Organizers of Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) events will be able to hold large-scale meetings of up to 250 people in Singapore from Oct 1.
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will start accepting applications as part of plans to kickstart the economy. STB and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) will review all proposals and approve them accordingly.
“Our sense is that we will have to take this opportunity to re-shape our industries, take on new skills, build up new capabilities for us to emerge stronger through the COVID situation,” Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing said on Monday (Sep 7).
Why 250?
The minister explained that the limit of 250 people will be the basis which authorities will use to scale up to larger events.
“We are working with overseas partners… to see how we can learn from the experience of other countries, scaling this up from the hundreds to the thousands in a safe and sustainable manner,” he said.
Pilot events to take place in October
Image Credits: SIEW
Pilot events such as the Singapore International Energy Week Conference will take place in October. Through these pilot events, the STB and MICE industry will adapt and adjust the safety protocols for business events to take place.
“This move to start accepting applications to pilot events of up to 250 attendees also takes into account the importance of the MICE industry as well as the strong industry interest in and demand for business events,” STB said.
Importance of the MICE industry
According to a study by STB last year, the MICE industry supported more than 34,000 jobs with an economic value-add of S$3.8 billion. With that said, business travellers also spend almost twice the amount compared to leisure tourists, making them essential visitors for the economy.
STB’s chief executive, Mr Keith Tan said: “The MICE sector is a strategic one for the Singapore economy, and its safe and gradual resumption will safeguard jobs and core capabilities. It will also help those in related sectors such as hospitality and aviation.”
“Public health and safety remain our utmost priority, and we have worked closely with the industry to create strict protocols and develop new ways of organising events. These pilot events and solutions will help Singapore lead the way as a safe, trusted and innovative destination for MICE events.”
“Our determination is that we want Singapore to remain as the top business hub in Asia. We want to continue to strengthen our position as the MICE location of choice,” said Mr Chan.
“It is significant not just for the tangible monetary benefits to the economy, not only about the jobs, but it is also about the exchange of ideas – where people come to Singapore to interact with people from all over the world.”