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The Straits Times
When news broke this week that the World Economic Forum was trading the snowy alps of Davos, Switzerland, for the tropics of Singapore it was widely seen as a public relations coup for the island nation and a testament to its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.
But the one-off switch in location for the forum’s Special Annual Meeting in May 2021 was also seen as something more: a shot in the arm for the section of Singapore’s tourism industry known as “Mice”, or meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions.
Singapore’s $3.8 billion (US$2.8 billion) Mice industry, which supports about 34,000 jobs and accounts for nearly 1 per cent of gross domestic product, has been hit hard as the coronavirus pandemic puts the brakes on international travel.