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SINGEX, the manager of Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre, recently invited key executives from the MICE industry and other business partners to celebrate the Lunar New Year of the Rat in February 2008 at its venue. The Guest of Honour was the Chief Executive of Singapore Tourism Board, Mr Lim Neo Chian. Singex Chairman, Mr George Huang was also present and the new General Manager of Singex, Mr Keith Oliver gave a speech updating everyone on developments over the year.
About 200 guests were treated to rousing performances by lions jumping on high stilts and poles reaching 6m high in the spacious Foyer 1. All the guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves watching the acrobatic ‘high jumps’ by the lions.
2008 will be a busy year for Singapore Expo, as there are more and bigger international trade shows, as well as conventions and meetings, entertainment events, consumer shows, banquets and other special business or private events.
Improvements at Singapore Expo
Over the last year, there were various projects completed
1. Obtained ISO 9001 certification for seamless systems and processes to help organizers and clients
2. Free Wifi was made available at Foyers 1 and 2 and in the atrium
3. Implemented 3.5G mobile coverage to give organizers and visitors the fastest wireless broadband connectivity available in Singapore.
4. A nursing room (in foyer 2) to encourage breastfeeding and cater to mothers with babies and young children.
5. Installed 33 fixed and 6 mobile LCD panels for organizers to advertise and promote their events, and put up announcements.
6. Upgraded some F&B outlets, which are open all year round offering a wide range of cuisine.
2007 Events
2007 was a good year for Singapore Expo. It was the venue for 17,000 Herbalife delegates at their Asia Pacific Extravaganza, the biggest corporate meeting ever in Asia. 16,000 of the delegates were from overseas. They also hosted the Standard Chartered Global Consumer Banking Conference with 750 delegates from overseas and the Nike Fall 2008 Equipment sales meeting with 200 overseas visitors. There were also the International Furniture Fair Singapore, CommunicAsia, Broadcast Asia, Singapore Food Show, SITEX, NATAS travel fairs and many other prominent events with overseas visitors.
2008 Trade Shows
1. International Furniture Fair (IFFS) – 9 to 12 March, increased occupancy to 7 halls
2. Food and Hotel Asia – 22 to 25 April, increased occupancy to 7 halls
3. BikeAsia 2008 – 10 to 13 April, 1st new show about everything with 2 wheels
4. Japan International Apparel Machinery (JIAM) – 13-16 May, to be held for the 1st time outside of Japan.
5. CommunicAsia and Broadcast Asia – 17 to 20 June, had already increased occupancy to 7 halls
2008 Consumer Shows
1. NATAS (National Association of Travel Agents) travel and holidays show – 29 to 2 March
2. Singapore Food Expo – 23 to 27 May, popular show on all types of food and beverages from around the region
3. SITEX – November, mega IT show featuring the latest models and best prices
4. Watsons, Metro, John Little, MPH, Popular Books under-one-roof-shopping expo sales.
Other Important Events
1. Train The Trainer – 28 February to 2 March
2. Easter Convention and Services – 21 to 23 March
3. Nichiren Shoshu Buddhist Association Concert and Religious Talk – 16 March
4. First Youth for Peace Symposium "Humanizing Religions, Creating Peace" – 16 March
5. Prophet Muhammad Birthday – 16 March
6. Elite Networking Marketing Congress – 5 to 6 April
7. The New Science of Happiness and Well Being " Simply-Happy" – 16 to 17 April
Singapore Expo is also the religious hub hosting churches, City Harvest, Faith Community Baptist and Bethesda which together bring 30,000 worshippers to Expo during the weekends, as well as numerous Buddhist, Muslim, Sikh and other faith events. There are also many intergovernmental gatherings and events at Expo.
Country Shows
This is a new category with shows such as Salaam India and the Korean Product Show. The President of Korea visited the venue during the Korean show which was from 19 to 21 November 2007. The Expo events services, facilities and operations team received an award for their efficiency.
For Salaam India, visitorship was above expectations for the first show in 2007 and more shows have been planned for this year and the future.
These country shows reflect the growth of Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre as the ideal location to launch into new strong markets like Singapore for foreign domestic industries. The vibrant networking and trading going on and the flexibility of the venue to allow shows to increase in size underscores the effectiveness of the venue for business success.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
