World MICE Now -Singapore-
World MICE Now -Singapore-
Hello, this is Chris & Partners. 😊 When you think of a representative MICE country, what country comes to mind? Those of you interested in MICE will probably think of it right away—it's 🏝Singapore🏝! Don't worry even if Singapore didn't come to mind right away 😉 In today's post we'll look into the MICE industry of Singapore, which has established itself as a MICE powerhouse, and find out together how it's overcoming the post-COVID period!
Why Singapore?
The first reason Singapore established itself as a MICE powerhouse is its geographic advantage. Singapore is also called Asia's hub country—a strategic point connecting the Pacific and Indian Oceans, located at the very center of Southeast Asia, a huge market with a GDP of 2.55 trillion dollars (about 2,848.35 trillion won). What maximized this geographic advantage is exactly Changi Airport, opened in 1981; foreigners arriving at Changi Airport can finish all entry procedures within an hour, leave the airport, and reach the city center in 30 minutes, it's said. The fact that staff at branches across Southeast Asia can depart on a morning flight, have a meeting, and return to their country of stay by evening is possible, in Southeast Asia, only in Singapore—so it has an enormous geographic advantage, right?
Also, the entry of multinational companies provided diverse business opportunities. In the World Bank's 2017 ‘ease of doing business’ assessment it ranked 2nd in the world, and in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) national competitiveness assessment it ranked 3rd. Singapore has also concluded 21 free trade agreements (FTAs) and economic partnership agreements (EPAs) with a total of 32 countries. Like this, through the entry of countless multinational companies, it naturally led to attracting more international events, and it has held the world's No. 1 spot for hosting international events without fail since 2011.
Lastly, the Singapore government's strategic fostering of the MICE industry can also be cited as a reason. After experiencing economic contraction from the SARS outbreak in 2004, Singapore poured even more effort into fostering the MICE industry. It has made efforts to actively attract MICE/general tourists by building various expos, convention centers, integrated resorts, and more—including the ‘Marina Bay Sands Hotel,’ which has now become a Singapore landmark.
Besides these, a sociocultural background using English as an official language, Asia's top-level excellent infrastructure, a stable political and social environment, and the like worked together for it to establish itself as a representative MICE country.
Singapore with Covid-19
Last year was a tough time you could call a dark age for the MICE industry 😥 Singapore, where the MICE industry took up a large portion, suffered enormous damage from the pandemic. Changi Airport, always bustling and lively with people, emptied out, and according to Singapore's Ministry of Manpower, the number of people laid off by October 2020 reached 20,450. How is Singapore overcoming this crisis?
First, Marina Bay Sands, last August, opened a virtual-reality studio, an industry first. This studio, by mounting mixed-reality (MR) technology, is praised for providing event participants an effect beyond realism. It can be seen as a case showing the resilience of Singapore, which adapted quickly in the pandemic era. Many of the online and hybrid events currently underway are held in this studio. This coming October, ‘ITB Asia,’ Asia's largest tourism-industry fair, is slated to be held.
Also, Singapore, ‘Travel Revive’ under a title, held an international fair in late November last year. The event, held at the Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Center on the theme of restarting the MICE industry, was the first hybrid international fair held in the Asia-Pacific region after COVID-19, it's said. For this event, Changi Airport prepared an online tool called Safe Travel Concierge so each attendee could self-manage the entry requirements they must meet before entering Singapore. It was a zero-contact event—interacting with people but with no contact.
Lastly, Singapore announced it would implement a travel bubble with Hong Kong from May 26. A travel bubble means exempting quarantine between countries with excellent disease control and easing entry restrictions. It's also discussing a travel bubble with Australia, which is expected to be realized before summer, it's said. Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said, "we can't just keep waiting until vaccines and treatments are supplied to everyone worldwide. Rather than completely eliminating risk, Singapore will manage risk well to enable safe travel," noting.
Today we looked together at Singapore's MICE industry and its post-pandemic recovery. 🔍 We hope a day comes soon when COVID-19 ends and we can visit the MICE powerhouse Singapore again!
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