Singapore remains Asia's top MICE destination<\/p>\n
Singapore has served as a trading hub and financial center for
\nSoutheast Asia thanks to its strategic location and environment
\nconducive to international business activities.<\/p>\n
Located at the crossroads of the world in the Strait of
\nMalacca, Singapore is home to at least 7,000 multinational
\ncorporations and several thousand financial institutions and
\ntrading firms.<\/p>\n
Numerous multinational companies have set up their
\nheadquarters in the country, not only to enable them to run their
\nbusinesses more efficiently but also to have easy access to the
\nglobal market.<\/p>\n
Many companies from neighboring countries, such as Indonesia,
\nhold their corporate meetings and training sessions in the city
\nstate. They also use the country as an \"exhibition ground\" to
\nshowcase their products and services to international buyers.<\/p>\n
It is no wonder that Singapore has become an important
\ndestination for Meeting, Incentive, Conventions and Exhibitions
\n(MICE) in the region.<\/p>\n
Most five-star hotels in Singapore are equipped with superb
\nmeeting rooms and exhibition spaces. The meeting venues cater to
\ninternational customers' variety of needs, whether for a
\ncorporate meeting, workshop or training with 20 participants or a
\nsymposium with over 500 delegates.<\/p>\n
Particular hotels even provide a conference room with a
\nseating capacity of up to 3,000 guests. With Singapore being the
\nthird most wired nation in the world, Internet and
\nteleconferencing services are available at many business hotels
\nand venues.<\/p>\n
There are numerous convention and exhibition centers in the
\ncountry. Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition
\nCenter and Singapore Expo are among the major players in the
\nbusiness. Both are able to accommodate a meeting with
\nparticipants of up to 12,000 people.<\/p>\n
Apart from corporate meeting, training sessions or trade
\nexhibitions, a MICE package also includes leisure activities such
\nas trips to Singapore's major tourist attractions. Visitors are,
\nfor instance, offered the chance to go on a night safari, a tour
\nto explore different cultures of multi-racial Singapore by
\nstrolling through respective ethnic zones -- China Town, Little
\nIndia, Geyland Serai, Arab Street or Katong -- a visit to Sentosa
\nIsland and to joining a team-building program.<\/p>\n
Easy access<\/p>\n
From year to year, Singapore's MICE industry has grown
\nsignificantly. In addition to its strategic geographical position
\nSingapore is also well known for its accessibility, efficient
\npublic transportation and strong commitment to security. This has
\nmade the country known as the gateway to Asia.<\/p>\n
International visitors have easy access to Singapore thanks to
\nits excellent air connectivity. The award-winning Changi Airport
\nserves at least 3,544 weekly flights by 76 international airlines
\nto over 175 cities worldwide.<\/p>\n
\"Singapore is like another city in Indonesia in terms of
\ndistance and flight. There are frequent daily flights from
\nJakarta to Singapore, Denpasar to Singapore and Yogyakarta to
\nSingapore,\" said Robert Guy, managing director of Pacific World,
\none of Singapore's Destination Management Companies (DMCs),
\nreferring to the proximity of Singapore to Indonesia.<\/p>\n
During their stay in Singapore, MICE visitors will find it a
\nbreeze traveling around the country, with its efficient
\ntransportation network of buses, taxis and the modern Mass Rapid
\nTransit (MRT) rail system.<\/p>\n
The country's electronic road pricing system allows vehicles
\nto travel on free-flowing expressways. \"Singapore has a high
\nstandard of service. From the moment I arrived at the airport, to
\nbeing transferred to a hotel and traveling around the city,
\neverything was convenient and comfortable,\" said the US-based
\nMotivation's director, Josh Brown, who joined Singapore Tourism
\nBoard's (STB) educational familiarization program recently.<\/p>\n
More importantly, Singapore is safe for visitors. They can go
\nhome to their hotel or apartment from a cafe late at night
\nwithout the feeling of being unsecured.<\/p>\n
\"Our government is committed to safety,\" said STB's Business
\nTravel MICE Group acting assistant chief Aloysius Arlando.<\/p>\n
It is not surprising that Singapore has seen an increase in
\nthe number of business-related visitor arrivals over the past few
\nyears.<\/p>\n
On the rise<\/p>\n
Data at the Singapore Tourism Board showed that the country's
\nbusiness-related visitor arrivals reached two million in 2004,
\naccounting for some 26 percent of the country's total visitor
\narrivals of 8.4 million.<\/p>\n
\"The 2004's business-related visitor arrivals represent an
\napproximate 60 percent increase over 2003, and a 30 percent rise
\nover 2002,\" said Arlando.<\/p>\n
Despite the small number, compared to that of leisure travel-
\nrelated visitor arrivals, the business travel contributed more in
\nterms of revenue because business-related visitors had higher
\ndaily spending, he said.<\/p>\n
According to the STB, Indonesia ranked top in Business Travel
\nMICE (BTMICE) visitor arrivals for 2004, with 17 percent,
\nfollowed by Japan and China with 10 percent, Malaysia with eight
\npercent and the United States and India with six percent.<\/p>\n
Players in the MICE industry attributed the increase in
\nbusiness visitors to the government's strong support of the
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
\"The MICE industry is good for the economy of Singapore due to
\nit multiplier effects. Visitors to Singapore will keep
\nrestaurants, hotels, transportation service providers and other
\nrelated service providers afloat,\" said Sylvia Phua, chief
\nexecutive officer of Meeting Planners International Pte, a
\nprofessional conference organizer.<\/p>\n
Certainly, the success story of Singapore's BTMICE segment is
\ninseparable from the STB's massive BTMICE promotional campaign.<\/p>\n
Following the success of its \"Make It Singapore\" campaign, the
\nSTB will continue to offer incentives to event organizers till
\nDecember 2005 through the campaign.<\/p>\n
The \"Make It Singapore\" campaign launched in 2003 attracted
\nevent organizers to hold at least 40 major MICE events in the
\ncity state, some of which were held in 2004, with the others to
\ntake place this year through until the end of 2007.<\/p>\n
The events are expected to generate S$50 million in revenue. A
\ntotal of 60,000 \"visitor nights\" are expected from the events.<\/p>\n
The STB said that \"Make It Singapore Plus\" uses \"visitor
\nnights\" rather than \"room nights\" to measure the length of MICE
\nvisitors' stays. A \"room night\" refers to the number of rooms
\noccupied on a given night, whereas a \"visitor night\" refers to
\nthe actual number of people being accommodated.<\/p>\n
It is also used as the criteria an event organized must
\nfulfill to benefit from the campaign incentives.<\/p>\n
\"The change in the criteria will make it easier for event
\norganizers to qualify for the incentives offered,\" it said.<\/p>\n
Under the campaign, event organizers are entitled to
\nattractive benefits such as video conferencing, the provision of
\nwelcome gifts for foreign delegates, team-building activities for
\ncorporate meetings and incentive groups and publicity support.<\/p>\n
The STB's acting assistant chief executive for BTMICE
\nAloysius Arlando said that to qualify for the incentives, event
\norganizers should confirm that they will hold an event in
\nSingapore one or two years in advance. Events to be held by the
\nyear 2007 should, for example, be confirmed on Dec. 31, this year
\nat the latest.<\/p>\n
\"We are encouraged by the positive response to the \"Make It
\nSingapore\" campaign. We are confident that \"Make It Singapore
\nPlus\" will be also successful,\" Arlando said.<\/p>\n
The \"Make It Singapore Plus\" campaign is expected to generate
\n100,000 visitor nights and an estimated S$100 million in
\nrevenues.<\/p>\n
No doubt, with all its aforementioned advantages, Singapore
\nwill remain Asia's favorite MICE destination.<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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