The Herbalife Extravaganza July 2007 (see Case Study, p27) is the largest incentive event to ever hit Singapore, with 17,000 attendees. The feedback from suppliers and service providers is that they are pleased with the number of delegates to events since March this year. Business traveller numbers peaked with the annual CommunicAsia, BroadcastAsia and associated events held at Singapore Expo and Suntec Singapore in June. Those events attracted more than 20,000 overseas visitors.
While Singapore continues to be popular for medical conventions, July runs the gamut from epilepsy to glaucoma and family medicine.
Small conferences are mushrooming in niche service areas such as arbitration, maritime law and educational specialisations.
NEW EVENTS
Major upcoming events in the next few months include the Imaging Expo Singapore & PIX – Photo Imaging X-change 2007, which will be staged from November 2 to 4 at Suntec Singapore. Organised by Koelnmesse, it is the first event for both trade professionals and end-users in Southeast Asia and the Pacific region.
Koelnmesse says it selected Singapore for its strategic location, world-class conference and exhibition facilities, cosmopolitan culture and pro-business climate.
ITB Asia 2008, BikeAsia 2008 and FDI World Dental Congress 2009 are all future events on the way.
Its pool-level location has been popular with corporate users due to its natural lighting and
wooded hillside backdrop, and a terrace that is ideal for breaks and evening cocktails.
Amara Sanctuary Resort, Sentosa had a soft opening in May, while the luxury St. Regis
Hotel & Residences, Singapore is slated for completion in the fourth quarter of this year.
But central business district and superiorcategory hotel accommodations are lacking.
As for hotels opening in 2008, there are two on Sentosa – one likely to be a Starwood
brand – and a Crowne Plaza at Changi Airport. The government’s release of ten sites
for hotel development will partially meet the demand for hotel rooms by 2010.
Meanwhile, groundwork has only just started for Carlton Hotel’s new block on Bras Basah Road, but the popular Hotel Phoenix is likely to close for refurbishment in August.
In addition, Singapore is one of the best places in Asia for the commercialisation of ideas and innovations because it takes the protection of intellectual property seriously.
Another discernable trend is the increasing number of multinational corporations with
Singapore headquarters holding their regional training and meetings at four-star hotels.
Some of these hotels straddle the Orchard Road-Suntec corridor or are on the fringe,
such as Havelock Road and Marine Parade, or close to the corporate offices.
After a five-month renovation, Furama RiverFront Singapore at Havelock Road has
boosted total capacity to 596 rooms, including three floors of executive rooms.
This four-star hotel has also converted a car park on the fifth level to function space.
The new Mercury Ballroom seats up to 340 people banquet style.