SINGAPORE – Wristbands to track movements and partitioned meeting pods with microphones will be trialled as Singapore looks to revive its battered Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (Mice) sector.

Almost 1,000 business visitors, delegates and speakers, comprising mostly locals, will try out these new measures at the Geo Connect Asia 2021 event, at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) on March 24 and 25.

Geo Connect Asia is the first large-scale hybrid Mice event, this year, and the second one since the Covid-19 pandemic decimated international air travel.

It is also expected to draw about 1,200 virtual attendees.

The event will focus on geospatial technology, which refers to location-based data tech.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said on Tuesday (March 9) it will continue to re-imagine Mice events as it looks ahead to hosting the World Economic Forum in August.

STB executive director of exhibitions and conferences, Andrew Phua, said Geo Connect Asia underlines Singapore’s continued role as a key hub for international trade events.

“It also pushes new boundaries in innovation and safe events, marking an important next step for Singapore as we continue to test and scale such hybrid formats,” he added.

One of the new initiatives to be tested will be the Safe Event platform.

Created by local tech firms Viatick and Trackomatic, the platform will use geospatial technology to monitor a person’s movements during the event. This will be done through an app and a wristband.

Participants will be asked to submit a photo upon registration. They will then have to download the Safe Event mobile app.

At the event, they can check-in using facial recognition or a QR code. After temperature checks, they will be given the wristband which can also track their temperatures.

The app will alert participants if they violate safe management measures, and provide them with updates about the event.

On the meeting pods installed with plexiglass to separate participants, STB noted they had been tested at the TravelRevive trade show last November held at Sands Expo & Convention Centre.

STB has now introduced larger pods to accommodate four people, and microphones have been installed on both sides to let participants hear each other better.

STB added that ballrooms at MBS will also be converted into exhibition booths for the upcoming event, in order to facilitate distancing between exhibitors.

Mr Rupert Owen, the co-founder of Geo Connect Asia, said the safety measures being trialled will help to allow participants to have a good experience in a safe environment.

He added: “It’s… hopefully a new beginning for the industry.”

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