Well developed MICE industry,promising cooperation space

Celion Su

A renowned regional MICE destination Singapores fame as a leading MICE destination is indisputable. Singapore has also been ranked Top Asia-Pacific Meeting City for 16 consecutive years at the 2017 ICCA Rankings， while on the 2017 UIA Global Rankings， Singapore has been Top Meeting City in Asia for 11 consecutive years.

In 2018， the BTMICE industry in Singapore recorded a strong performance. From January to September 2018， tourism receipts from the BTMICE sector rose by 10 per cent， to hit S$3.44 billion， compared to the same period in 2017. According to Andrew Phua， Director， Exhibitions & Conferences， Singapore Tourism Board （STB）， this was driven by growth in BTMICE visitor arrivals， which also rose 14 per cent year-on-year for the same period， to hit 2 million arrivals.

Singapore has played host to many significant business events in 2018， such as： Food & Hotel Asia （FHA） 2018， ConnecTechAsia 2018， Singapore Airshow 2018 （attracting 54，000 trade attendees in 2018）. On the back of a strong showing in 2018， going into 2019 and beyond， Singapore is set to play host to a sizeable number of business events， with several of these events secured being inaugural editions for the Asia Pacific region. These include： Singapore FinTech Festival， Money 20/20 Asia， Innovest Unbound. Organizers can also choose from over 1，000 awardwinning venues consisting conventional and unconventional spaces， including Marina Bay Sands？ Expo & Convention Centre， Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre， the Singapore EXPO， ArtScience Museum， Gardens by the Bay.

Standing on that， Andrew shared that while challenges， including global economic and global uncertainties still persist， the Asia Pacific business events industry is expected to continue growing， with more optimistic projections compared to other regions globally. Singapores economy and business events industry also remains promising.

A pillar industry strongly supported by the government

The MICE industry has been extremely important for Singapore and the government have set up a series of supporting policies. Andrew thinks that now， Singapore remains in a strong position as a leading international MICE destination. Singapore， by virtue of its prime geographical location， excellent connectivity and pro-business environment， is an ideal base for global businesses interested to leverage opportunities present in the Asia Pacific region – including China， India and Southeast Asia， Singapore is home to about 37，000 international companies and many international organisations with regional headquarters here. This offers a major advantage for hosting events. “The MICE industry is not just an important pillar of our tourism growth strategy. It is also key to and the development of key industries such as Urban Solutions， Applied Health Sciences， Advanced Manufacturing， Financial Services， Media & Digital Content and Travel. “ Andrew adds.

Andrew also revealed that to remain competitive， STB also works with tourism industry partners to identify key opportunities to grow， attract and create business events. Subvention schemes offered include the Business Events in Singapore（BEiS） scheme， the In Singapore Incentives& Rewards （INSPIRE） scheme and the Singapore Mice Advantage Programme（SMAP）. For example， the BEiS scheme encourages the industry to anchor and grow quality events and catalyse the innovation of new content. It supports activities which build the foundation of bringing events into Singapore in the longer term.

Singapores highly developed MICE industry is also supported by quality talent and human resources. STB recognises that training is a key component to staying competitive and ensuring that people working in the business events industry are equipped to handle new challenges. To this end， the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers（SACEOS） organises educational training and accreditation programmes， outreach and networking talks and sessions as part of its commitment to educating the next generation of business events professionals. In March 2019， in partnership with UFI， the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry， SACEOS launched the Asia Pacific Executive Development Programme （AEDP） with a module on physical and cybersecurity. The programme is intended to create new strengths relevant for the future-readiness of exhibition professionals in the region. Besides， STB administers the SkillsFuture Study Awards， an initiative intended to help sector professionals take ownership of their skills upgrading and deepen specialist skills in areas of demand. The award is targeted at early to mid-career Singaporeans who have relevant working experience and are committed to advance their skills.

Andrew also shared about some industry trends observed from attending industry events. Some trends he has seen include the rising trend of personalisation to optimise digital marketing and the importance for event organisers to allocate resources to improve visitor experience； the trend of“festivalisation” which is the coming together of events of different topics to promote interdisciplinary and experiential learning， and that such events results in higher advocacy， creation of social buzz that draws greater awareness for a festival than that of standalone events. Festivalisation also results in greater satisfaction from cross-track formats and cross-industry deal making.

Diverse bilateral cooperation

At the end of the interview， regarding bilateral MICE cooperation between China and Singapore， Andrew points out that China is a key source market for BTMICE arrivals. Both Singapore and China share common interests in developing a competitive MICE industry with skilled and professional workforce. To that end， there has been good knowledge exchange between Singapore and China at various MICE-related business event platforms to understand the trends of the industry and needs for capability development.

This is especially so as Singapores strategic location and position as a neutral marketplace offer more collaboration opportunities leveraging Chinas Belt Road Initiative （BRI）. As an international financial centre and one of the largest offshore RMB centres in the world， Singapore is well positioned to support the financing needs of the BRI. An estimated 67% of the infrastructure BRI project financing in ASEAN goes through Singapore while 33% of all Chinese outward investments related to the BRI flows through Singapore. Last but not least， China is also recognized as a leader in the fields of AI （artificial intelligence） and information technology. “Coupled with Singapores sound financial infrastructure， as well as a pro-business environment and policies， we also foresee that there will be many cooperation opportunities for Chinese exhibitors and attendees to be involved in exhibitions in Singapore， such as in the fields of Fintech and Innovation.” Andrew observes optimistically. .