ASIA PACIFIC’s travel and event planners can expect to see more trade shows and forums being launched after the debut in Singapore of The Meetings Show.
The Meetings Show Asia Pacific, held April 17-18, at Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay, was described by a senior Northstar executive as the largest single event held in Singapore catering specifically to the MICE industry.
Northstar Meetings Groups executive vice president, David Blansfield, told MIX that the company was hoping to sign more deals to bring events linked to several of its brands to the region. Northstar also owns the Meetings Show in London
Blansfield said Singapore Tourism Board was prepared to renew its backing for a follow-up edition next year with exhibitors seeking more space and negotiations underway for the event to be held across two halls of the Sands expo centre.
More opportunities were on the horizon for further co-located events both “anchored in Singapore” while others rotated around Asia. Blansfield said new shows could follow examples set by the company’s MICE forums, its hotel investment conference HICAP, and events from Northstar brands in the United States and Britain that covered segments such as corporate and sports travel.
“We’re already getting renewals and people requesting more space,” Blansfield said of The Meetings Show Asia Pacific. “So it’s a very good sign. We have reserved the entire hall so our intention is to expand.
“Not only do we intend to expand on the MICE side, we’ll have new, co-located brands that we’ll be bringing to the region. We are anticipating to be making an announcement, hopefully within the next two weeks, of some of the other sectors of the travel industry that we’re going to bring,” he told MIX.
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The Asia Pacific debut of The Meetings Show was closely observed by organisers of established trade events in Australia, Bangkok and Shanghai. Figures for the Singapore show have yet to be announced but Blansfield said the event entailed two full days of conference sessions and an estimated 5,000 face-to-face meetings from buyer-supplier appointments to networking.
Competition for the interest of buyers and suppliers is also set to hot up with the expected debut of IBTM Asia Pacific in Hong Kong next year. The show, being organised by RX (formerly Reed Exhibitions), was originally earmarked for Singapore before the pandemic outbreak.
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Blansfield said Northstar had already planned to extend The Meetings Show to Asia shortly after it bought the London event in 2019 as the company expanded its portfolio with acquisitions in the UK. This followed magazine and event purchases in Asia, notably Web in Travel and the M&C titles.
“Those plans had been delayed, but coming out of Covid it was very clear that the MICE sector was recovering nicely last year. So we immediately seized on the business plan that had already been established to locate the Meetings Show here. We’re very grateful that we were able to execute with Marina Bay Sands and with the Singapore Tourism Board on that basis.”
