-Growing interest in MICE business in Singapore
-Growing interest in MICE business in Singapore
-Singapore retains its status as 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 on the crossroad of the world on the Strait of
Malacca, Singapore is a home to at least 7,000 multinational
corporations and several thousands of financial institutions and
trading firms. Numerous multinational companies have set up their
headquarters in the country, not only to enable them to run their
business more efficiently but also to have an easy access to
global markets.
Customarily, the companies conduct corporate activities like a
meeting and training in Singapore as an essential part of their
business. Many of them showcase their products to expand their
network and to seek out business opportunities. Additionally,
many overseas companies frequently send their employees or staff
to Singapore for holiday or leisure travel as an incentive or
reward for their best performance.
It is no wonder that Singapore does not only provide tailored-
made quality meeting and exhibition facilities but also related
services and arranged programs in parallel with the rapid growth
of meeting, incentive, conventions and exhibitions (MICE)
industry.
Most top star or international chain hotels are equipped with
superb meeting rooms and exhibition spaces. The meeting venues
are catered 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 feature a conference room with a seating capacity of
over 3,000 guests. With Singapore being the third most wired
nation in the world and the most wired in Asia, Internet and
teleconferencing services are available at many business hotels
and venues.
For large-scale convention and exhibition space, there are
Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Center
and Singapore Expo, with each being able to accommodate up to
12,000 persons. With spacious exhibition halls, Singapore Expo is
suitable for mega trade exhibitions.
No less important in MICE industry is the arranged programs
provided for MICE travelers. Apart from the corporate meeting or
trainings, MICE visitors are often engaged in leisure activities
that include joining a Night Safari, the world's first tourism
attraction, exploring different cultures of multi-racial
Singapore by strolling through respective ethic zones - China
Town, Little India, Geyland Serai, Arab Street or Katong - , a
visit to Sentosa Island and joining a team-building program.
From year to year, Singapore's Business Travel MICE (BTMICE)
segment has grown significantly. In addition to its strategic
geographical position as the gateway of Asia and state-of-the-art
meeting facilities, Singapore is also well known for its
accessibility, efficient public transportation and strong
commitment to security.
MICE visitors from many overseas countries 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 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 high standard of service. From the moment I
arrived at the airport, being transferred to a hotel and traveled
around the city, I felt convenient and comfortable," said US-
based Motivation's director Josh Brown who joined STB's
educational familiarization program recently.
Another pivotal aspect in MICE business in Singapore is
personal safety because with safety MICE visitors can focus on
their business opportunities. Visitors can go home to their hotel
or apartment from a cafe late at night without feeling of being
afraid or threat. "Our government is committed to safety," said
Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) business travel & MICE division
manager Magdalen Chua Wen Xian.
It is not surprising that Singapore saw an increase in the
number of business-related visitor arrivals over the past several
years.
Data at Singapore Tourism Board (STB), 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 Magdalen.
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, she said.
According to STB, Indonesia ranked top in Business Travel MICE
(BTMICE) visitor arrivals for 2004, with 17 percent of the total
BTMICE visitor arrivals, followed by Japan and China with 10
percent respectively, Malaysia with eight percent, USA and India
with six percent respectively.
Players in MICE industry hailed government's strong support in
the industry, saying that the government's pro-business
environment was one of the key success factors.
"MICE industry is good for the economy of Singapore due to the
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 STB's massive BTMICE promotional campaign.
Following its success with 'Make It Singapore' campaign, STB
will continue to offer incentives to event organizers till
December 2005 through 'Make It Singapore Plus' campaign.
'Make It Singapore', an initiative to attract more MICE
business into Singapore launched in 2003, managed to attract
about 40 major events in 2004. "Some of the events took place in
2004 and many others are scheduled to be held here by the end of
2007," STB said.
The events will collectively generate 60,000 visitor nights
and an estimated S$50 million tourism receipts.
STB said that 'Make It Singapore Plus' uses visitor nights,
instead of room nights, as qualifying criteria that event
organizers must fulfill in order to enjoy campaign's incentives.
"This change of 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, including better event-enhancement value-
adds in the form of videography services, the provision of
welcome gifts for foreign delegates, team-building activities for
corporate meetings and incentive groups and publicity support.
STB's acting assistant chief executive for BTMICE Aloysius
Arlando said that to qualify for the campaign's incentives, event
organizers were required to confirm their events in Singapore by
December 31, 2005, with the event held in the country by 2007.
"We are encouraged by the positive response to 'Make It
Singapore' over the past year, and we are confident that 'make It
Singapore Plus' will be an invaluable tool in our efforts to
secure even more major international MICE events for Singapore,"
he said.
The 'Make It Singapore Plus' campaign is expected to generate
100,000 visitor nights and an estimated S$100 million in tourism
receipts.
No doubt, with the aforementioned superiorities and
advantages, Singapore will remain Asia's most favorite MICE
destination.
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