SINGAPORE New and inaugural events have helped shore up Singapore’s overall performance in a difficult financial year with more than 20 business and MICE-related events being launched in 2009.

Melissa Ow, assistant chief executive, Business Travel and MICE Group, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), said: “There was an average 10 to 15% decline in event attendance [in 2009], based on feedback from conference and exhibition organisers. This was especially pronounced in the first half of the year, but business picked up in the last quarter.”

Ow credited industry partners for their resilience. “Faced with adversity, we rallied together and worked tirelessly to surmount the challenges,” she said.

Several key events on the conference and exhibition calendar were able to maintain and even increase foreign attendance levels. They included IMDEX Asia 2009, the international maritime defence exhibition, and inaugural International Maritime Security Conference that together attracted more than 5,000 delegates.

The second edition of BEX Asia, an exhibition for the Southeast Asian construction industry, drew more than 6,400 visitors, 20% of whom were international. Singapore’s chairing of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum last year also boosted the MICE industry.

More than 110 meetings were held during the year, culminating in the Leaders’ Summit in November. New event organisers also entered the market, including Broad Group (UK) and Journal of Commerce (US).