The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will be participating at the Gulf Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition (GIBTM) this month, to showcase the exciting MICE and leisure offerings that the city state has to offer event organizers and meeting planners. Research from the International Congress & Convention Association shows that the Lion City is recognised for its safety and cleanliness and admired as a place to live, work and receive medical treatment.

These findings were further supported when readers of international business magazine Time voted Singapore ‘best business city’ at the start of this year.

MICE visitors made up 25 percent of Singapore’s 8.9 million tourist arrivals in 2005 and contributed 30 percent of total tourism receipts.

The country wants tourism receipts from this segment to rise to 35 percent by 2015, by leveraging Singapore’s strategic position and connectivity, as well as its strong track record in making major MICE events a success.

Singapore has played host to some of the world’s most prestigious business events. In 2006 Singapore hosted the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

This year, Singapore will play host to the Herbalife Asia Pacific Extravaganza in July 2007, the biggest incentive group to meet in Singapore to date. An estimated 18,000 foreign delegates are expected in Singapore for a series of workshops and meetings.

‘Singapore offers a wide spectrum of MICE products and exciting new tourism developments. GIBTM is an excellent platform for us to reinforce Singapore’s image as a dynamic MICE destination and to share with the Middle East MICE market our new initiatives to encourage them to stage their business events in Singapore,’ said Catherine McNabb, Director, Strategic Clusters 1, Business Travel and MICE Group, Singapore Tourism Board.

Singapore strives to be a global exchange capital where people, technology and ideas converge to create value for business events and visitors.

The Singapore Tourism Board is looking to brand and position Singapore as a place where business delegates can derive great value, and where there is a robust exchange of ideas, and a fertile ground for business prospects, networking opportunities and the development of human capital.

The country’s global advertising campaign -‘Singapore, Where Great Things Happen’ - is designed to reinforce this message and entrench Singapore as a top-of-mind destination for business events.

‘Singapore is a great place for meetings and business travel, and we want to ensure that GIBTM visitors understand the full extent of its offering,’ said Ke-Wei Peh, Area Director for Middle East and Africa, Singapore Tourism Board.

As part of its ongoing commitment to continually improving the destination for both visitors and locals alike and to entice more MICE business to the destination, Singapore has also launched an exciting and diverse range of new venues and attractions.

Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World at Sentosa - Singapore’s two newly announced integrated resorts scheduled for launch in 2009 and 2010 respectively - will add to the city’s already extensive MICE offerings.

Marina Bay Sands, will house 2,500 hotel rooms and luxury suites and over 110,000 sq. metres in meeting and exhibition spaces. The resort will also be home to a range of leisure products including two world-class 2,000 seat theatres, an ArtScience museum, luxury retail outlets, and dining venues, including a floating pavilion on Marina Bay.

Public spaces will include an ice-skating rink, casino and indoor canals.

Resorts World at Sentosa will be on Sentosa Island and will offer a range of venue options including a Universal Studios theme park set over seven precincts for events and functions. It will also house the island’s major entertainment facilities including three public amphitheatres and a permanent show - ‘Le Vie’ - which will be developed by the creative team behind Cirque du Soleil.

With the Marina Bay Sands and other future MICE developments in the area, Marina Bay will be a magnet demonstrating Singapore’s advantages as an integrated and compact MICE city.

Singapore can look forward to a combined meeting space of 200,000 sq. metres supported by an inventory of 10,000 hotel rooms and dynamic events, entertainment, retail and F&B offerings all within walking distance and set in the visually stunning Marina Bay.

Other new venues which have recently opened include:

VivoCity, Singapore’s largest shopping and lifestyle destination offering a diverse mix of up to 300 retail, entertainment and dining outlets, set over 1 million square feet of floor space.

St James Power Station, originally Singapore’s first coal-fired power station built in 1927, which has been transformed into the city’s newest lifestyle and entertainment area comprising 9 outlets including a massive live music room, a Chinese entertainment venue, as well as outdoor spaces for open air performances.

The recently revamped Clarke Quay, with its new restaurants and entertainment venues, including the largest Ministry of Sound in the world, offers an endless array of venues for all types of functions and occasions.
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