Events and exhibitions often lead to high levels of waste and carbon emissions, but the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is tackling this challenge head-on with a pilot zero-waste booth at FHA-Food & Beverage 2023, which is taking place at Singapore EXPO from 25-28 April.

With a focus on carbon reduction and promoting sustainability in Taiwan’s MICE industry, The Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOTC) has rolled out a sustainability action plan to help industry players achieve the goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

Singapore is the most attractive destination in which to do business, a position it has retained for 15 years, while Vietnam is the country that has made the most significant improvement in its business environment.

A powerful approach to rekindle the attendance of both first-timers and regulars to B2B events such as exhibitions is the combination of traditional marketing methods with omnichannel technology and a personalised touch.

The hotel industry remains above the “average” line of CO2 emissions, highlighting an “urgent” need for hospitality and leisure establishments to taper down carbon emissions, according to a recent report by CBRE Hotels Research.

Kaohsiung is to cut the price of its monthly public transportation pass to NT$399 this month, while Tainan is to offer its own monthly pass for NT$299 next month, the cities’ governments announced this week. The Kaohsiung Bureau of Transportation said the city’s monthly pass — currently priced at NT$1,250 — would be sold at the discounted price on the MeNGo app from April 27.

The Resorts World One cruise ship arrived in Penghu for the first time on Tuesday (April 11), as part of a new itinerary expected to bring 60,000 extra passengers per year to the islands in the middle of the Taiwan Strait. On Sunday, the ship leaves Hong Kong and arrives in Kaohsiung the following day as part of a dual homeport itinerary.

Much of the work toward planning sustainable events happens behind the scenes, says Jaime Nack, president of Three Squares, a global, women-owned environmental-consulting firm. “Some clients want to make sure the work gets done but they don’t want to talk about it. Others want to scream from the rooftops.”

SMART CITY INITIATIVE: The company’s Asia New Bay Area investments in EV bus and battery manufacturing are expected to create 2,000 new jobs in the city, Hon Hai said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) plans to invest NT$25 billion (US$821.13 million) in Kaohsiung over the next three years, the company and the Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday.

More associations are swapping virtual platforms for conference centres – but hybrid is now an established part of the meetings landscape, a new report has found. More than half of associations (51%) said they would be holding their largest meeting in 2023 in person, compared to 41% in 2022 and 14% in 2021. But the virtual option, which became the norm during the pandemic, was still backed by 37% of organisers, with hybrid (33%) being the preferred option, virtual-only (3%), and multi-hub hybri