Singapore Tourism Board (STB)
STB proved once again to be the most highly regarded by MICE users. STB assistant chief executive Melissa Ow says: “We are truly honoured to receive this award for Best Convention Bureau in Asia for several consecutive years. The award entrenches Singapore’s position as the premier exhibition and convention hub in Asia and our success is in no small part due to our sound business fundamentals, excellent MICE infrastructure, ease of doing business, and the relentless commitment of our MICE industry partners.”
The Singapore Exhibition & Convention Bureau (SECB), a group within STB, is the lead agency for the business events sector. It drives business travel and events – a role it performs well according to organisers and planners. STB also initiates events. TravelRave, Asia’s mega travel and tourism festival was launched in 2010 and grew last year.
Henning Boysen, chairman of Kuoni Group, says: “The way TravelRave has been put together and run has been seamless, professional and very efficient.”
Ow says: “We will continue to work alongside our industry partners to identify innovative and new ways to further strengthen the entire customer experience, and to help business travellers maximise their trips.”
Meetings and Exhibitions Hong Kong (MEHK)
MEHK took second place but still has a lot to celebrate, having hosted the International Society for Quality in Health Care conference for the first time, and the inaugural WineFuture Hong Kong that helped further its goal to be Asia’s wine hub.
In addition, an Economic Impact Study, conducted by the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Industry Association, indicated that the exhibitions industry injected US$4.6 billion into the local economy in 2010. According to the association, more companies are heading to Hong Kong to launch their products in mainland China and Asia.
Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB)
In third place is Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), which continues to remain engaged with the industry despite national crises. The Bureau swung into action early this year with subsidies and support announced for foreign exhibition organisers including its Extra Night, Extra Smile, Better the Best, and Be My Guest promotions.
Big events won as part of its Believe in Thailand campaign included Herbalife Extravaganza 2011 (25,000 attendees), Rotary Bangkok 2012 (30,000) and the 2013 World Philatelic Exhibition (20,000) and the World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 2014 (2,500).
The bureau also announced an official bid for the World Expo 2020, drove sustainable industry development and worked closely with the private sector on a number of initiatives, including a five-year roadmap on the back of its first-ever White Paper.