Chinese flavour- Singaporean style

Some 1,000 incentive reward recipients from China Life Insurance arrived in Singapore in late August for an all-expenses paid reward. It was the biggest group of incentive travellers to Singapore since the SARS outbreak. The event had been postponed from May. The group arrived in Singapore on August 30 to a welcome dance reception at Changi Airport. They came in via Singapore Airlines and China Eastern Airlines from Xiamen, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Beijing. Some arrived earlier so they enjoyed a half-day tour covering the Merlion Park, Esplanade Theatres on the Bay, Mount Faber, Chinatown and Little India. Dinner was at the Malay Village, where they were entertained by a lion-dance troupe and Malay cultural performers, followed by a nine-course Chinese dinner. Fried rice proved to be essential on their first night as they requested for it as an additional item on the menu. About 800 delegates stayed at Swissotel The Stamford, while around 200 stayed at Raffles the Plaza and six VIPs stayed at Raffles Hotel. Check-in was done after dinner. The VIPs comprised general managers of the various regions and the president of China Youth Travel Service (CYTS). Raffles The Plaza and Swissotel The Stamford director of marketing Ms Karen Tan says: "In total, we welcomed about 26 groups with about 30 to 40 guests per arrival. "The unique feature about this group was it consisted of guests from all over China, therefore, it required immense logistical support and preparation. "There was a requirement to accommodate all of the guests in one ballroom for breakfast. We used the Raffles Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 3,000 guests, for the meal. "Each VIP was individually recognised and greeted. As the guests were all Chinese, we had to assign Mandarin-speaking staff to attend to their needs. There were no special dietary requirements but there was a request for Chinese newspapers." Due to the size of the group, the guests arrived at staggered intervals. Security measures were also of key importance. "In preparation for the group's arrival, several operations meetings were held to discuss details on handling their arrival, room requirements and breakfast arrangements. Most of the challenges were handled by our front-office agents, housekeeping and security colleagues," Ms Tan adds. The next day, the group visited the Duty Free Shop at Scotts Road for a two-hour shopping spree before heading to the cruise centre. Then they boarded Star Cruises' Superstar Virgo, which brought them to Langkawi, Malaysia and Phuket, Thailand, before returning to Singapore on September 3. In Singapore, they visited Sentosa's Musical Fountain and enjoyed a fireworks display sponsored by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) costing some US$4,500. The STB also sponsored delegate tee-shirts and hosted a dinner for the VIPs at the Night Safari on the first night with Mr Lim Neo Chian, STB's deputy chairman and chief executive in attendance. "China is an important and growing market for Singapore's business travel and (corporate event) industry," STB manager business travel, meetings & incentives Ms Jaclyn Fam says. Farewell fireworks "Our goal was to provide the group with a seamless experience, from touch-down to departure, as well as a memorable stay here. For example, STB worked together with relevant government agencies to facilitate smooth immigration clearance at the airport. "We also provided a rousing farewell for the group with fireworks at the Sentosa Musical Fountain specially for the group before they departed for home the following day," Ms Fam says Hong Thai Travel Services was the destination management company (DMC) appointed to the group in Singapore. Hong Thai Travel Services director/general manager Mr Alex Chan says his company has worked with China CYTS MICE Service, the China outbound DMC for China Life Insurance, for many years. "They came down for a few site inspections and they talked to a few DMCs but for such a big group, they needed to select a DMC that has enough manpower. I met up with them at China International Travel Mart last year and we talked about this event," Mr Chans says. Inspections were made in October 2002 and CYTS selected Hong Thai Travel Services in January 2003. More than 30 staff and 28 coaches were mobilised for the group, including a spare bus for contingency purposes. There was a bus for the media. The VIPs were chauffeured in four Mercedes limousines. The challenge for Mr Chan's staff was to get everyone off the cruiseliner and on to the buses in time for Sentosa's Musical Fountain show which started at 8.40pm. "We worked closely with Star Cruises to collect the luggage faster. The Cruise Centre wanted each person to carry his/her own luggage and go through the security check. By 7.45pm, we had only collected three groups, but after that, it was OK. By 8.30pm, all were seated for the show," says Mr Chan. After the show, 100 people headed for the airport to return home. The rest stayed another night in Singapore. Another challenge was to also keep the participants focused on the itinerary as shopping was clearly a favourite activity. "They liked to shop and move around. We were worried on the fourth day as they were supposed to go to the airport," Mr Chan adds. "After breakfast, they rushed to the shopping centre downstairs at Raffles City. There were also six or seven groups who were leaving in the afternoon so they had time for lunch. "We had initially thought of having lunch at Centrepoint Shopping Centre but changed our minds because we were worried that we might not be able to get them all together. In the end, we had lunch at the Turf Club. Stopover option "What made this event unique was that it was the first time China Life Insurance was rewarding its high achievers with an overseas trip and that they chose Singapore for its biggest group ever. Next year, the group will be smaller, just around 500. They will be going to Australia but I am trying to persuade them to stopover in Singapore. "Many groups from China usually choose three-star hotels instead of five-star hotels. However, these delegates were the high-income type and since the trip was paid by the company, they had lots of cash to spend. "They were also happy that no luggage was lost and were impressed by the service levels in Singapore." Mr Chan says the planning for the trip would have been easier if there were more Singapore Airlines flights from Beijing. l