Asia-Pacific’s dominant role in business events, the region’s post-pandemic resurgence, and Singapore’s strategic positioning, were key topics at the Visionary and Outlook Panel – The Time is Now for Asia! – held this morning on the first day of the Singapore MICE Forum 2024.
The global business events industry is projected to grow significantly in the coming decade, with Asia-Pacific leading the charge. It is this post-pandemic optimism and momentum that drove UK-based major-scale tradeshow organiser, Nineteen Group, to open an office in Singapore recently in April 2024.
Alison Jackson, group managing director of Nineteen Group, shared: “We did a lot of research and found that many people liked Singapore for many reasons. We have high hopes for Singapore, and are taking it slowly to build our business in a quality way.”
She added that Nineteen’s strategy is to buy into a reputable business, and gradually launch new tradeshows. That is how the inaugural Safety & Security Asia (SSA) 2025 was created. SSA will comprise The Security Event, The Fire Safety Event, The Health & Safety Event, and The Emergency Services Show, which will take place from November 11-13, 2025, at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre.
SSA is a divestment of the Architecture & Building Services event belonging to Singapore-based Conference & Exhibition Management Services.
Michael Wilton, CEO & managing director at Messe Muenchen International Asia, also highlighted the importance of the Asia-Pacific market.
“We have had a legal entity in Singapore for numerous years, but it was in 2019 when we started investing in Asia-Pacific. Establishing business events during the pandemic (was not easy), but this also opened up opportunities in the market, especially with the changing dynamics of China and India, particularly in the manufacturing industry,” he said.
Instead of being “put off by the pandemic”, Messe Muenchen – which has strong branding in Europe – looked at the “long-term prospects” instead. The emergence of new industries is creating fresh opportunities for tradeshows. To capitalise on these, Messe Muenchen’s approach to launch new events are a mixture of mergers and acquisitions, as well as partnerships.
“In Singapore, we’ve launched tradeshows in the logistics, transport, and air cargo (sectors). As we’re doing it for the benefit of the industry, we’re able to tailor the event to ensure it meets the needs of the industry,” he stated.
These new launches are contributing to Singapore’s goal of becoming the “World’s Best MICE City”, a title underscored by the country’s latest business events.
Edward Koh, executive director, conventions, meetings & incentive travel, Singapore Tourism Board, said: “Singapore is in a good space. We’ve built up a very robust pipeline, with events secure until 2032.”
However, he acknowledged that some organisers are concerned about Singapore’s increasing costs, especially when compared to her regional neighbours.
Koh elaborated: “All events are priceless knowledge, which (to us) is the true value. (For delegates), what is most valuable is their time. In Singapore, there is a lot of saving time. You can attend several events in the same week. You can even attend an F1 race, another meeting, then another show. We try to create such clusters that can add more value to our (high-cost) challenge.”
“In our research done on Singapore, pricing came up a fair bit. Yes, it can be expensive, but expensive works if you deliver value. Pricing isn’t just square metres, it’s everything. As long as your tradeshow still holds value, quality pricing is fine,” opined Jackson.
Wilton emphasised Singapore’s strong position due to its stability and security, asserting that tradeshows held in the city “must have a regional focus to maintain competitiveness and appeal” within their respective industries.
