Singapore to start approving pilot MICE events with 250 people from October 1

According to a MICE Economic Impact Assessment commissioned by STB in 2019, the industry supported more than 34,000 jobs with an economic value-add of $3.8 billion or nearly 1 percent of Singapore’s GDP.

On the path to recovery from the Covid19 pandemic, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will start accepting applications for organisers to pilot Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) events of up to 250 attendees from 1 October 2020. STB and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) will review all MICE event proposals, and event organisers may proceed only upon obtaining MTI’s approval. 

Event organisers who apply to pilot events with up to 250 attendees must demonstrate their ability to implement Safe Management Measures to meet a set of health and safety outcomes. The decision to accept applications to pilot MICE events of up to 250 attendees comes on the back of STB’s Safe Business Events Framework for business events of up to 50 attendees, which was first announced in July 2020.

According to a MICE Economic Impact Assessment commissioned by STB in 2019, the industry supported more than 34,000 jobs with an economic value-add of $3.8 billion or nearly 1 per cent of Singapore’s GDP. 

Business travellers are also said to spend almost double that of leisure travellers.

According to STB, the gradual resumption of business events can help maintain Singapore's position as a leading MICE hub, while safeguarding jobs and livelihoods in the industry and related sectors.

To guide the MICE industry in developing its agility and building resilience post-COVID-19, the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS) is collaborating with STB and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) to formulate an Event Industry Resilience Roadmap. The roadmap will be launched later this month and provides timely guidance on safety measures and best practices in line with the gradual resumption of business events.

Resuming MICE events in partnership with the private sector

The safe resumption of MICE events requires close partnership and coordination between public and private sector stakeholders. Given the need to act quickly and decisively in order for our economy to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis, the Emerging Stronger Taskforce (EST) under the Future Economy Council (FEC) has convened the Singapore Together Alliances for Action, which are industry-led, government-supported coalitions that will act quickly by prototyping ideas on key strategic areas for Singapore.

The Alliance for Action on Enabling Safe and Innovative Visitor Experiences is one of them. Co-led by Mr Lee Seow Hiang of Changi Airport Group and Ms Kwee Wei-Lin of Singapore Hotel Association, the Alliance has worked closely with a diverse range of industry stakeholders such as SACEOS and National Association of Travel Agents (NATAS), and government agencies such as STB and the Ministry of Health (MOH) to explore and pioneer new ways to facilitate safe and innovative visitor experiences in a COVID-19 environment.

Enabling Safe and Innovative Visitor Experiences

Recognising health and safety as key imperatives, the Alliance for Action on Enabling Safe and Innovative Visitor Experiences has developed a prototype for safe tradeshows and exhibitions. According to the release, the prototype which is developed in partnership with the private sector will offer delegates the level of interaction they would be used to in a regular trade show setting.

This prototype will be tested at a few trade shows beginning with a new event, TravelRevive, held in Nov. 2020.

To prepare Singapore for the eventual resumption of leisure travel, the Alliance has also designed safe itineraries that will be trialled with the MICE delegates of TravelRevive. 

In preparation for TravelRevive, the Alliance is working with relevant Government agencies and industry stakeholders to deploy digital enablers to facilitate a seamless and safe visitor experience from arrival to departure. Foreign delegates of the pilot events will also be required to use TraceTogether to facilitate contact tracing. To give inbound travellers further peace of mind, the industry is working with government agencies to develop a travel insurance product for inbound travellers by Q4 2020, to cover critical COVID-19-related expenses.

Keith Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board 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.”


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