After announcing its domestic tourism recovery strategy, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has also stated plans to resume B2B events over the course of the next few months. MICE events in Singapore have been suspended since March 2020, in light of the Covid-19 outbreak.
To ensure events resume safely, STB has developed a “risk management framework” entailing strict safe management measures. Event organisers must achieve five key outcomes:
- Infection control measures for every stage of an event attendee’s journey (pre- to post- event)
- Limits on crowd density
- Limits on close contacts between individuals
- Ensuring a safe and clean environment
- Preparing for emergencies relating to COVID-19
It has also imposed a strict limit of up to 50 attendees at any live event.
According to STB, the framework was created in consultation with the industry and is aligned with international best practices. “It arises from reflections and lessons learnt over the past few months, when businesses in Singapore’s MICE sector conceptualised and reimagined what a safe event could look like.”
Thinking beyond safety measures, Singapore MICE organisers, including WiT, have more boldly begun to experiment with new event formats that transcend physical venue spaces – specifically virtual-hybrid business events.
STB will trial this framework with selected pilot events, including the 2020 IEEE International Conference on Computational Electromagnetics (24 to 26 August 2020) and the Asia Pacific MedTech Virtual Forum 2020 (24 September 2020). Each event will feature a maximum of 50 onsite attendees, in addition to approximately 1,000 attendees participating virtually across both events.
STB and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) are also collaborating with the Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS) to formulate an Industry Resilience Roadmap (IRR) – a public-private partnership focused on three strategic objectives:
- Establishing best-in-class standards for new event safety measures
- Creating agile business models with a focus on digital capabilities
- Developing pathways for professional development in the post-COVID-19 world
Keith Tan, chief executive, Singapore Tourism Board, said: “Singapore’s business events sector has shown much resilience during this difficult period, and we are grateful for their innovativeness and adaptability. While COVID-19 has severely disrupted the industry, I am confident that Singapore will lead the way in reimagining what a safe and high-quality business event could look like. Together with our industry, we want to set Singapore apart as the world’s leading destination for safe, trusted and innovative business events.”
Aloysius Arlando, president, SACEOS, said: “Right now, our industry is at a strategic crossroads, and I am heartened that many of our members and industry players have leveraged this crisis as an opportunity to innovate and upskill. We are taking a whole-of- industry approach to establishing safe operating standards and resilient businesses. Together with STB and industry, we have marshalled our collective wisdom and strength to formulate the IRR and ensure Singapore can continue to be competitive; a global Asia node in a COVID- 19-safe world.”
Lead image: Getty Images
