The three clusters are amongst the top-performing sectors for business events secured in 2018, to be held in Singapore in 2019 and beyond
Singapore, 2019-Mar-11 — /Travel PR News/ — Singapore will play host to a sizeable number of business events from 2019 and beyond, with several of these events secured being inaugural editions. In particular, there are more business events from the Professional Services, Technology and F&B clusters. These events will help Singapore bolster its reputation as a leading world-class business events destination.
This comes on the back of a strong performance of the BTMICE industry in 2018. From January to September 2018 (year-to-date 3Q 2018), tourism receipts[1] from the BTMICE sector rose by 10 per cent, to hit S$3.44 billion, compared to the same period in 2017. This was driven by growth in BTMICE visitor arrivals, which also rose 14 per cent year-on-year for the same period, to hit 2 million arrivals.
Ms Melissa Ow, Deputy Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board, said: “High profile events in 2018 that garnered strong global interest, such as the DPRK-USA Singapore Summit and the Bloomberg New Economy Forum, have helped increase awareness of Singapore’s business events industry. This has also bolstered our reputation as a choice destination for meetings and business events.”
“In 2019 and beyond, we look forward to a strong slate of events in the Professional Services, Technology and F&B clusters. As these clusters are aligned to Singapore’s key economic sectors and play well to our strengths, we are confident that Singapore will provide many opportunities for decision-makers, event organisers and business executives looking to chart a path in this space,” Ms Ow added.
Prominent business events secured in professional services and technology sectors
The strong presence of regional company headquarters within the Professional Services and Technology space contribute towards creating a richly vibrant ecosystem for ideas and business exchanges. Together with Singapore’s key attributes of having a pro-business environment, strategic location in Asia, and a positive safety and security track record, the city is able to successfully draw business events organisers and delegates.
On the Professional Services front, Singapore is set to host, for the first time, the Baker Tilly International Global Tax Conference 2019 & Baker Tilly International World Conference 2019, as well as the Kaspersky Security Analyst Summit 2019. In addition, Singapore has also secured the following business events from the Professional Services cluster, namely the KPMG Asia Pacific Tax Summit 2019, INSOL 2019, Understanding Risk 2020, 18th Asia Pacific Life Insurance Congress 2021 and Asian Patent Attorneys Association General Assembly and Council Meetings 2022. Collectively, these events are expected to draw close to 10,500 foreign delegates to Singapore.
In the Technology sector, American technology heavyweight Oracle will be bringing the Oracle OpenWorld Asia 2019 to Asia for the first time, with Singapore being chosen as the convention’s host city. In addition, for the second year running, Ingram Micro will hold its Ingram Micro One APAC 2019 regional conference in Singapore in 2019. International delegates will have the opportunity to meet with strategic partners in Singapore to form new business relationships and exchange knowledge, insights and trends.
Of particular note is Singapore’s securing of the SAP Field Kick-Off Meeting 2020 and 2021, which makes a return to the Lion City. The event is SAP’s annual premier regional field sales event and the launch pad for communicating SAP’s business strategy, and senior SAP management members and customers will be in attendance. Singapore successfully edged out top international meeting cities to secure this by invite-only conference.
Close to 6,000 international delegates are expected to arrive into Singapore through these business events secured in the Technology sector.
A mature but growing Food & Beverage sector
As a nation of food enthusiasts, Singapore’s F&B landscape has grown in recent years not only on the consumer facing front, but also on the B2B and industry front.
Coupled with Singapore’s strong MICE infrastructure and expertise, this has convinced event organisers that Singapore continues to deliver value as a destination to host notable F&B business events, despite the industry being a mature market.
Besides existing significant F&B business events already in Singapore, such as Speciality and Fine Food Asia, Food Japan, and Vitafoods Asia, Singapore will also be hosting debut editions of the Southeast Asia Café Expo and Equip&Dine Asia 2019, where Equip&Dine Asia is a collaboration with the globally-renowned EquipHotel Paris. The Global Restaurant Leadership Conference 2019, which has re-located from Dubai, will also hold their highly successful C-suite level, thought leadership event for the first time in Singapore this year. These two events combined are expected to attract more than 3,500 international visitors to Singapore.
In the F&B cluster, an event of particular note taking place is the Food&HotelAsia – HoReCa and F&B 2020, billed as Asia’s largest and most comprehensive international trade and networking event for the food and hospitality industry. For the first time, Food&Hotel Asia (FHA) will expand their show into two dedicated events: FHA-HoReCa and FHA-F&B – in March/early April 2020. With the FHA expansion, these two events are expected to bring in over 45,000 international delegates to network, trade and share best practices.
FHA-HoReCa is the most comprehensive showcase of the world’s leading suppliers in the hotel, restaurant and café industry in Asia. The event will be a conducive platform for creative ideas, leading edge innovation, and smart technologies to come together. On the other hand, FHA-F&Bis the key business platform that presents wide-ranging food and drinks which inspires the industry to grow, trade, network and satisfy the demanding and evolving appetites of Asia’s discerning markets.
Mr Paul Wan, Managing Director, UBM Singapore, which owns and organises FHA, said: “Singapore is the ideal location for the staging of FHA, as the event propels forward in its evolution as one of the world’s top B2B platform serving the food and hospitality industry in Asia. The event’s development into two dedicated shows in 2020 aims to better augment the fast paced changes of the food and hospitality sectors, and UBM’s combination with Informa PLC will open doors to resources that can help us boost value propositions, and take our event to greater heights.”
Singapore maintains its position as a leading MICE destination
Singapore continues to be a coveted business events destination, with distinctive and enriching experiences and a vibrant business community. For instance, the city state was ranked the top Asian city for meetings by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) for 16 consecutive years in 2017 and was also named the Top International Meeting City of 2017 by the Union of International Associations (UIA). In addition, Singapore was also named Top Asia Pacific Destination the third consecutive year in Cvent’s rankings of Top Meeting Destinations in Asia Pacific 2018.
An extended list of business events secured for 2019 and beyond can be found in Annex A.
[1] These tourism receipts exclude Sightseeing, Entertainment and Gaming (SEG). The full-year results for BTMICE will be available only later in the year.
About the Singapore Tourism Board
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is the lead development agency for tourism, one of Singapore’s key economic sectors. Together with industry partners and the community, we shape a dynamic Singapore tourism landscape. We bring the Passion Made Possible brand to life by differentiating Singapore as a vibrant destination that inspires people to share and deepen their passions.
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Source: Singapore Tourism Board