IN A move that is expected to boost business for Singapore’s meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) scene, Suntec Singapore and Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) are joining hands in a partnership to cross sell each other.

Under the agreement, event planners can organise exhibitions and meetings at Suntec – which is located within the Central Business District – but hold social events at RWS, which features entertainment options such as the casino, a 1,600-seat theatre as well as other attractions.

‘This proposition will entice, as well as, provide today’s business travellers innovative options while they are in Singapore, thereby strengthening and solidifying Singapore’s dominance in the MICE industry worldwide,’ said Ong Wee Min, Suntec’s director of sales and client services.

The partnership could also help address one major concern raised by industry players – that MICE venues here could all end up scrambling over the same piece of pie, since both integrated resorts collectively add some 180,000 square metres of space with their MICE facilities.

Already, organisers of trade shows such as Sea Asia and Gaming Asia have opted to move their next shows to the upcoming Marina Bay Sands, as opposed to holding them at the same venues used previously.

RWS has already lined up more than 50 events from now through 2011, which includes World Urban Transit Congress.

Source: Business Times, 4 Mar 2010

New venues pique interest and could snatch meetings, conventions and exhibitions from incumbents

They just emerged from a challenging year, but meetings and exhibitions executives now have to prepare themselves for a tougher campaign ahead.

Once the integrated resorts (IRs) are launched, the amount of exhibition space in Singapore is going to jump by a whopping 180,000 square metres – not a number to sniff at since current big players have only about 135,000 sq m between them.

And if you throw the glitzy lights of Broadway musicals and the whirring sound of the jackpot machines into the mix, it’s no wonder that current meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) players are bending over backwards to keep their clients happy.

And the incumbents certainly have their work cut out for them.

Already, Marina Bay Sands (MBS) and Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) have snagged over 60 events running until 2012.

It doesn’t help that the new kids on the block also have the novelty factor in their favour.

According to Nancy Tan, managing director at conference organiser Ace:Daytons Direct, the two IRs piqued interest as far back as two years ago.

There were clients who requested for the IRs as an option when selecting venues, she told BT. ‘People want to try new venues.’

However, she added, that the venue needs to match event requirements, something that could go either way for both incumbents and the new players.

For instance, depending on the scale of the business event, a certain number of hotel rooms may also have to be booked at MBS. This may not be entirely suitable for conferences where delegates pay out of their own pockets for their hotel rooms, she pointed out.

On the other hand, Gaming Asia – which took place at the Expo last year – will be held at MBS from July 15-16. The new location is ‘ideal’ given that the exhibition is casino and gaming-related and that MBS is in the central business district, said Lynn Ee, marcom executive with organiser ComExpo Pte Ltd.

Gaming Asia, which attracted nearly 1,500 visitors last year, is widening its focus this year to include training and education opportunities within the industry, security as well as merchandising, in addition to gaming equipment.

Still, there’s an element of musical chairs going on with the same events making the rounds at different venues.

For instance, MBS’s firmed-up list shows that events such as the Aerospace Supplier eXchange – which took place at the Singapore Expo last year – will move to MBS in 2011 and Sea Asia – which was held at Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre last April – will shift to MBS in 2011.

But if there’s a silver lining for MICE players, it’s that this doesn’t seem to be a zero-sum game because the IRs seem to be opening up the scene by attracting new events to Singapore.

RWS will host World Urban Transit Congress in October as well as Singapore LIVE – in conjunction with Singapore Arts Fest – in June. And at least six events in MBS’s line-up are new, including the Industrial Fabrics Association International Expo Asia 2011 and Dye+Chem Asia International Expo 2010. The 2010 UFI Congress, which will be held at MBS, will also make its way back to Singapore after 15 years.

MBS believes that the IR offers consumers greater choice and will ultimately grow the industry.

‘The integrated design means we can provide convenience and efficiency. This translates to significant cost savings,’ added the MBS spokesman.

‘Singapore already has excellent existing MICE facilities and RWS is working in close partnership with them to create more reasons for repeat visitorship,’ highlighted RWS’s director of MICE, Elena Arabadjieva.

To compete, industry players such as Suntec recognise they have to go ‘beyond the call of duty’ and stay ‘flexible’, so as to keep clients happy.

To drum up strong business for this year, the Expo has increased its sales trips and marketing activities, and has also just appointed a US agent.

Every year, Singapore hosts more than 6,000 business events. According to the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the business travel and MICE industry brought in nearly $6 billion in tourism receipts in 2008, which is close to 40 per cent of total tourism receipts.

While 2009 figures have yet to be released, the year was a fairly challenging one for the MICE industry.

There was a drop in attendance and, in some cases, budgets were revised by as much as 20-25 per cent, said Ace’s Ms Tan.

‘While all (organisers and exhibitors) went ahead with their scheduled show dates, they were conscious of their budgets,’ said Chandran Nair, deputy general manager of Singex Venues, which manages the Expo.

In 2009, Suntec hosted about 1,400 events – down slightly from 1,575 events in 2008. However, at 6.7 million visitors, it also saw a 5 per cent increase in visitor numbers over 2008.

And with the economy showing signs of recovery, the MICE scene could see a far better year in 2010. Tony Lai, assistant chief executive at STB, felt that the tourism industry was well-placed to seize opportunities.

Source: Business Times, 8 Jan 2010

THE show must go on. And at Suntec Singapore International Convention & Exhibition Centre, it has, downturn notwithstanding.

The meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) venue hosted about 1,400 events and welcomed 6.7 million visitors in 2009, a 5 per cent increase in visitors from 2008.

All MICE sectors delivered robust growth, Suntec said in a statement. And it believes that it will do well again this year as it expects to host regular and new events.

Chief executive Pieter Idenburg said: ‘Having emerged from a challenging but fruitful year in 2009, 2010 will be significant for us. We will host several new and returning shows, with an exciting line-up of events that are paramount in their fields, such as the inaugural Youth Olympic Games.’

Events the venue is set to host this year include The Internet Show 2010, the 10th World Congress of Bio-ethics and 8th Asia-Pacific Harmonica Festival 2010.

Repeat events, such as the Singapore Garden Festival 2010 and CityScape Asia 2010, will also be held at the centre.

Source: Business Times, 7 Jan 2010

MARINA Bay Sands (MBS) said yesterday that it has signed up events for its Sands Expo and Convention Centre that will bring over 150,000 attendees to the integrated resort (IR).

The events cover a range of industries including engineering, legal, property, lifestyle, textiles, life sciences, machinery, manufacturing and renewable energy.

Each event, by established organisers and new players, will bring between 3,000 and 25,000 attendees to MBS.

‘We are proud that Marina Bay Sands is the premium venue for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (Mice) in Asia,’ said MBS chief executive Thomas Arasi. ‘Marina Bay Sands has unique appeal, and the wide variety of different events is a strong sign of support for us and for Singapore.’

Next May, top lawyers will congregate at MBS for an annual conference organised by the Inter-Pacific Bar Association (IPBA). As climate change is the theme, former US vice-president Al Gore and climate change proponent will be the keynote speaker. The conference was last held here in 1994.

Other returning events that have chosen MBS include the 2010 UFI Congress, which is returning to Singapore after a 15-year absence. UFI is the global union of trade show organisers and fairground owners, as well as the major associations of the exhibition industry.

New shows that will debut at MBS include the Industrial Fabrics Association International Expo Asia 2011 trade show, the first major textile event tailored for the Asian audience.

The team behind the Sands Expo and Convention Centre is also expanding and working on more than 100 additional prospects for Mice events over the next four years, MBS said.

Michael Leven, president and chief operating officer of MBS’s developer Las Vegas Sands, said in August that revenue from gaming operations is likely to make up about 75 per cent of MBS’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the ‘early days’.

But ultimately the plan is for gaming to contribute only about 50 per cent of EBITDA, with non-gaming components such as the Mice facilities pulling more weight down the track.

Source: Business Times, 8 Dec 2009

THINGS are looking up for the meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (Mice) industry, with 10 major shows attracting more than 5,000 foreign delegates each signed for next year – twice as many as there were this year.

Together with the two integrated resorts’ plans to host more than 60 events in the next few years – a fifth of them new to Singapore – they are painting a rosier picture for business tourism.

Most of the shows are returning annual or biennial events, such as the Singapore Airshow in February.

The mega show, which is Asia’s largest aerospace and defence event, is expected to pull in about 40,000 trade visitors next year, of which about 13,500 will be international visitors.

Another show making its return is Food and Hotel Asia, which will attract 21,000 visitors.

But on the list is also one new event: The Youth Olympic Games, which is expected to draw more than 5,000 athletes and officials, 1,200 media representatives and 20,000 volunteers.

Meanwhile, Marina Bay Sands announced yesterday that it will host more than 30 events from its opening in the first quarter of next year until 2012, attracting more than 150,000 delegates.

Resorts World Sentosa has lined up 30 events from next year till 2011, with an unknown number of delegates.

New events at the integrated resorts include Dye+Chem Asia International Expo for the dye and chemical industries and Live! Singapore, an event for the performing arts industry.

Business tourism, which contributed 40 per cent to tourism receipts last year, suffered an estimated 20 per cent to 30 per cent slump this year.

Last year, three million business visitors came to Singapore, spending nearly $6 billion.

Industry players are pinning their hopes on a good year ahead.

‘2010 will definitely be better than 2009 for us. The industry has been picking up already, but the IRs will be a contributing factor,’ said Mr Stephen Tan, chief executive of exhibition organiser Singapore Exhibition Services.

He said he expected at least a 20 per cent improvement, ‘if not even higher’.

There are other reasons for Mice industry players to be upbeat.

A number of events in the biomedical sciences and medical cluster have been secured, such as the International Congress on Aviation and Space Medicine next year, and the third World Congress of the International Academy of Oral Oncology in 2011.

Not to be outdone by the integrated resorts, other venues have also been working hard in anticipation of losing some shows to the new boys in town.

For instance, out of the 35 major events that Suntec City Convention Centre will host next year, about 14 are new. They include the Robocup 2010 event and the International Conference on Emergency Medicine.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) was unable yesterday to give figures for next year’s events, but expressed optimism.

‘With a robust line-up of events, Singapore’s Mice industry looks set to ride on the recovery in key economies and the opening of new tourism developments in Singapore,’ said Ms Melissa Ow, the STB’s assistant chief executive of the business travel and Mice group.

This is good news to other industry players, who are looking forward to a boost for their businesses as well.

Restaurateur Michel Lu, for instance, is planning to smarten up his casual fine dining restaurant Prive early next year.

He said: ‘Business clients are an integral part of what we do. Sentiment is improving a lot, and things are looking good.’

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Major events

EVENTS next year that are expected to attract more than 5,000 foreign delegates each:

Singapore Airshow (February)
International Furniture Fair Singapore, held in conjunction with the 27th Asean Furniture Show (March)
Food and Hotel Asia (April)
CommunicAsia (June)
BroadcastAsia (June)
Youth Olympic Games (August)
ITB Asia (October)
Ufi Congress (November)
Anime Festival Asia (November)
18th International Oil and Gas Industry Exhibition and Conference (Osea) (November)

Source: Straits Times, 8 Dec 2009