Digital transformation in Singapore’s MICE industry

• Main Authors: MAK, Candy, WANG, Poon King
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2016
• Subjects: digital transformation; Singapore; digital space; Asian Studies; Business Administration, Management, and Operations
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/ami/210; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/ami/article/1199/viewcontent/13_AMI19_Reaper.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

When business ground to a pandemic-induced halt in February 2020, the Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers (SACEOS) immediately got to work to keep the country’s Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) industry afloat. In the first month, it worked with the authorities to triage the situation. Within eight months, they produced a roadmap for a new hybrid business model which the rest of the industry could adopt. Less than two months later, they witnessed the new model being deployed on the global stage at the 2020 Singapore Fintech Festival (SFF) in December, which was broadcast live to 60,000 attendees and around the clock for over five days. Is there a secret to the successful turnaround, one that is exclusive to the personalities that make up this industry? Perhaps a propensity for change, or a hardened resilience from living day-to-day under Murphy’s Law? While that could be true for many MICE professionals, we also pay heed to the tireless efforts of many, as well as the unfortunate casualties, including event businesses that were shuttered when they could neither partake in the digital transformation nor outlast the pandemic. In this article, we discuss the lessons learned from the MICE industry in the context of managing change, mobilising talent, and building resilience.