Singapore’s meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry was responsible for 22% of the city’s tourist receipts, worth SG$2.2 billion, in 2018, according to a report by Colliers International.
Marina Bay Sands played a significant role, hosting around 1.4 million delegates to the Sands Expo & Convention Center. They comprised 3,600 MICE events including 700 new ones.
“With a new 15,000 capacity conference center at Marina Bay Sands recently announced and The MICE 2020 Roadmap, Singapore will continue its focus on improving delegate experience through interactive technology, experience, convenience and thought leadership,” the report said.
Asia-Pacific proved to be the fastest growing region for MICE in 2018 after generating 28.4% of global revenue at US$229 billion, with Colliers pointing to the fact that MICE visitors spend around 1.7 times more than leisure tourists as a major reason MICE was seen as key to boosting tourism.