While science has proven by all means that stress is a negative aspect, still it can be used for the benefit of organizations if done the right way. In case, stress exists it must be visible and a true HR professional as part of his / her talent management duties, needs to make sure such things get proper attention before spiraling out of control. In case there is stress, the person concerned needs to acknowledge the same and only then the team can work towards finding reliable solutions. Finally, adequate steps must be taken to stop the work related stress by ensuring uncontrollable gaps do not exist in the system.

Business research conducted has provided us with certain trends marketers must keep track of. Data enables proper business analysis and thus it is critical to the way marketing is now undertaken. Social media is key part of digital marketing. Video mode engages audiences quickly. Marketing is veering increasingly towards the mobile and online platforms. Sponsored content is being produced in house by publishers. Social influencers are now being gauged to attract youngsters. Increasingly firms are implementing ad blocking software. Technology is getting linked to marketing but there is still some untapped potential. Programmatic ads are instead being the focus of publishers and marketers. Peer based reviews’ generation ahs now ballooned to be a full-fledged industry.

Singaporeans are now the nationality which has proven to travel the most. Also as per market research, 95% of Singaporeans have travelled abroad over the last 2 years which is much higher than the Asia-Pacific region or the world as a whole. The percentage of them traveling for leisure as opposed to work is also among the highest. And this trend is set to grow. Japan, Korea and Australia are topmost desired destinations. Traditionally, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong were most popular but now the percentage of other countries in the pie is rising especially among the affluent. 

Marketing research has compiled some key statistics to help our business evaluations. Brand awareness is most important outcome for more than 80% of industrial marketers. About two-thirds more leads generate when organizations have productive blogs. Inbound marketing saves an average of US$ 14 per customer as opposed to outbound methodology. In fact organic search leads are converted on average one every seven. Content marketing meanwhile enables a six times higher conversion rate. Nearly three-fourths of marketers polled feel than online content gives better results than buying up of ad space in print media.

There exist certain skills which every HR professional needs to imbibe. They must possess domain knowledge about the industry their organization is working in. At some level, every HR professional needs to manage teams and take decisions, thus business sense is necessary. They must possess sound communication skills- oral as well as written. The HR professionals must have a mentality conducive to learning as only then will corporate training succeed. They must have the courage to take decisions with integrity. Finally, business innovation must come from their side.

Tourism consulting provided by the WTTC has clearly revealed to us that Africa is going to be the next big destination. The Middle East, the Americas and Europe are doing next best, but not at the level of growth that Africa is managing. However to execute the planning, the countries of Africa need to work together and four areas have been identified for improvement. Tourism infrastructure, air connectivity, a common visa policy and investment to improve quality of human capital across the continent are those four pillars to be worked on.

Dubai has recently bagged the top honours at the World Health Tourism Congress for the concept of medical and health tourism. The Arab Tourism Organization was among the supporters of this summit. Dubai has received the support not just of the U.A.E. but also the entire GCC belt. The idea is to promote the concept of medical tourism across the region which in turn will create numerous tourism jobs. This forum was a two day affair and was attended by representatives from more than eighty countries.