Singapore to gradually resume MICE events

Applications to hold MICE events in Singapore will finally begin next month

Business meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions can soon resume in Singapore, as the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will open applications to organisers from October 1, 2020.

These events must be limited to 250 attendees, and organisers must demonstrate their ability to implement Safe Management Measures that meet a set of health and safety outcomes, including that all foreign delegates will be required to use TraceTogether to facilitate contact tracing. More details will be released at a later stage.

Applications to hold MICE events in Singapore will finally begin next month

STB and the Ministry of Trade and Industry will review all MICE event proposals to launch pilot events, with the first being the Singapore International Energy Week Conference in October 2020. These events will provide insights and data for STB to adjust future protocols for safe business events.

For large-scale tradeshows and exhibitions, a new prototype has also been developed that will enable the same degree of interaction as pre-Covid times, but with minimised infection risks. This prototype was formulated by Singapore’s Alliance for Action on Enabling Safe and Innovative Visitor Experiences, co-led by Lee Seow Hiang of Changi Airport Group and Kwee Wei-Lin of Singapore Hotel Association.

The prototype will be tested at several pilot events later this year, starting with TravelRevive – powered by ITB Asia & STB in November. In preparation for this event, the Alliance is working with relevant government agencies and industry stakeholders to facilitate a seamless and safe visitor experience from arrival to departure.

To prepare Singapore for the resumption of leisure travel, the Alliance has also designed safe itineraries to also be trialled with the MICE delegates of TravelRevive. These itineraries comprise leisure activities that comply with safe management guidelines and also provide high-quality bespoke experiences.

Keith Tan, chief executive, STB, said: “The MICE sector is a strategic one for the Singapore economy, and its safe and gradual resumption will safeguard jobs and core capabilities. Public health and safety remain our utmost priority, and we have worked closely with the industry to create strict protocols and develop new ways of organising events. These pilot events and solutions will help Singapore lead the way as a safe, trusted and innovative destination for MICE events.”

By 4Q2020, a new travel insurance product for inbound travellers covering critical Covid-19-related expenses will also be introduced. It is currently being developed by the industry in hand with government agencies.

These announcements come on the back of STB’s Safe Business Events Framework for business events of up to 50 attendees, which was first announced in July 2020 and commenced with two pilot events, the 2020 IEEE International Conference on Computational Electromagnetics on August 24-26, and the Asia Pacific MedTech Virtual Forum 2020 on September 24.

To guide the MICE industry on safety measures during the gradual resumption of business events, STB is collaborating with the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS) and Enterprise Singapore to launch an Event Industry Resilience Roadmap later this month.

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