Bali
Bali had a bumper year for events so it is no surprise to see the Indonesian hotspot retain its title as Best Resort Destination in Asia. As host of the 19th Asean Summit in November, the island anticipated an influx of business event arrivals.

A new purpose-built convention centre was added to the Nusa Dua precinct along with permanent show, Devdan, at the 700-seat Nusa Dua Theatre. Many hotels were upgraded, event companies took offerings to the next level and the government upped its support for business events.

“This is a golden year for Indonesia in terms of MICE,” says Nia Niscaya, director of MICE for the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Tourism. “We are aware that bringing corporate and association events to Indonesia is of great benefit to the country and the ministry now offers support.”

The support comes in the form of hosted welcome and farewell dinners, inter-governmental department liaising and bid assistance. Big groups to visit this year include 2,000 delegates for the World Renewable Energy Congress, 1,700 incentive winners from Oriflame Cosmetics, and the Siemens Asia Pacific annual sales conference. On the hotel front, new openings this year included Pullman Legian Nirwana and W Bali Seminyak.

Phuket
Phuket remains one of Asia’s most popular destinations for businessevents with great facilities and ever-increasing international direct flights.

Big business events this year included conferences for Allianz, Grundfos and Ocean Glass, as well as incentives for Fujitsu Australia, Flow Traders Singapore and Amway Indonesia. New hotels included Centara Grand, Angsana Laguna and the Naka Island. Plans for a convention centre have once again been stalled, but it doesn’t seem to matter with dozens of groups already confirmed for 2012.

Singapore
Singapore was a surprising entry in the resort category. Melissa Ow, Singapore Tourism Board assistant chief executive, says: “This is a considerable achievement for Singapore and is testament to our tourism partners’ efforts to offer more than the conventional city experience that visitors may expect from a small, urbanised country like Singapore.”

Destination attractions like Sentosa and the integrated resorts have redefined the MICE experience, says Ow, as they offer an appealing combination of meeting and convention space, celebrity chef restaurants, resort and themed accommodation, and shows, allowing for highly personalised and meaningful experiences for business travellers.