyers spent on the show floor meeting with exhibitors; another increase of 12% compared to last year. This statistic underpins the importance that IMEX attaches to not allowing education or exhibitor events to be held away from the show floor during business hours.