Quite a few regulations, very clean and organized, very little traffic - not the typical characteristics at our previous stops, but Singapore – my final stop in Southeast Asia for the time being – is different. The SUNTEC Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre is also a bit different. On a small island like Singapore, space is limited, which means buildings rise high into the sky. As in Hong Kong I come across a small spatial miracle on six floors. Two large divisible exhibition halls on the 6th and 4th floor, conference rooms and a theatre in the 2nd floor as well as 31 meeting rooms in the 2nd and 3rd floor. In between, many areas for engineering, catering and in-house restaurants as well as a truck ramp for access to the 4th and 6th floor.
On the guided tour given by the project manager Sam Lay and Kelvin Ong I find out that several events took place here during the Olympic Youth Games and that preparations for events during the Formula One Grand Prix are already underway. Due to the structure of the SUNTEC, which is privately owned, about 1500 events per year can be realised - including the Asian subsidiaries of fairs from Düsseldorf and Leipzig. The issue of sustainability also plays an increasing role for the organizers from Europe and the U.S., but currently, there are no concrete commitments or standards at SUNTEC. Sam Lay tells me that in Asia, sustainability does not play such a great role as in Europe.
On arrival in the land of sheer limitless expanses, jumping marsupials and the most massive starry sky on earth, I hear a friendly “Hey Marko, nice to meet you. How are you today?” In Perth, the capital of Western Australia, I am greeted by Dean Lee from the Perth Convention Exhibition Centre (PCEC). Over coffee in the in-house espresso bar Velluto I learn more about the Association life in Australia (there are an unbelievable 12 different national associations for the meetings industry!) and that the events industry here is also not given sufficient attention as a separate industry - as in Germany tourism is at the centre of everybody’s focus.
The Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre is the only privately owned event venue in Australia that yields good earnings and excellent occupancy - for the most part through national events. All divisions are operated by the PCEC itself and thus Dean Lee says: “About two thirds of our turnover is achieved by our own in-house catering.” In Australia, acreage is plentiful; therefore the 6-separable exhibition halls all extend lengthwise at ground level. Only the Riverside Theater and the Bellevue Ballroom, with a fantastic view of the nearby Swan River and city centre, are located in the 2nd and 3rd floor!
The event centres are all a little “different” but they all have something impressive in common: they combine exhibition space, theatre, gala rooms and breakout rooms in one building.
The “Walkington Theatre” in Karratha, a small town of about 15,000 residents in the north of Western Australia, is different again: a theatre in the middle of nowhere which serves as a cultural centre and only offers one hall with 500 seats. The Operations Manager Marina Couchman, who I met by chance, gave me a glimpse into the theatre that was built in the mid-80s and gave me some interesting facts about the small and simple structures.
See you soon,
Marko Roscher
www.suntecsingapore.com
www.pcec.com.au
www.pilbaratafe.wa.edu.au/walkington/default.asp
