SINGAPORE - The business events sector here will rebound to pre-pandemic levels by 2023, according to the industry's peak body.

Saceos - or the Singapore Association of Convention & Exhibition Organisers & Suppliers - cited the string of high-profile international conferences last month, and noted that it is "confident that 2022 should be a year of stabilisation, and 2023 a year of normalcy".

Its renewed confidence comes with the industry's new capabilities for staging hybrid meetings and a list of tentpole events already in the bag.

Mr Dylan Sharma, Saceos' vice-president of advocacy and communications, called the past 21 months a "long winter", but he noted that the sector - where 60 per cent of operators suffered "severe" revenue falls - is a different one from what it was in 2019.

Foreclosures, hibernations and consolidations such as the marriage between SingEx Holdings and Sphere Exhibits have taken place.

Firms are now learning to do more with less as the sting of recent layoffs remains fresh and new capabilities in broadcasting, data management and cyber security are now requisite, he said.

Even if the Omicron variant threatens to take the life out of the industry a second time, the quick embrace of hybrid meetings, adoption of sustainability and health and safety measures have made the sector more resilient, and Singapore an even more attractive destination.

The pandemic made the industry realise that though Singapore might be one of the top business cities in the world, there was a lot more to be done, said Mr Sharma, adding: "We have always been known for being clean, we have always been known for being safe. But the pandemic has actually strengthened our value proposition."

The recovery will not happen overnight but if fears cast by Omicron fade, a pipeline of marquee events next year and beyond lies in wait, he noted.

The Government, which frequently talks about the strategic role Mice (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) plays in Singapore's share of the global voice, is unwavering in its confidence in the "long-term prospects" of the industry.

Mr Poh Chi Chuan, the Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) executive director for exhibitions and conferences, said: "Mice events bring about significant spillover benefits to our economy, including bringing in business for our lifestyle and hospitality sectors."

Pre-Covid, the sector accounted for 34,000 jobs and $3.8 billion, or 0.8 per cent, of Singapore's domestic economy. Business travellers are preferred to leisure tourists as they spend almost twice as much. Average tourist spending was $1,450 in 2019.

"Business events such as World Cities Summit, Singapore Fintech Festival and the inaugural Singapore International Agri-FoodWeek are good examples of events that can advance our local industries," Mr Poh said.

"These are international platforms that bring global leaders and players in their respective fields to Singapore to exchange knowledge and ideas, while exploring business opportunities here and the region."

Earlier this year, STB opened a new office in Brussels in Belgium to tap the growing European market, which sent 2.13 million visitors to Singapore in 2019.

The Brussels office helped secure the Asian satellite event of the St Gallen Symposium, which took place in Singapore in May. It also won the annual congress for the Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats - a global association for lawyers and in-house counsel aged 45 and below - to be held next August.

A calendar of events stretching to 2028 is already taking shape.

Worldwide, surveys of companies and travel planners show people are eager to return to client-facing meetings and conferences, although travel for internal and staff meetings has mostly evaporated.

Mr Akshay Kapoor, regional head of sales at business travel management firm CWT, said a poll of its customers in March found that widespread vaccine distribution and reduced case numbers are the "most important enablers to see them return to business travel".

Singapore scores well on both counts, he said. "The government has done an exemplary job in achieving 96 per cent vaccination levels within eligible population and now with its booster programme. Singapore has seen the worst of the pandemic over the last three months, but that situation is now stabilising."

While Omicron has had limited impact in the United States, CWT has begun to receive cancellations and postponements of business travel and large-scale physical events in Europe. "The path to recovery is not going to be linear," said Mr Kapoor.

Without a domestic aviation market like its Asean neighbours, "Singapore's recovery depends highly on a quarantine-free travel ecosystem, not only in Singapore but also amongst the other large economies such as China and India".

While 80 per cent of attendance was virtual last year, the ratios are more evened out between the physical and virtual worlds this year, said Mr Sharma. The number of warm-body attendees will rise if travel restrictions continue to ease globally.

He added: "We hope to see this become more of a case of 80 per cent attending physical events, and 20 per cent who are unable to join us or choose not to travel, join virtually."

But with hybrid events bringing fewer visitors into the country, while costs of events soar with additional health and safety requirements, are these new meeting formats even sustainable?

Yes, said Mr Sharma. "The cost has gradually gone down with new entrants, new players, new solutions, but the value proposition, the engagement levels have actually gone up with customisation of virtual platforms."

PMG Asia Pacific chief executive Kong Man Haw agreed: "With the ability to live-stream to audiences overseas, our opinion is that hybrid events can definitely sustain our local events industry."

Mr Kong's integrated events management company, which started offering hybrid solutions even before the pandemic, suggests that local venues boost their broadband bandwidth to support new event expectations like live streaming.

He said: "The local hotels we work with, a significant portion have already set up studios where organisers can record events or perform event live streaming. This is a big draw for hybrid event organisers like us."

There is also the opportunity for companies to provide services across the regions, such as helping clients that want to deliver uniform sets of "happy hour drinks, wellness packs or meal sets to virtual attendees in a few cities in Asia-Pacific, Japan".

More than 30 countries have already imposed border restrictions since the World Health Organisation declared Omicron a "variant of concern" on Nov 26.

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) has called on governments to take "clear, consistent and thoughtful approach" and distinguish between business and leisure travel, especially when it comes to keeping borders open for travellers "getting back to doing business".

"In a recent GBTA survey of business travellers worldwide, 91 per cent said they are fully or partially vaccinated," it said.

"The random opening and closing of global borders has not been shown to be either a factor in mitigating the virus or sustainable due to increased impacts to economic and supply chain recovery."

For now, the local MICE industry is taking a stoic approach.

"The fear has always been the unknown, the uncertainty. But in the absence of the unknown, we continue to press ahead with a reopening roadmap," said Mr Sharma.

Mr Kong added: "2020 has demonstrated to us how unpredictable the future is.Our goal is to continue to be pragmatic, remain nimble and innovate.

"The outlook is still positive as we continue to receive inquiries about organising physical events in 2022."