July 12, 2016 TnH Global

Business events boost Singapore’s ambition to be technology thought leader

Singapore is making strides towards its ambition to become a technology thought leader through a slew of business events secured in various sectors like information and medical technologies.

Scheduled for 2016 and beyond, the technology-centric MICE (Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions & Exhibitions) events range from globally renowned meetings to regional conventions making their debuts in Singapore. They are expected to attract the brightest minds and will provide delegates with compelling content and opportunities to exchange knowledge with local and regional leaders.

Said Ms Melissa Ow, Deputy Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board: “As a city with a multitude of strategic industries, Singapore is delighted to welcome MICE events that further add to our economic vibrancy. Events that offer stimulating content and inspire further dialogue will also build up our Thought- Leadership, which is important for our knowledge-driven industries.”

Prominent info-tech events

Singapore is set to play a key role in the future of the Internet and cyber security with two pinnacle events in the field of Information Technology (IT) – the ISACA Cybersecurity Nexus (CSX) Asia Pacific in November 2016, and the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) 100 meeting in November 2017.

Both events are expected to bring in approximately 2,500 IT engineers and developers from all over the world to Singapore to explore initiatives on new Internet framework development and cyber security structure enhancements for Internet users worldwide. Said Tim Mason, ISACA Chief Marketing Officer: “Singapore’s strategic location as the centre of Southeast Asia makes the Lion City an ideal place to demonstrate our cyber security capabilities, and allows us to reach out to regional visitors who will bring further diversity and sophistication as they interact with our attendees. That, along with Singapore’s big push to become a smart, connected city, made it a relatively easy decision for ISACA.”

First-in-Southeast-Asia events

Singapore’s strong destination attributes have also won over event organizers entering Southeast Asia for the first time – like the Asia Pacific MedTech Forum (November 2016) and the 14th International Conference on Mobile Systems, Applications and Services (Mobisys) (June 2016) – and those who have made the city state their long-term home like Echelon Asia Summit (June 2016), InnovFest unBound (May 2016) and the Tech in Asia conferences (April 2016). Into its second edition, the Asia Pacific MedTech Forum is a trailblazer in the medical technology community. The Forum was created following the formation of the Asia Pacific Medical Technology Association (APACMed), who identified the unmet need to advance the standards of patient care in the region and sought to address it.

Said Mr Vladimir Makatsaria, Chairman of APACMed: “Singapore is an ideal location to host the Asia Pacific MedTech Forum because of its proximity to several important markets in the region. Our attendees value the state-of-theart event venues and outstanding business infrastructure. We are confident that this year’s Forum will be a memorable experience for all involved.”

Singapore ranked as top international meeting city

The upcoming technology business events further attest to Singapore’s stature as a leading MICE destination in Asia. The city state welcomed about 3 million BTMICE (Business Travel and Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions and Exhibitions) travellers in 2015, and pulled in over $4.5 billion in BTMICE tourism receipts.

Singapore was crowned the top international meeting city of 2015 by the Union of International Associations (UIA) for the ninth consecutive year. It was also named the top international association meetings city of 2015 in the Asia Pacific and Middle East region by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) for the 14th year running. Singapore also topped the inaugural Cvent Top 25 Asia Pacific Destinations 2016 ranking, which was based on MICE events booking activity and the number of available event venues.

Added Ms Ow: “We are proud that Singapore remains a prominent international MICE destination that continues to attract events with quality content. Although 2015 was a challenging year with various headwinds in the tourism landscape, Singapore’s MICE industry held up well with a good pipeline of business events. Nonetheless, we must stay ahead of the competition by constantly evolving our destination offerings and take the Singapore MICE visitor experience to the next level.”