Successful Meetings - January 2018

With the fresh new MICE concept Huone Singapore Events Hotel, and a spate of new properties that opened in 2017, Singapore is experiencing a refresh of epic proportions. Having long mastered sophistication and commerce (and more recently, technology), the city-state is now inviting visiting meeting-goers to find their passion.

In February 2017, the Huone Singapore
Events Hotel opened on Clarke Quay. The
new Singapore property is the second venue
for the Helsinki-based company Huone (lit-
erally, “Room”), and offers 11 event spaces
for six persons to 400 with such striking
concepts as Igloo, Cloud, and Forest. Says
Kershing Goh, regional director of Singapore
Tourism Board Americas, “Huone Singapore
is another example of Singapore’s commit-
ment to reinventing MICE experiences and
adding diversity to the venue landscape.”
Elsewhere, the five-star, 2,561-room
Marina Bay Sands — Singapore’s largest
hotel — was this year’s most Instagrammed
property, according to (who else?) Instagram.

The hotel had more than one million photos uploaded in 2017. With its extensive grounds, luxury shops, exclusive guest levels, and sound-and-light technology, the Marina Bay Sands is a frequent choice for major launches.

Singapore ranks consistently as one of the top MICE destinations in the world. In 2016, the city ranked first in Asia and sixth worldwide, according to the International Congress and Convention Association; also, the Union of International Associations ranked Singapore third globally as an international meetings country.

Goh attributes this in part to the destina-
tion’s welcoming visa policy, a strong busi-
ness ecosystem, and a stable and neutral
political environment. This, she says, “has
created an ideal environment in which busi-
ness meetings of all sizes can be held.”
In addition, Singapore’s infrastructure is
relatively easy for visitors to navigate. “The
compactness of our city,” says Goh, “means
that getting from one place to another is
extremely time efficient. The proximity of
Changi Airport to city center and our top-
notch MICE venues is a mere 20 minutes by
taxi. Within city center, MICE meeting spac-
es and hotels are also located within walking
distance, minimizing the need for transporta-
tion and reducing costs.”
Airlift to and from the U.S. Pacific Coast
has been on the rise. Singapore Airlines de-
buted from San Francisco in 2016; United
Airlines launched airlift from San Francisco
in June 2017, and from Los Angeles in
October 2017.

Passion in Progress

Singapore launched a new branding cam-
paign in August 2017 with the daring new
tagline, “Passion Made Possible.” The new
brand, according to Lionel Yeo, chief execu-
tive of Singapore Tourism Board (STB), “ar-
ticulates what we stand for as a country and
supports the telling of many stories about this
destination and its people.”
To get out the message, STB partnered
with Northstar Meetings Group (of which
Successful Meetings is a part) to illuminate
exemplary Singaporean meeting profes-
sionals; and with Maritz Global Events’
proprietary Experience Design Labs tech-
nology to create a virtual reality-based
product for meeting planners. At the desti-
nation, the STB has worked with local tour
operators to devise unique new itineraries
that appeal to visitors’ culinary, cultural,
or adventurous “passions.”
Among the offerings to debut in late
2017: The 64-room Sofitel Singapore
City Center, with 20,000 square feet
of function space; the 225-room Hotel
InterContinental Robertson Quay,
with three intimate meeting spaces; the
610-cabin Yotel Singapore, featuring a
multitasking space in its 10th floor; and
the 342-room Andaz Singapore — the first
Andaz in Southeast Asia. n Questions or
comments? Email valonzo@ntmllc.com