Singapore Sparkles at First ITB Asia Show With 58 Countries Represented

The world's economic markets had a rough ride this fall. Nonetheless, at the launch of the three-day ITB Asia travel trade show in Singapore in October, the more than 5,000 attendees who gathered at Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Center were cautiously optimistic.

The show got off to a much better start than its German counterpart did 42 years ago. ITB Berlin, now the world's largest travel trade show, "attracted only 12 exhibitors from seven countries in its first year," Raimund Hosch, CEO of Messe Berlin (organizer of ITB Berlin and ITB Asia), said in a press briefing.

ITB Asia attracted 651 exhibitors from 58 countries and more than 800 hosted buyers its first time out. The exhibition space sold out in nine months.

Singapore was chosen to host ITB Asia because of its location, excellent infrastructure, ease of access, and open business culture. "It is the perfect environment for our new offspring to flourish," Hosch said. He predicted the show would grow by double digits in the next three years.

ITB Asia covered 114,000 square feet of floor space. Hotels, tour operators, tourism boards, and transportation companies showcased their properties, destinations, and services to corporate, leisure, incentive, and association meetings buyers. Sixteen U.S.-hosted meetings and incentive buyers attended.

The majority of exhibitors were from Asia Pacific, including Japan, Indonesia, Macau, Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. India, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East were also well represented. North America's eight exhibitors included Castle Resorts and Hotels of Hawaii, and Utah's Canyon Country.

Singapore is eager to attract meetings business. Two years ago, the government introduced the Business Events Scheme, a $120-million program that provides financial and administrative assistance for events and meetings. The business department of Singapore Tourism awards funding based on the duration of an event, plus the number of delegates. More information on the program, and an application are available on the Singapore Tourism Board Web site, www.businesssingapore.com/businessevents.

"We offer economic assistance, but we also can help open doors. For instance, we can provide access to key government officials," said Aloysius Arlando, assistant chief executive, business travel & MICE group, Singapore Tourism Board (which has offices in New York, at newyork@stb.gov.sg), and Los Angeles, at losangeles@stb .gov.sg). To date, the program has supported 450 events, including ITB Asia.

Despite these times of economic uncertainty, Arlando was upbeat. "Our location is excellent," he said. "International groups are drawn here because we are close to China, India, and Australia. Our infrastructure is excellent, we speak English, we don't have difficult visa requirements, and we have a pro-business environment."

Next year, two of the conferences Singapore will host are BioMedical Asia, with 1,000 biomedical industry players, and Singapore International Water Week, with 8,500 water-management delegates from 79 countries.

Singapore expects 2010 to be a watershed meetings year. On the slate are the Youth Olympic Games, expected to draw 15,000 participants, a new international cruise ship terminal, and the opening of two integrated mega resorts - Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World at Sentosa.

Marina Bay Sands, a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands Corp., is a $4-billion integrated resort in the heart of the city. The complex features three 60-story hotels, casino, art and science museum, theatres, a waterfront promenade, a sky park that connects the three hotels, and an 8,500-square-foot ballroom, the largest in Asia.

"We'll have one million square feet of meeting, exhibition, convention, and event space with 200 meeting rooms and 2,600 hotel rooms on the property," said the project's general manager George Tanasijevich, at a media briefing near the site.

Resorts World at Sentosa is also a $4-billion project. The family-oriented, 121-acre destination on Sentosa Island is a 15-minute rapid-transit ride from downtown Singapore. Highlights are Universal Studios Singapore, a casino, a marine life park, a water park, hotels, restaurants, and a theater.

Six themed hotels offer 1,800 rooms. The 1,235-acre Sentosa Island, already an established recreation center, currently offers established hotels, the luxurious Spa Botanica at Sentosa Resort and Spa, restaurants, and a golf club.

During ITB Asia, buyers were invited to visit many of Singapore's meeting spaces, including SingEx exhibition center and Raffles City Convention Centre, connected to the Fairmont Hotel. They also saw unusual meeting spots such as the Jewel Box, located on the top of Mount Faber facing Sentosa Island. The structure, accessed by road and cable car, has several restaurants with stunning views of the South China Sea.

Hotels are abundant in the city. A grand dame is the Fullerton, a former 1928 post office with 400 rooms that opened in 2001.

Other properties include the new St. Regis, famous for its champagne brunch and marble Remede spa, and the Fairmont, known for its Willowstream spa. Swissotel offers two convenient locations downtown.

World economic markets may be rocky, but ITB Asia participants were focused on the future. "ITB Asia is the perfect platform," Hosch said, "to prepare for the recovery to come." 

Contributing Editor Maureen Littlejohn is a freelance writer in Toronto.  

Milwaukee, The New Brew City

In downtown Milwaukee, a life-sized bronze statue of The Fonz, of television sitcom "Happy Days" fame, stands beside restaurants and shops lining the Milwaukee River. Just a few blocks away, the sculptural Quadracci Pavilion at the Milwaukee Art Museum, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, seems to float on the Lake Michigan waterfront.

That juxtaposition is typical of Milwaukee, where the old "Brew City," home of beer, bratwurst, and tailgate parties, coexists happily with the glossy "New City," a walkable downtown filled with galleries, eclectic shops, restaurants showcasing top talent (chef Adam Siegel was named the best chef in the Midwest in 2008 by the James Beard Foundation), and a wealth of music and theater venues. Add in miles of lakefront trails and award-winning historic districts, and those attending an Oct. 14-16 press trip could see why Visit Milwaukee Vice President Dave Fantle calls his city "an undiscovered gem and a perfect place for groups to convene."

The light-filled downtown Midwest Airlines Convention Center, home to a $1.2-million art collection, offers 188,695 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, a 37,506-square-foot ballroom with capacity for 2,500 diners, and an additional 39,364 square feet of meeting space, which can be partitioned into as many as 28 breakout rooms. Across the street are the U.S. Cellular Arena, with a 24,000-square-foot floor, and the 4,100-seat Milwaukee Theatre, the recipient of a $42-million renovation.

The convention center is connected by skywalk to two hotels that offer a combined 1,150 rooms: the Hilton Milwaukee City Center, a restored 1920s Art Deco jewel, and Hyatt Regency Milwaukee, which offers 19,986 square feet of function space, including newly renovated ballrooms and meeting rooms. (A guest-room renovation project will be complete next spring.) Five more hotels are within four blocks of the center, including the serene and contemporary 221-room Intercontinental Milwaukee.

Other notable hotels with meeting space include the 1893 Pfister Hotel, where a priceless collection of Victorian art hangs on the walls of the 307-room hotel. The combination of exposed brick, industrial architectural details, and luxe materials makes the 102-room Iron Horse Hotel, newly opened in a historic building near the Harley-Davidson Museum, feel both chic and down to earth.

The Harley-Davidson Museum is an off-the-beaten-track choice for receptions, meetings, and parties. Discovery World at Wisconsin Pier, an interactive science and technology museum complex, offers convention-goers plenty of space for creative uses, including a state-of-the art theater.

For more information, visit www.visitmilwaukee.org. 

Barbara Palmer is Convene's senior editor.

Kansas City Goes Beyond BBQ

A recent press trip to Kansas City began, as it must, with barbecue - at Fiorella's Jack Stack Barbecue, which offers an elegant (but still hands-on) take on the city's most famous cuisine. Everything about the experience was in keeping with Kansas City's ongoing revival, which turns on a sophisticated reinvention of its cultural roots.

The host hotel for the visit, held from Oct. 7-9, was the 213-room Hilton President, a gorgeously restored 1926 property with 12,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 4,500-square-foot Congress Ballroom on the 12th floor. The Hilton President sits in the middle of the Kansas City Power & Light District, an $850-million neighborhood development that spans eight blocks of offices, restaurants, shops, residences, and entertainment venues in the heart of downtown. The project is anchored by KC Live!, a two-level plaza fronted by a performance stage and ringed by 14 night spots.

Easily walkable from the Power & Light District are the Sprint Center, an 18,500-seat arena, and the Kansas City Convention Center, which boasts 388,800 square feet of column-free exhibit space on one floor; 45 meeting rooms; the 46,000-square-foot, LEED Silver-certified Grand Ballroom (which can accommodate 4,650 attendees theater-style and 3,000 for sit-down meals); a 10,700-seat arena; and a 2,600-seat fine-arts theater.

A few miles away sits Crown Center, a sprawling, leafy complex surrounding the headquarters of Hallmark Cards that offers two hotels (the 731-room Hyatt Regency Crown Center and the 729-room Westin Crown Center), 140,000 square feet of meeting space, and a 52,000-square-foot exhibit hall, plus shopping and dining.

Kansas City is also home to a variety of cultural and entertainment institutions that can serve as alternative event venues, including Webster House, an 1885 schoolhouse restored into an antique shop and restaurant; Union Station, a soaring, 850,000-square-foot train station built in 1914; the truly moving National World War I Museum at Liberty Memorial; the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; the College Basketball Experience, which includes the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame; and, in the historic 18th & Vine Jazz District, the American Jazz Museum and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum.

For more information, visit www.visitkc.com.

Christopher Durso is executive editor of Convene.