FORMULA 1 is adding fuel to Singapore’s post-pandemic events industry with 25 conferences, trade shows and meetings timed around the weekend auto-racing spectacular, according to reports.
The Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix F1 returns September 30 to October 2 after a break of two years due to Covid restrictions.
Ticket sales for the nighttime festival of speed are expected to match those of the 2019 event when a total of 268,000 spectators attended, the Straits Times reports.
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Among the conferences being held during on near F1 are the Milken Institute Asia Summit and another gathering of investors and corporate leaders, the Forbes Global CEO Conference.
“For many Milken Institute Asia Summit attendees, the Singapore Grand Prix is an added strong and powerful draw,” Curtis Chin, the institute’s first Asian fellow, told the Straits Times.
“It is absolutely clear that the return of the F1 adds to growing confidence that the Singapore’s MICE industry is firmly on the recovery path.”
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Singapore Tourism Board deputy chief executive, Yap Chin Siang, told the newspaper that top events such as F1 attract corporate events to the city state along with high-spending business travellers.
“The strong return of F1 and business events around it also demonstrate Singapore’s continued appeal as a choice destination for business and leisure,” Yap told the Times.
“Coupled with the increased interest we are seeing from event organisers to stage or scale up their events here, we are optimistic that the recovery of the MICE sector will pick up pace.”
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Singapore Tourism Board reportedly expects the number of events coinciding with F1 to be similar to pre-pandemic levels. About 90,000 delegates are expected for the 25 business events held around this year’s F1.
From Monday, August 29, masks are optional for attendees at events of more than 500 people, but rules on full-vaccination records apply.
Restrictions on venue capacity, group sizes and social distancing have already been lifted.
