Singapore shows that she is serious about being a centre of association activities, through stronger association industry collaboration and improved support scheme
While Singapore remains an attractive destination for association events, the city continues to reinvent its policies and offerings according to market trends.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB), which oversees the Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau, is beefing up alliances with international partners to raise its global business events profile.
In October 2017, STB and Maritz Global Events formed a partnership to pull in events from the North American market. With this move, STB will leverage on Maritz Global Events – through its proprietary Experience Design Labs technology and other methods such as in-depth interviews – to create a product that appeals to meeting planners in the region.
Jeannie Lim, executive director, conventions, meetings & incentive travel, STB, told TTGassociations: “Business travellers and delegates are, more than ever, seeking immersive and transformational meeting experiences. As meeting planners must find novel ways to engage their clients in an increasingly connected world, the partnership will enable meeting planners to be more creative, and push the boundaries of what business events can be.”
STB is also stepping up its incentive programmes for association conferences. The In Singapore Incentives & Rewards Programme for Europe and North America will be extended for an additional year to December 31, 2018.
The programme has been updated to include “more generous air ticket offers and engaging experiences”, commented Lim.
Additionally, STB in May 2017 enhanced the Singapore MICE Advantage Programme to include new and improved benefits, which can help organisers and visitors gain a differentiated and seamless business event experience in Singapore.
The country is also a member of the BestCities Global Alliance, a network of 12 premier convention bureaus who partner associations to help them achieve success through international events.
STB’s efforts have helped event suppliers pull in record crowds. For example, Sands Expo and Convention Centre hosted a record number of 50 association meetings in 2017, of which five association meetings were major new-to-Singapore events, shared Mike Lee, vice president, sales, Marina Bay Sands.
He said: “I am proud of Singapore for its achievements within the global association meetings space… Our city-state sees itself as a knowledge capital of the world, evident in the government’s focus on promoting research and development, and support for the growth of high-value industries.
“Singapore offers a compelling environment for these high-level association meetings to host their events here.”
Still, Lee acknowledges that the industry needs to “constantly innovate product offerings to the association market” whose demands are evolving.
He explained: “We must ‘wow’ potential clients with experiences that they will not get elsewhere in the world. As an industry, we must constantly challenge ourselves and grow our human talent.”
