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Singapore remains Asia's top MICE destination

Singapore has served as a trading hub and financial center for
Southeast Asia thanks to its strategic location and environment
conducive to international business activities.

Located at the crossroads of the world in the Strait of
Malacca, Singapore is home to at least 7,000 multinational
corporations and several thousand financial institutions and
trading firms.

Numerous multinational companies have set up their
headquarters in the country, not only to enable them to run their
businesses more efficiently but also to have easy access to the
global market.

Many companies from neighboring countries, such as Indonesia,
hold their corporate meetings and training sessions in the city
state. They also use the country as an "exhibition ground" to
showcase their products and services to international buyers.

It is no wonder that Singapore has become an important
destination for Meeting, Incentive, Conventions and Exhibitions
(MICE) in the region.

Most five-star hotels in Singapore are equipped with superb
meeting rooms and exhibition spaces. The meeting venues cater to
international customers' variety of needs, whether for a
corporate meeting, workshop or training with 20 participants or a
symposium with over 500 delegates.

Particular hotels even provide a conference room with a
seating capacity of up to 3,000 guests. With Singapore being the
third most wired nation in the world, Internet and
teleconferencing services are available at many business hotels
and venues.

There are numerous convention and exhibition centers in the
country. Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition
Center and Singapore Expo are among the major players in the
business. Both are able to accommodate a meeting with
participants of up to 12,000 people.

Apart from corporate meeting, training sessions or trade
exhibitions, a MICE package also includes leisure activities such
as trips to Singapore's major tourist attractions. Visitors are,
for instance, offered the chance to go on a night safari, a tour
to explore different cultures of multi-racial Singapore by
strolling through respective ethnic zones -- China Town, Little
India, Geyland Serai, Arab Street or Katong -- a visit to Sentosa
Island and to joining a team-building program.

Easy access

From year to year, Singapore's MICE industry has grown
significantly. In addition to its strategic geographical position
Singapore is also well known for its accessibility, efficient
public transportation and strong commitment to security. This has
made the country known as the gateway to Asia.

International visitors have easy access to Singapore thanks to
its excellent air connectivity. The award-winning Changi Airport
serves at least 3,544 weekly flights by 76 international airlines
to over 175 cities worldwide.

"Singapore is like another city in Indonesia in terms of
distance and flight. There are frequent daily flights from
Jakarta to Singapore, Denpasar to Singapore and Yogyakarta to
Singapore," said Robert Guy, managing director of Pacific World,
one of Singapore's Destination Management Companies (DMCs),
referring to the proximity of Singapore to Indonesia.

During their stay in Singapore, MICE visitors will find it a
breeze traveling around the country, with its efficient
transportation network of buses, taxis and the modern Mass Rapid
Transit (MRT) rail system.

The country's electronic road pricing system allows vehicles
to travel on free-flowing expressways. "Singapore has a high
standard of service. From the moment I arrived at the airport, to
being transferred to a hotel and traveling around the city,
everything was convenient and comfortable," said the US-based
Motivation's director, Josh Brown, who joined Singapore Tourism
Board's (STB) educational familiarization program recently.

More importantly, Singapore is safe for visitors. They can go
home to their hotel or apartment from a cafe late at night
without the feeling of being unsecured.

"Our government is committed to safety," said STB's Business
Travel MICE Group acting assistant chief Aloysius Arlando.

It is not surprising that Singapore has seen an increase in
the number of business-related visitor arrivals over the past few
years.

On the rise

Data at the Singapore Tourism Board showed that the country's
business-related visitor arrivals reached two million in 2004,
accounting for some 26 percent of the country's total visitor
arrivals of 8.4 million.

"The 2004's business-related visitor arrivals represent an
approximate 60 percent increase over 2003, and a 30 percent rise
over 2002," said Arlando.

Despite the small number, compared to that of leisure travel-
related visitor arrivals, the business travel contributed more in
terms of revenue because business-related visitors had higher
daily spending, he said.

According to the STB, Indonesia ranked top in Business Travel
MICE (BTMICE) visitor arrivals for 2004, with 17 percent,
followed by Japan and China with 10 percent, Malaysia with eight
percent and the United States and India with six percent.

Players in the MICE industry attributed the increase in
business visitors to the government's strong support of the
industry.

"The MICE industry is good for the economy of Singapore due to
it multiplier effects. Visitors to Singapore will keep
restaurants, hotels, transportation service providers and other
related service providers afloat," said Sylvia Phua, chief
executive officer of Meeting Planners International Pte, a
professional conference organizer.

Certainly, the success story of Singapore's BTMICE segment is
inseparable from the STB's massive BTMICE promotional campaign.

Following the success of its "Make It Singapore" campaign, the
STB will continue to offer incentives to event organizers till
December 2005 through the campaign.

The "Make It Singapore" campaign launched in 2003 attracted
event organizers to hold at least 40 major MICE events in the
city state, some of which were held in 2004, with the others to
take place this year through until the end of 2007.

The events are expected to generate S$50 million in revenue. A
total of 60,000 "visitor nights" are expected from the events.

The STB said that "Make It Singapore Plus" uses "visitor
nights" rather than "room nights" to measure the length of MICE
visitors' stays. A "room night" refers to the number of rooms
occupied on a given night, whereas a "visitor night" refers to
the actual number of people being accommodated.

It is also used as the criteria an event organized must
fulfill to benefit from the campaign incentives.

"The change in the criteria will make it easier for event
organizers to qualify for the incentives offered," it said.

Under the campaign, event organizers are entitled to
attractive benefits such as video conferencing, the provision of
welcome gifts for foreign delegates, team-building activities for
corporate meetings and incentive groups and publicity support.

The STB's acting assistant chief executive for BTMICE
Aloysius Arlando said that to qualify for the incentives, event
organizers should confirm that they will hold an event in
Singapore one or two years in advance. Events to be held by the
year 2007 should, for example, be confirmed on Dec. 31, this year
at the latest.

"We are encouraged by the positive response to the "Make It
Singapore" campaign. We are confident that "Make It Singapore
Plus" will be also successful," Arlando said.

The "Make It Singapore Plus" campaign is expected to generate
100,000 visitor nights and an estimated S$100 million in
revenues.

No doubt, with all its aforementioned advantages, Singapore
will remain Asia's favorite MICE destination.