Singapore is a tropical island, ideally positioned in South-east Asia. It is a thriving metropolis offering a world-class infrastructure, a fully integrated island-wide transportation network, dynamic business environment, vibrant living spaces and a rich culture largely influenced by the four major communities in Singapore with each offering different perspective of life in Singapore in terms of culture, religion, food, language and history.
Trang 1THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM AND BUSINESS TRAVEL IN SINGAPORE
I. Singapore tourism overview
Singapore is a tropical island, ideally positioned in South-east Asia It is a thriving metropolis offering a world-class infrastructure, a fully integrated island-wide transportation network, dynamic business environment, vibrant living spaces and a rich culture largely influenced by the four major communities in Singapore with each offering different perspective of life in Singapore in terms of culture, religion, food, language and history
Although Singapore is a small country, it has one of the largest service sectors in tourism the array of entertainment is compatible to other countries It also enhances the quality and diversity
of leisure options for residents and helps to create a living environment that Singaporeans are proud to call home As one of the leading tourist destinations in Asia and with millions of visitors every year, For Singapore to take this advantage as a tourism destination, it has contributed 3%
of Singapore's GDP which has generated a sum of US$ 9.4 billion in 2007 As one of the most popular countries in Asia, Singapore has been growing rapidly for the past few years With the help of the tourism industry, it has strengthened the infrastructure developments, in addition of various events and the countries strategic location in the heart of region
Singapore is popular as a business traveling destination due to the large number of exhibitions and conferences organized every month in Singapore A destination is a place which is created for a purpose and that is what Singapore has achieved to be It has created a destination for tourists from all over the world to visit, sometimes especially for its tropical climate To stay popular, Singapore has maintained its standards by improving and expanding its tourist attractions Besides the rising number ofevents and participants, Singaporehas also earned increasing recognition for its first-class MICE infrastructure and environment With a strong track record of hosting international events, Singapore is a dynamic centre for the MICE industry Boasting world-class facilities, accommodations and service providers The history of the tourism industry in Singapore has reflected strong government interest as tourism is seen as a
Trang 2key part of the economy Their efforts have been rewarded and today Singapore receives over 8 million visitors annually The tourism sector currently contributes to 4 percent of Singapore's gross domestic product and supports some 160,000 jobs Its benefits are even greater than these numbers suggest Tourism plays a key role in reinforcing Singapore's status as a vibrant global city that is a magnet for capital, businesses and talent
Singapore is already one of the leading tourist destinations in Asia, reflecting how developed the country is in terms of tourism It is one of the most popular business destinations for businessmen because of the well established economy but also of its centralized location which
is accessible for all Due to the rich economy, it attracts even more investors to start their business in Singapore which would help boost its economy Apart from the economical advantage, Singapore is not only considered as one of the safest countries but also a cosmopolitan one because of the different races living in harmony
II. The succeed in MICE tourism of Singapore
For the time being, Singapore enjoys an excellent reputation as a leading convention city and is recognized an Asia’s top MICE (Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions and Exhibitions) destination for many associations and corporations thanks to its strategic location, pro-business environment, world-class meeting and exhibition facilities, and excellent transport and communications network As can be seen from ICCA Global Rankings 2008 table below (ICCA = International Congress and Convention
Association), with 118 international association meetings held, Singapore has maintained its position as Asia’s Top Convention City for the 10th time and ranked 4th in the World’s Top Convention City
Rank City Number of meetings
Trang 35 Berlin 100
Moreover, the success of Singapore’s MICE industry can also be expressed in term of its impressive growth in the number of meetings held here over 4 recent years “In the updated figures for 2004-2008, the rise of Singapore in the international organizations meeting market is a noteworthy feature In 2004, Singapore stood at a respectable 10th place in the “Top International Meeting City” category In 2005 it climbed to 8th place, and jumped to 4th place in 2006 In 2007 it made an incredible leap to first place, with almost 30% more meetings than the city in second place In 2008 it has not only
maintained its position in first place, it has increased its margin to 50% more meetings than the second-ranked city,” said Mr Jacques de Mevius, Secretary-General of UIA (Singapore continues to reign as top meeting city in 2011 by holding 919 international meetings)
The MICE promotion policy of the government took a great role to develop as the world leading country in the field of MICE By establishing a BTMICE(Business Travel + MICE) department, Singapore Tourism Board has been implementing a series of MICE promotion policies In addition, SECB(Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau) has played important roles like supporting to hold conventions, meetings, exhibitions,
conferences and to develop the business Tourism
Building the strategic cluster is also one of the major MICE promotions policies The strategic cluster means the strategic grouping among the business partners in the field of national core industry Singapore has been trying to improve the national image by
holding conferences in the high-tech and value added industry Lastly, Singapore has
Trang 4promoted its MICE industry by opening the giantic integrated resorts, Resort World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands
Singapore is seen as “the most favorite business environmental city” by the readers of the TIME magazine.Singapore has a lot of factors to become the best destination for MICE tourism in Asian area
III. Reasons for the great success of Singapore’s MICE tourism
Firstly, regarding Singapore’s location, it can be seen that Singapore has a really strategic
position that allows an easy accessibility and large market catchment Located at the crossroads
of the world in the Strait of Malacca, Singapore taps into a market catchment size of 3.3 billion people within just 7 hours flight time Conventions and exhibitions can conveniently take
advantage of Singapore’s superior accessibility to attract a huge amount of international
participation, especially from such fast-growing and emerging markets as China, India and Asia-Pacific Besides, Singapore’s Changi International Airport acts as a premier international aviation hub for 83 international airlines that enables Singapore to be widely connected with 185 cities in
58 countries Also, since March 2006 the Budget Terminal customized for low cost airlines carriers has been launched into operation, which makes traveling to Singapore more and more affordable for both delegates and meeting attendees within Asia Furthermore, an entry visa for a short-term visit is not required in Singapore for most of the countries in the world
Secondly, Singapore’s exciting cultural and social experience should be properly taken into
consideration because it also creates another favorable condition for Singapore to win the bid for international conferences Containing a mix of different races, religions, cultures and languages interacting and living together in harmony over the decades provides Singapore a unique feature like no others Moreover, Singapore also has its own reputation of being a food paradise with a variety of cuisines including both Western and Singapore traditional ones Furthermore, in
Singapore, there is a ready availability of exciting leisure places for all delegates in their post-meeting trip, from the thrill-seekers to the nature-lovers
Thirdly, Singapore is considered a center of professional PEOs, PCOs & DMCs In Singapore
we can easily find out some of the region’s most experienced Professional Exhibition Organizers (PEOs), Professional Conventions Organizers (PCOs), and Destination management companies (DMCs) such as Reed Exhibitions, Singapore Exhibition Services or Messe Dusseldorf and so many more With an established reputation and professional skills, these convention companies
Trang 5will ensure that every last detail is carefully taken care of and every moment skillfully
coordinated in order to produce a successful event
Fourthly, it is the excellent capacity of professional conference venues and facilities in
Singapore Singapore possesses a rich variety of convention and exhibition centers that can meet the requirements of any conferences and social events held in this country Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Center and Singapore Expo are among the major
players in the business Both have a capacity to accommodate a meeting of up to 15,000
participants In addition, most of five-star hotels in Singapore have their own built-in conference rooms that can hold a meeting of up to 500 people Furthermore, the technologically advanced facilities provided in these convention centers also contribute to the great success of any
conference and exhibition held in Singapore With being the third most wired nation in the
world, Internet and teleconferencing services are available at many business hotels and venues
Finally, we will not forget to mention the support from the Singapore Exhibition and Convention
Bureau (SECB) The Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau (SECB) is officially
established under the control of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and acts as a general
supporter for enhancing the overall experiences of the delegates The SECB often launches incentive campaign to attract event organizers to hold their events in the city state For instance,
a campaign named “Make It Singapore” initiated in 2003 attracted at least 40 major MICE events held in the same year