STB, CAG, SIA band together to court Philippine MICE

SINGAPORE Tourism Board (STB), Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) have joined forces to lure business travellers and events from the Philippines with generous perks and intensified marketing.

The trio “have been working individually behind the scenes in the Philippines” but have decided to come together due to the “huge volume of traffic from the Philippines,” said Carol Ong, SIA general manager Philippines, Guam and USTT (United States Trust Territories).

“The three parties have high confidence in this market when it comes to MICE and corporate segments. We have an ambitious target of 15 to 20 per cent increase”, said Ong.

Total Philippine arrivals to Singapore reached 676,000 last year, of which 20 per cent is MICE.

Adrian Kong, STB area director Philippines and Brunei, said arrivals from the Philippines is “consistent” and is Singapore’s seventh biggest Asian market.

Targeted at BTMICE to and through Singapore via SIA and its subsidiary SilkAir, perks from STB, SIA and CAG include customised packages featuring land and air components with preferential rates, and financial grants depending upon group size, among others.

Under this falls the trio’s collaboration called Singapore MICE Advantage Programme (SMAP), valid till December 31, 2016 for events taking place by December 31, 2017, and Be in Singapore 2 (BEiS2) which offers different qualifying criteria for different BTMICE segments.

Likewise, all MICE bookings made on SIA and SilkAir from now till October 31 for travel before January 1, 2016 will receive travel incentives.

Adeline Lee, CAG assistant manager for passenger development, said that as the first point of contact for MICE visitors, the airport wants to ensure a seamless passage and a world-class airport experience. CAG is offering perks like Changi Dollar vouchers as part of SMAP.

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