Big interview
“With a strong reputation as a
knowledge-based economy, Singapore has
always been a choice destination for
premier business events. We have a
vibrant and innovative business
environment, with a flawless track record
in delivering high quality events.” He adds
that international businesses in Singapore
have easy access to fast-growing Asian
markets. “Today, Singapore hosts about
37,000 international companies, including
7,000 multinational companies. Examples
include GlaxoSmithKline, Procter &
Gamble and Apple,” Dr Koh notes and
points out Singapore offers the world’s
most affordable Michelin-starred meal, as
well as some of the Best Bars in Asia, and
rich cultural precincts such as Chinatown,
Kampong Glam and Little India.
Other world class attractions he lists
include JEWEL Changi Airport and
Singapore Botanic Gardens (a UNESCO
World Heritage Site).
Set in Singapore, the movie Crazy Rich
Asians showcased Singapore’s culture, food
and attractions, Dr Koh adds. “It also
profiled Singapore’s talents, including the
huge cast and crew who were involved in
the production. We believe this will
augment STB’s efforts in driving
destination awareness.”
“Since the movie’s launch, we have seen
a spike in searches of Singapore online.
While we may not be able to quantify
returns from the movie, we expect the
exposure to bring greater global
awareness of our destination,” he adds.
Notable events to be held in Singapore
from 2020 onwards include:
• For the first time, Singapore will
welcome an expected 8,000 participants
attending International Trademark
Association’s 142nd Annual Meeting, the
world’s largest gathering of intellectual
property professionals.
• SAP Field Kick-Off Meeting makes its
return to Singapore with two successive
years of meetings scheduled in 2020 and
2021.
• Sibos, a global financial services event by
SWIFT, is also returning to Singapore in
2021. Last held in Singapore in 2015, the
“More
associations
are organising
regional
meetings in
an effort to
address specific
challenges
being faced
at a regional
level.”
Above:
Singapore Skyline
in the evening
including the slowing Hong Kong
economy, the US-China trade tensions
and uncertain global economic outlook.
“We note that some business events
have moved from Hong Kong to
Singapore. We will of course provide
assistance and solutions to our partners
who may find themselves in a difficult
position arising from Hong Kong’s
situation. But we take a long-term view of
Singapore’s tourism sector and would
prefer to pursue a more sustainable
growth from all our source markets.”
CMW asked Dr Koh to choose three
major trends he is expecting to grow
stronger in the next 3-5 years.
“More associations are organising
regional meetings in an effort to address
specific challenges being faced at a
regional level. While these meetings are
usually smaller than their internationally
rotating counterparts, this means regional
engagement is higher.
“We expect two other trends for
corporate meetings to continue – shorter
booking lead times and growing demand
for stronger destination experiences.”
Dr Koh adds that, to remain
competitive, it is critical for the Singapore
MICE industry to embrace change, and
continually collaborate and innovate.
As part of STB, the Singapore
Exhibition and Convention Bureau, with
40 years of experience, is a non-member
based city convention bureau, and
continues to provide advice and support
for meeting organisers, Dr Koh
underlines. “The bureau is able to assist to
respond to Requests for Proposals, venue
recommendations, visa facilitation, site
inspections, social programme
recommendations, city-wide marketing
and supplier contacts, and we have
schemes that support events to be hosted
in Singapore.”
Finally, how does the Executive
Director unwind after a hard day’s work?
“I enjoy a long run outdoors in the park
near my home, to help relieve stress. The
highlight of my week would be a quiet
omakase meal with my wife at our
favourite joint.”
event saw over 8,000 delegates in its
largest Asia Pacific edition to date then.
• Other events to be held in 2021: Asia
Pacific Life Insurance Congress and
Million Dollar Round Table Global
Conference. In 2022, Singapore and
Southeast Asia will host for the first time,
the International Conference on Medical
Image Computing and Computer
Assisted Intervention (MICCAI),
earmarked as the world’s largest
gathering of professionals in its field.
Singapore was recently selected to host
the 25th World Congress of Dermatology
in 2023, which will be the largest medical
convention to take place in the city, with
an estimated 15,000 participants.
CMW asked Dr Koh whether the tense
situation in Hong Kong benefitted
Singapore in terms of transferring
business?
“Hong Kong is a key tourism source
market for Singapore, ranking among
Singapore’s top 15 visitor arrival markets
in the last six years. In 2018, Hong Kong
generated 473,124 visitor arrivals and was
ranked 13th in terms of visitor arrivals. In
the first eight months of 2019, we received
331,703 visitors from Hong Kong, which
held steady from the same period in 2018.
“However, at this point, it is still too
early to attribute any increase in
Singapore’s visitor arrival numbers to one
issue, such as the situation in Hong Kong.
This could be due to many factors
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