With Mice takings above pre-Covid levels, STB banks on sustainability, bleisure for 2040 goal
Aim is for Mice tourism receipts to treble to S$4.5 billion by then
[SINGAPORE] Takings from meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (Mice) recovered beyond pre-Covid levels last year, bringing Singapore a step closer to the goal of trebling such receipts by 2040.
Mice travellers contributed S$1.7 billion to Singapore’s tourism receipts in 2024, more than the S$1.4 billion figure in pre-pandemic 2019.
The Republic aims to grow Mice receipts to S$4.5 billion by 2040, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan in a speech earlier this year. To achieve this Tourism 2040 goal, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) hopes to sharpen the city-state’s edge in sustainability, innovation and leisure offerings.
The Tourism 2040 road map responds to “how the world, traveller behaviour and business events have changed”, said Ong Huey Hong, STB’s assistant chief executive (industry development group) and chief sustainability officer.
This includes meeting sustainability needs and riding the trend of business-leisure or “bleisure” travel.
This is even as Singapore maintains its traditional strengths: a pro-business environment, good connectivity, infrastructure and safety.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Targeted efforts
“The global Mice calendar is highly dynamic, and event rotations are influenced by a range of factors – from business priorities and market strategies to location diversification,” said Ong.
To bring events to Singapore, STB identifies key economic pillars, analyses ongoing events, and develops a “hit list”.
The statutory board also positions the Republic as a gateway to the Asia-Pacific (Apac), and reaches out to organisers to understand their needs.
Such efforts helped to bring Semicon Southeast Asia back to Singapore this year, after a decade’s absence.
The event was launched in the Republic – as a regional semiconductor hub – in 1993, but moved to Penang in 2015 as the industry’s landscape diversified. It then moved between that Malaysian state and Kuala Lumpur in the ensuing years.
Even before Covid, STB was “aggressively pursuing” its return to Singapore, said Linda Tan, president of the event’s organiser Semi Southeast Asia. The deal for its 2025 return was formalised in 2023.
The country’s economic strength also played a role. Singapore continued to lead in terms of advanced manufacturing, integrated circuit design and innovation, and is a hub for research and development, she said.
STB also brings events here under memorandums of understanding, such as one with UK-based organiser Nineteen Group to hold the Safety & Security Asia event from 2025 to 2027; and with Messe Berlin for the inaugural Smart Health Asia 2026.
Event organiser Comexposium and Nineteen Group are setting up dedicated offices in Singapore.
Industry-wide collaboration is important to STB, which is why it is working with the Singapore Business Federation to strengthen the local Mice ecosystem and support local trade associations to bid for and host international or home-grown business events.
In terms of sectors, STB focuses on growth industries such as aerospace, logistics, applied health sciences as well as innovation and technology, said Ong.
Yet even while pursuing “marquee” events – inaugural and first-in-Asia editions, as well as large-scale, well-known gatherings – the agency is aware that “some of the most impactful” events may be those with fewer delegates.
C-suite conferences or exclusive networking sessions, such as the Milken Institute Asia Summit, may deliberately maintain a smaller attendance, with a focus on quality.
Destination draw
Beyond courting organisers and events, STB works to enhance Singapore’s attractiveness as a destination.
“Next-generation differentiators” are increasingly important, noted Jasmine Ho, vice-president for advocacy and communications, at the Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers (Saceos).
These include sustainability practices and digital solutions, such as those involving artificial intelligence (AI).
Event technology companies are proliferating, added Ong. These offer “hyper-personalisation” and event apps with AI-enabled translation, event summaries and more.
Their software can capture data on attendee engagement, for instance, which organisers value, said Ho.
As for sustainability, Singapore was certified as a sustainable destination by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) in 2023, and hosted the latter’s Global Sustainable Tourism Conference in 2024.
Nearly 30 companies have been certified under Saceos’ Singapore Mice Sustainability Certification, which is recognised by GSTC.
Event planner International Conference Services (ICS) fields clients’ requests for eco-friendly venues or food-waste recycling, noted its managing director for Apac Cheong Yoke Chun.
Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) even offers Eco-Mice packages, where Mice clients can get post-event emission reports, have meals made from sustainable or locally sourced ingredients, avail themselves of venues with energy-efficient lighting and use recycled stationery.
As at Aug 18, 61 per cent of Singapore’s hotel room stock — or 42,724 rooms across 100 hotels — has attained internationally recognised sustainability certifications, surpassing the sector’s target of 60 per cent by this year. (see Clarification note)
Built for bleisure
Another hope is that better leisure offerings – from Orchard Road’s rejuvenation to upcoming venues such as the Immersive Media Based Arts Theatre at Gardens by the Bay – will boost Mice-related spending.
Said ICS’ Cheong: “Before we sell a conference, we want to sell the destination.”
For India-headquartered Sun Pharma Laboratories, a diversity of experiences is critical when choosing incentive trip destinations.
The multinational company recently sent more than 6,000 people to Singapore on one such trip, which included a city tour and visits to Mandai’s wildlife parks, Gardens by the Bay and Sentosa.
“Incentive trips are most successful when they combine smooth organisation, engaging leisure experiences, and opportunities for professional growth,” said Murtaza Harianawala, its senior general manager for travel. “Singapore consistently excels on all these fronts.”
With the trend of bleisure travel, more visitors are partaking in leisure activities before or after Mice events, or even returning for leisure visits, noted Ong.
STB’s In Singapore Incentives & Rewards programme offers complimentary leisure experiences to Mice groups.
RWS’ Hotel Ora capitalises on the trend as a bleisure and “workation” hotel, with workspaces within a “trendy and creative atmosphere”, said a spokesperson for the integrated resort.
Strong performance
“The Mice industry in Singapore has seen a strong rebound, and 2025 is set to build on the positive momentum seen in the post-pandemic years,” said Ong.
Individual players say the same. In 2024, ICS nearly doubled the number of international Mice events it helped to organise, compared with 2023.
As at August this year, RWS has hosted about 13 per cent more Mice events than it did in the whole of 2024. It earned 7 per cent more in revenue from such events in 2024, compared with 2023. Mice enquiries for 2026 to 2029 are also outpacing the momentum of the past few years, said the spokesperson.
Singapore’s established events have been “consistently exceeding their visitor numbers year on year”, said Ong. STB’s pipeline of events runs as far as 2032.
Still, challenges remain. ICS has had projects fall through due to the Republic being too expensive.
“Singapore is not able to compete on costs alone,” Ong admitted, emphasising other value propositions.
Space is also a constraint. The country has about 200,000 square metres of gross exhibition space across six purpose-built venues.
With “very, very limited” large-scale event venues and growing attendance, future events might be split across multiple venues, said Semi’s Tan.
ICS tries to be “creative” and makes use of venues such as auditoriums and libraries, said Cheong. Hotels can also provide meeting spaces, and the supply of them is growing.
More Mice spaces are also in the works. Marina Bay Sands’ ongoing expansion will add approximately 200,000 square feet of meeting space; STB is also mulling over the idea of a downtown Mice hub.
Clarification note: A previous version of this story said that the hotel sector is on track to meet its sustainability goal. The sector has in fact met the target. The story has been amended to reflect this.
Copyright SPH Media. All rights reserved.
