Big interview
Sharing Singapore’s secrets of success
CMW MEETS DR EDWARD KOH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CONVENTIONS,
MEETINGS AND INCENTIVE TRAVEL AT SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD
r Edward Koh was
appointed Executive
Director, Conventions,
Meetings and Incentive
Travel, Singapore Tourism Board (STB)
in June 2019, having served as Executive
Director of Southeast Asia for the past five
years.
“My first major event was the bid for
the 25th World Congress of Dermatology,
which happened during my first month on
the job,” he notes. “I recall giving a
welcome speech with Professor Roy Chan,
President of the 25th World Congress of
Dermatology. That was the easy part, as
the current bidding team and past
generations of STB officers and trade
partners had put in years of hard work
preparing for the bid. The best part was
that we won, and now we can expect
15,000 local and foreign dermatologists
and professionals in this field to attend
this event in 2023.”
Dr Koh believes people in the MICE
industry are easy to approach for advice
and he says the point was made many
times to him that the business is not
‘rocket science’. “This was poignant
advice, as I initially placed pressure on
myself to know all the industry verticals
from which the industry associations we
met came from.
“Another good piece of advice to receive
was ‘to build your knowledge outwards
from the core knowledge you already have
and no one can take that away from you’.
That core knowledge, to me, would
include 11 years of experience living and
working in China, and five years
overseeing the Southeast Asian markets
engaging and interacting with interesting
people and trade in the region.”
Dr Koh’s advice to young meetings
professionals starting out their career
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CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD
today in Singapore? “If you enjoy meeting
people and doing meaningful work, you’re
in the right place. If you care about the
environment and advocating for
sustainability, join us right away as we
continue to rally industry partners to do
their part.
“There are many warm and generous
individuals in this industry – which is
more like a community – happy to chat
with you and share their career (or even
life) stories.”
Singapore is ranked as the number 1
MICE destination in Asia. What needs to
be done to maintain this position?
“Singapore has a vibrant and innovative
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ISSUE 103
Above:
Dr Edward Koh,
executive director
of Conventions,
Meetings and
Incentive travel at
Singapore Tourism
Board
business environment, with a stellar track
record of delivering high-quality business
events. To capitalise on our strengths as a
business events hub, we collaborate with
relevant government agencies to
programme a strong suite of business
events that amplify Singapore’s economic
strengths, such as in Urban Solutions,
Medical, FinTech, Advanced
Manufacturing, Media & Digital Services,
Design, and Hospitality.
“To ensure that Singapore maintains its
competitive edge as a business events hub,
we plan ahead to meet several challenges
such as space limitations, evolving ways of
organising events and intensifying
regional competition. For example, we
have recently announced expansion plans
for Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World
Sentosa, both of which will build more
MICE facilities.
“SingEx Holdings, the operator of the
Singapore Expo, has also committed to
refreshing their venue offerings and
strengthening their programming.”
Dr Koh also flags leisure developments
in the pipeline, including:
- The transformation of Orchard Road
into a lifestyle destination;
- A new integrated tourism
development with attractions, hotel and
complementary lifestyle offerings at
Jurong Lake District
- An upcoming integrated nature and
wildlife destination in Mandai.
“But,” he adds, “even as we plan ahead,
technology and data analytics will
continue to disrupt the MICE industry.
Technologies such as artificial intelligence
(AI), robotics, virtual and augmented
reality have the potential to be
game-changers for the industry. For
example, AI could make event
management more efficient and