Despite its small size, Singapore commands a large presence in the global events industry to reign as Asia’s top convention city. By Paige Lee Pei Qi

International associations or regional offices based in
Singapore have helped the city to anchor a growing
number of world congresses

Singapore continues to outshine its regional counterparts in the business events sector, having garnered the accolade of being the only Asian city to be ranked among the top 10 convention cities in the world alongside Berlin, Paris and Vienna by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) last year.

Maintaining its position as Asia’s top convention city for 12 consecutive years, Singapore hosted a record 175 ICCA qualified events in 2013, up from 150 events in 2012 – achieving the strongest year-on-year growth since 2005.

Last year, Singapore hosted 12 world congresses and several key meetings, including some first-in-Asia or Singapore events such as the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions’ General Conference and Assembly which attracted 3,900 top international librarians from 114 countries to Singapore over eight days in August.

Jeannie Lim, executive director of conventions, meetings & incentive travel at Singapore Tourism Board (STB), said: “Singapore’s stable and conducive business environment, financial strength and highly-skilled, multicultural workforce tend to attract international organisations to base their regional offices here.”

According to Lim, there are more than 140 international non-profit organisations and associations based in Singapore, which reinforce the city’s value proposition of being the “leading business and knowledge hub in Asia”.

“Singapore is well-positioned to stage association congresses in view of its political neutrality and stability in the world,” said Edward Liu, group managing director, Conference & Exhibition Management Services.

“In addition, many prominent Singaporeans are playing significant roles in several international organisations which put Singapore in good stead in hosting global events,” he added.

Not only does Singapore possess world-class infrastructure and services for hosting events, the city also harbours the domain knowledge and expertise in some of these fields, Liu posited, a view widely shared among industry stakeholders.

Of note, Singapore has been viewed as “a key base for entry into the Asia market among medical companies” lured by its positive economic growth and a prominent geographical location, according to Ng Sok Hia, executive assistant manager, sales and marketing, Fairmont Singapore and Swissôtel The Stamford.

She said: “Numerous medical corporations have since set up base in Singapore, which led to an increase in the number of pharmaceutical congresses held in Singapore.”

The presence of global biomedical MNCs and their manufacturing bases in Singapore will in turn attract more medical event organisers, declared Arun Madhok, CEO of Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre. He said:
“This (biomedical) hub effect is self-reinforcing, so we foresee continued mid-term growth for this industry.”

Suntec Singapore has hosted inaugural medical events such as the International Congress on Glaucoma Surgery and the International Diabetes Federation Western Pacific Region congress.

Likewise, Singex Venues’ director, sales & commercial development, Janice Yee, has also observed a “significant upward trend” of events from key industries like medicine and information technology at the Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Events held at the venue include the inaugural edition of Internet of Things Asia 2014 in April, and the upcoming Singapore Health & Biomedical Congress in September and the MRO Asia Conference & Exhibition in November.

Marcel Ewals, director, business development from Kenes Asia, which specialises in organising medical and scientific conferences, concurred: “Singapore wins a fair share of these events due to the active medical professionals in the (respective) regional and global associations, with about three to five of such conferences each year.”

Recognising that Singapore’s strengths lie in its strong research and development capabilities and well-established business infrastructure, particularly in industries such as biomedical and healthcare, banking and finance, science and technology and urban solutions, STB is hence focusing on attracting association events that complement these industries, revealed Lim.

Having existing expertise in these industries will also provide local associations learning opportunities to support their international bids for hosting events in Singapore, she pointed out.

“We work with individuals, usually recognised experts or key opinion-makers in their respective fields, to play a key role in profiling Singapore and championing bids,” she said. “Tapping on their networks, insights and expertise, these ambassadors will partner the Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau (SECB) to co-create relevant content and influence key conferences and meetings to be held in Singapore.”

To attract international associations, “high-quality distinctive content” is the differentiating factor, acknowledged Lim. She added: “We encourage international associations to leverage on Singapore’s key industries and strategic location in Asia. Singapore will provide interesting Asia-centric topics for the international audience.”

SECB will collaborate with the Singapore Economic Development Board’s International Organisations Programme Office to support the needs of associations looking to establish their regional base in Singapore, said Lim.
To reinforce the city’s allure as a congress destination, Lim said SECB also offers customised support like facilitation in securing venues and introduction with leading government agencies, local associations and business partners.

Sentosa – state of fun and feasts

The leisure island of Sentosa is no stranger to any traveller or event planner who is used to selling Singapore, especially after the completion of the widely publicised Resorts World Sentosa integrated resort in 2010.

New hotels and attractions that came online in recent years, such as Mövenpick Heritage Hotel Sentosa and iFly Singapore, have also helped to draw greater attention to the destination loved by many for its sun, sand and sea. Earlier in May, a new multimedia show, Wings of Time, debuted at Siloso Beach to offer visitors a fresh option for night-time entertainment. By the end of this year Madame Tussauds wax museum will join Sentosa’s growing list of attractions.

Bringing the Sentosa of today into focus is a brand new campaign and tagline, The State of Fun, which was launched in late-May. Explaining the tagline, Susan Ang, divisional director, island investment and branding, Sentosa Development Corporation, said: “The portrayal of Sentosa as a ‘State’ where all visitors are its ‘citizens’ with the ‘freedom of right’ to have fun, is a playful proposition that speaks to an increasingly open local and international target audience who can appreciate humour with a cheeky spin.”

But Sentosa’s MICE team wants to take destination marketing even further and show business event planners that the island can also be the state of unique feasts.

In an interview with TTGmice, Sentosa Leisure Group’s events director of Island Business, Jimmy Wong, said: “Now that the dust (from years of construction) has settled, it is time for us to rejuvenate, rekindle and reignite interest in the island. We have the hardware to support events, so what we need to do is to create memorable experiences for event delegates.”

To do that, Wong’s team is rolling out a series of experiential dining opportunities on the island. The star product now is BBQ by the Beach, a private dinner party that is held under the stars in a scenic nook on Palawan Beach. The unique feature of the party is the use of sand dining furniture – sturdy tables and benches crafted masterfully out of fine sand.

An imu, a traditional Polynesian earth oven, dug four to five feet deep into the ground is another highlight at this party.

BBQ by the Beach is suitable for events with no more than 30 guests, utilising five sand dining furniture sets. It is priced from S$180++ (US$145++) per pax. The menu and package can be customised.

The beachfront dinner idea can accommodate larger groups of up to 200 pax by using a mix of sand dining furniture, floor seats and standing cocktail tables.

“We’ve only just started to talk to local PCOs and DMCs about BBQ by the Beach but sales is moving very well,” Wong said, adding that the first client was a private bank that took 60 high-net-worth clients to dinner on July 18.

Another new experiential dining idea is offered on floating cabanas built out at sea. While this concept was first executed for a wedding party, Wong said it could be replicated for corporate groups.

Up to 20 floating cabanas can be fabricated, with each offering capacity for two to 10 people. These unique floating cabanas cost between S$3,000 to S$12,000 to build, excluding decoration. F&B catering is charged separately; a minimum spend of S$80++ per pax applies.

Although a floating cabana party can be held at any of Sentosa’s three beaches, the team highly recommends Palawan for its stunning background offered by the Southernmost Point and greater serenity.
There are plans to develop even more dining concepts that leverage the island’s natural environment, such as its forests.

“These ideas offer a different dimension to dining for conference delegates, whom I’m sure do not want to have all their functions within the hotel or convention centre.”

Wong is quick to clarify that Sentosa is “not out to compete with the MICE facilities on the island or on Singapore’s mainland”.

“We want to complement these hotels and convention centres by providing the leisure aspect of any business event programme,” he said.

“In fact, we are working with island partners now to create other experiential dining ideas. For instance, we are looking to partner Segway (GoGreen Segway Eco Adventure) in a dine-around activity which will see delegates moving from one dining location to another on Segways.

“We are also keen to develop a larger food trail adventure that will see delegates do fun things like race down the luge (Skyline Luge Sentosa) and at the finish line roll their own chicken rice balls, then make their way down to Tanjong Beach, for instance, for another activity, and maybe end with a durian party somewhere else on the island,” shared Wong.

“With the strong currency that Singapore has in comparison with its neighbours, the only way Sentosa – or any other tourism seller here – can compete well is to offer unique, memorable experiences that are not yet available elsewhere. And we must keep developing new ideas – on our own and with our partners – to keep interest high because our ideas today will one day be replicated elsewhere,” he said. – Karen Yue

Need to know

A fine-dining experience in Lewin Terrace

The elegant Lewin Terrance, which specialises in Japanese-French cuisine, has opened in the tranquil Fort Canning Park. Housed in a black-and-white colonial bungalow, the fine-dining restaurant features chef de cuisine Ryoichi Kano at its helm.

Already drawing interest from coroporate groups, Lewin Terrance recently hosted a private group of approximately 20 for lunch.

It can seat up to 82 guests, split between the well-appointed and spacious interior (66 pax) and the charming terrace (12 pax).

Email info@lewinterrace.com.sg for reservations.

New space for medical and lifestyle meetings

The five-star luxury One Farrer Hotel & Spa will open this month within the mixed-use lifestyle complex Connexion, offering a total of 250 rooms spread across three distinct hotel concepts.

Soft opening in phases, the hotel is located within Singapore’s historic neighbourhood of Farrer Park. The Connexion complex will also include the Farrer Park Medical Clinics and Farrer Park Hospital.

One Farrer Hotel & Spa will target MICE groups with its One Farrer Conference Centre. Its 698m² Grand Ballroom, which can sit up to 650 guests and be split into two sections, is equipped with three multimedia screens, touchscreen control panels for presenters, handheld Samsung interactive tablets for conference delegates and a smart light system for customised light projections.

Video streaming connections allow real-time transmission of activities happening in other locations in Connexion, such as Farrer Park Hospital’s 18 operating rooms, positioning the conference centre as a venue for medical and lifestyle meetings.

Events can also be held at the hotel’s meeting rooms, the air-conditioned marquee on the Lifestyle Podium and poolside venues.

Chinatown goes digital

Chinatown is the latest district in Singapore to offer free Wi-Fi access to visitors. The complimentary network covers five popular tourist areas: Smith Street, Trengganu Street, Pagoda Street, Sago Street and Kreta Ayer Square.

Besides being able to surf the Internet, visitors who log into the network can also access a map of Chinatown that highlights popular landmarks and places of interest such as the Sri Mariamman Temple and the Chinatown Food Street.

Look for the brightest star

If you are planning to escape the busy city centre for your next event, The Star Theatre in Buona Vista may be considered. Lauded as Singapore’s first massive performing arts theatre, The Star Theatre can seat 5,000 people in its iconic horseshoe structure.

Venue options include the auditorium which offers stalls and two circle levels, and the Star Gallery which is a multipurpose hall with retractable walls and flexible outdoor spaces. The latter can accommodate 770 guests in theatre-style or 400 guests in a banquet setting.