In line with the safe and gradual resumption of economic activities in Singapore, the island nation will start accepting applications for organisers to pilot MICE events of up to 250 attendees from 1 October 2020. This move to start accepting applications to pilot events of up to 250 attendees takes into account the importance of the MICE industry as well as the strong industry interest in and demand for business events. There will be pilot events taking place under this arrangement, such as the Singapore International Energy Week (SIEW) Conference, in October 2020. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) will review all MICE event proposals, and event organisers may proceed only upon obtaining MTI’s approval. Organisers who apply to pilot events with up to 250 attendees must demonstrate their ability to implement Safe Management Measures to meet a set of health and safety outcomes. The decision to accept applications to pilot MICE events of up to 250 attendees comes on the back of STB’s Safe Business Events Framework for business events of up to 50 attendees, which was first announced in July 2020. STB operationalised the framework with two pilots – the first concluded successfully in August 2020, while plans for the second pilot, which will take place in late September 2020, are underway. As more insights and data are obtained through these pilot events, STB will work with the MICE industry to adapt and adjust our protocols for safe business events. The gradual resumption of business events will help maintain Singapore’s position as a leading MICE hub and retain critical capabilities, while safeguarding jobs and livelihoods in the industry and other related sectors. To guide the MICE industry in developing its agility and building resilience post-COVID-19, the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS) is collaborating with STB and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) to formulate an Event Industry Resilience Roadmap (IRR). The roadmap will be launched later this month and provides timely guidance on safety measures and best practices in line with the gradual resumption of business events. “The MICE sector is a strategic one for the Singapore economy, and its safe and gradual resumption will safeguard jobs and core capabilities. It will also help those in related sectors such as hospitality and aviation. Public health and safety remain our utmost priority, and we have worked closely with the industry to create strict protocols and develop new ways of organising events. These pilot events and solutions will help Singapore lead the way as a safe, trusted and innovative destination for MICE events.” Enabling Safe and Innovative Visitor ExperiencesRecognising health and safety as key imperatives, the Alliance for Action on Enabling Safe and Innovative Visitor Experiences has developed a prototype for safe tradeshows and exhibitions – these are larger events which would not have been permitted to resume in their pre-COVID-19 format. The prototype has been developed in partnership with the private sector, and it will provide delegates with the degree of interaction they would be accustomed to in a regular tradeshow setting – but in a far safer way which minimises infection risks.
This will be tested at a few tradeshows, starting with a new event in November called TravelRevive – powered by ITB Asia & STB. Messe Berlin (Singapore), which also organises the annual ITB Asia travel tradeshow, will bring international delegates and businesses together to exchange ideas, bridge knowledge gaps, and reimagine the future of travel. To prepare Singapore for the eventual resumption of leisure travel, the Alliance has also designed safe itineraries, which will be trialled with the MICE delegates of TravelRevive. These itineraries comprise a selection of leisure activities that not only comply with prevailing safe management guidelines, but also provide high quality bespoke experiences supported by ground handlers and tourist guides, who will assist with visitor movement management. In preparation for TravelRevive, the Alliance is working with relevant Government agencies and industry stakeholders to deploy digital enablers to facilitate a seamless and safe visitor experience from arrival to departure. Foreign delegates of the pilot events will also be required to use TraceTogether app to facilitate contact tracing. To give inbound travellers further peace of mind, the industry is working with government agencies to develop a travel insurance product for inbound travellers by Q42020, to cover critical COVID-19-related expenses. Comments are closed.
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