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SINGAPORE – Larger exhibitions and conferences with up to 250 participants are expected to return to Singapore.
Organizers will be able to apply to pilot Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (Mice) events from October 1.
Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing, announcing the move on Monday (September 7) during a virtual press conference, said that testing events with up to 250 attendees is intended to open the doors to holding events to an even larger scale.
“We are working with partners overseas, including overseas event organizers … to see how we can learn from the experience of other countries, increasing this from hundreds to thousands in a safe and sustainable way,” he said.
The increase in the maximum number of attendees of 50 is currently in line with the gradual resumption of economic activities in Singapore and comes after a successful pilot in August for an event with up to 50 delegates, said the Singapore Tourism Board ( STB) on Monday.
The move also takes into account the importance of the mouse industry to Singapore, as well as strong industry interest and demand for trade events, the agency noted.
STB said: “The gradual resumption of trade events will help maintain Singapore’s position as a leading Mice hub and retain critical capabilities, while safeguarding jobs and livelihoods in industry and other related sectors.”
The industry generated more than 34,000 jobs with an economic value added of $ 3.8 billion, or nearly 1% of Singapore’s gross domestic product, according to a survey commissioned by STB in 2019. Business traveling mice are also visitors to high performance spending close to double that of leisure travelers.
Test proposals will be reviewed by the STB and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and organizers may only proceed after obtaining approval from the ministry.
Organizers must demonstrate their ability to implement safe management measures, including limiting the overall density of attendees and having infection control measures in place before and after the event.
Among the pilot events under this arrangement is the Singapore International Energy Week Conference, which is scheduled to take place in a hybrid format at Marina Bay Sands from October 26-30.
In addition, the Singapore Convention and Exhibition Organizers and Providers Association is collaborating with government agencies STB and Enterprise Singapore on a roadmap to provide guidelines on security measures and best practices for trade events.
This roadmap will be released at the end of September.
The Alliance for Action to Enable Safe and Innovative Visitor Experiences, one of the coalitions convened by the Emerging Stronger Task Force, has worked closely with industry stakeholders and government agencies to explore and promote new ways to facilitate safe and innovative experiences for visitors amid Covid. -19 pandemic, STB said.
The alliance has developed a prototype for safe trade shows and exhibitions – larger events that would not have been allowed to resume in their original format.
This prototype will be tested at a few trade shows, starting with the new TravelRevive trade show in November.
The alliance has also designed safe itineraries, which could include leisure activities such as private small-group tours of Singapore, to be tested with TravelRevive delegates.
A travel insurance product for inbound travelers to cover critical expenses related to Covid-19 is also in the works and will be available by the fourth quarter of this year, STB said.
“The mouse sector is strategic to Singapore’s economy, and its safe and gradual resumption will safeguard jobs and basic skills. It will also help those in related sectors such as hospitality and aviation,” said the CEO of STB, Keith Tan.
“These pilot events and solutions will help Singapore lead the way as a safe, reliable and innovative destination for Mice events.”
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