The city state’s stable economy, convenient air links and world-class infrastructure put the country in an excellent position for association events
Singapore continues to outshine its Asian counterparts with its accolade of being the top Asian city to be ranked among the top 10 convention cities in the world by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) in 2014.
Steadily maintaining its position as Asia’s Top Convention City for 13 consecutive years while finishing seventh in the overall ranking of convention cities, Singapore hosted 142 ICCA events in 2014, a dip however from the record 175 ICCA events held in 2013.
The performance for 2015 looks set to be another stellar year with the setting of highly notable events.
According to Jeannie Lim, executive director, exhibitions and conferences, conventions and meetings, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Singapore welcomed the prestigious World Confederation of Physical Therapy Congress last May – the first time it was held in Asia – which saw more than 4,100 participants from 114 countries.
Returning to Singapore last October, after 12 years, was the world’s premier financial services event Sibos 2015, which attracted 8,200 delegates from all over the world, making it the largest Sibos event in the Asia-Pacific.
Sven Bossu, head of Sibos, said: “What made us come back to Singapore was its city infrastructure that has luxurious conference halls and leisure amenities near to one another, allowing us to enhance our event.
“For instance, the Gardens by the Bay is close to our event venue, Marina Bay Sands, allowing us to organise a 5km fun run and walk before the start of the day, with a view of the Singapore skyline. This gives delegates a chance to better know each other in an informal setting that may potentially lead to a business partnership,” Bossu added.
According to Vincent Yap, assistant director, institutional division of MCI Group Asia Pacific, 2015 has been a “full year for MCI” with a good run of association events.
Explaining the attractiveness of the destination, he said: “Apart from the easy access, stable political structure and vibrant economy, most MNCs have a local presence in Singapore, which helps to provide an attractive proposition for association conferences, as they seek corporate sponsorship to fund the event.”
Hailing the new Global Association Hubs Partnership with Dubai, Washington DC, and Brussels as a “siginificant milestone” last year, STB’s Lim explained: “This (partnership) was formed in response to the increasing decentralisation of international associations and it aims to raise standards and grow the presence of them in each of the four partner cities.”
Through this partnership, Lim said: “Singapore aims to be a platform for international associations to grow and build their capacity in the region, create opportunities for local and regional associations to develop their global membership base, and cultivate best practices.”
Nevertheless, Lim admitted that there are challenges on the capability front. She said: “The role of local association champions is very pertinent for the bidding of international association events. Hence, one key challenge is to continually engage and strengthen the local association base as part of our foundation.
“STB is helping to build local associations’ capabilities (so that they can) work together to keep abreast of global meeting trends and best practices,” she said, citing the two Professional Convention Management Association meetings forum which have been held over the past two years as an example.
Meanwhile, recent high-profile wins by Singapore include the International Council of Nurses Conference, which comes to Singapore in 2019, and the International Union for Physical and Engineering Sciences in Medicine’s World Congress for Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering two years later in 2021. Each are tipped to attract about 3,000 attendees.
Most notably, Singapore also won the bid to host the Lions Club International Convention 2020, which is expected to generate more than S$58 million (US$42 million) in tourism receipts and attract 20,000 foreign delegates, making it the largest association congress ever to be held in the city state.
