-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.

1