Talk about events reimagined! A few weeks ago Northstar Meetings Group
partnered with the Singapore Tourism Board for a "Social Fam Trip".
While scores of planners from all over the world were hosted for our
Meetings & Conventions Asia Singapore event, Joanne Ireland, J Grant
Caplan, and Timothy Glanzer, and I were able to spend a few extra days
sampling the latest technology, state-of-the-art facilities, new
sustainability and wellness initiatives and range of activities
available to meeting planners right now in Singapore.
Check out the video below and the recap below.
Upon my arrival in Singapore in August, travelling from Changi
Airport to my hotel, it's always inspiring to see the city's skyline in
early morning. The view from the pool at the Parkroyal Collection Marina
Bay, where I freshened up before my first full day experiencing
Singapore's reimagined MICE capabilities, was pretty terrific, too.
Our first stop – the historic Chjimes building complex, which began
as a Catholic convent in the mid-1800s, is now a very architecturally
distinctive self-contained city block in Singapore. While there we
enjoyed a delicious lunch at Lei Garden Restaurant, one of Singapore’s
many Michelin-star restaurants. Joining me for lunch is J. Grant Caplan,
President, Procurigence; Joanne Ireland, President, Ireland
Presentations, Inc.; Derek Wee, Videographer; and Jayne Yeo, Manager,
Singapore Tourism Board.
A highlight of our visit was the tours of the many amazing meeting
venues. Here we toured the National Gallery Singapore, which houses the
world’s largest public display of modern Southeast Asian art.
The Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay wows with its architecture,
it’s quite literal farm-to-table urban farm (steps away from its
primary kitchen) and it’s championing environmental responsibility, here
illustrated by its 13m-tall living green wall, which greets you at its
main entrance.
Chef Francois Mermilliod was our gracious host for a fabulous dinner at Bar-A-Thym, one of Singapore’s best French restaurants.
Killiney Kopitiam is the oldest Hainanese coffee shop in Singapore,
established over 100 years ago. If you’re a coffee lover and you want a
traditional Singapore culinary experience, you have to visit Killiney at
its original location. Tip: Ask a local to translate the menu for you!
And of course, no culinary adventure to Singapore is complete without
visiting Lau Pa Sat, not only for the good food but to seep in the
history and traditions of old Singapore.
A highlight of the visit was experiencing the Marina Bay Sands Hybrid
Studio. No, the picture at the top right was not taken at the venue’s
iconic rooftop pool – it’s in the studio, which simulated the pool deck
experience. I addressed an audience of MICE industry professionals as a
hologram, “beamed” into the conference room live from an adjacent room.
Timothy Glanzer, Chief Elevation Officer, Elevated Meeting Solutions
from the US; Darren Tan, Managing Director, World Express Group, from
Singapore; and Marisa Lutter, Director, Wi Communications, from Germany,
joined me in-studio for a “Meet Across the World” panel discussion to
culminate the experience.
Looking for an “immersive” venue for an event? Look no further than
the Resorts World Sentosa S.E.A. Aquarium, where we hosted a successful
welcome reception. Here I am addressing our group.
Singapore is known as the “Garden City”, and there’s no better way to
tour it than by bike. Specially curated cycling experiences offered by
the Mandarin Oriental, Singapore combine wellness and eco-friendly
tourism. After freshening up, I enjoyed visiting The Intan. Owned and
curated by Alvin Yapp, this unique Peranakan heritage home-museum is a
fabulous place to bring small groups to learn about a fascinating
culture unique to Singapore.
After I continued the wellness theme with an early morning yoga
session at the beautifully and recently restored Raffles Hotel
Singapore, Joanne, Tim and Grant joined me for a personal history lesson
and tour provided by Leslie Danker, the hotel’s resident historian, who
recently released a memoir of his nearly 50-year career with the city’s
most iconic “grande dame” hotel. Tour highlights included a
back-of-the-house tour of Butcher’s Block, an avant-garde wood-fire
dining experience led by Chef de Cuisine Jordan Keao, and – not to be
missed – a lesson in concocting one of the 2,000 Singapore Slings that
are served daily at Raffles’ famous Long Bar.
When it comes to meeting venues, there are great places to meet
across the city. Want to do something completely different? Check out
HUONE Meeting and Event Venues in the happening Clarke Quay District.
Need something bigger and outside the city center? Visit the Capella
Hotel Singapore, with it’s state-of-the-art 81 sqm LED wall and it’s
healthy catering menus from sustainable food sources.
And don’t forget the airport. Adjacent to and a short 5- to 10-minute
enclosed walk from Changi International Airport is the HSBC Rain
Vortex, the world’s tallest indoor waterfall. There are cool meeting
rooms here too.
There’s no shortage of activities in and around Singapore. Our last
day on Sentosa included a tour of Sentosa Golf Club led by Andrew
Johnston, GM and Director of Agronomy, who is considered one of golf’s
most innovative leaders for his pioneering sustainability best practices
at the world’s 55th best golf course, as ranked by Golf Digest
magazine. A boat excursion and team-building exercise on St. John’s
Island, where Sir Stamford Raffles made anchorage in 1819, was a
highlight. We celebrated our visit during drinks at Sago House, ranked
as one of Singapore’s 50 best bars, and at a rooftop reception at The
Outpost Hotel Sentosa. Here I’m pictured with Sak-Hin Chin, Assistant
Chief Executive and CFO of the Sentosa Development Corporation.
It was a busy week for sure, one that was filled with new
opportunities and experiences, not only in keeping with the evolution of
travel and meetings, but leading it. Singapore has reimagined its MICE
industry. When it comes to leveraging the latest in technology,
sustainability, and wellness, in a city that embraces diversity and
inclusion, in Singapore the future is now.
View the highlights from Singapore’s 2022 Northstar Social Fam Trip: