Urban Planner OVERVIEW Singapore

The SoutheastAsian island nation of Singapore is a compact,modern,multicultural city-state that’s perfect for meeting planners.Ninety percent of Singapore’s five mil- lion people speak English,which is one of four official languages (the others are Mandarin,Malay,andTamil).Singapore has a tropical climate,with an average year- round temperature of 75 to 88 degrees Fahrenheit.(November to January is the rainy season.) Due to its location at the tip of the Malay Peninsula,Singapore has long been an important trading post. It became even more so in 1819,whenSir Thomas Stamford Raffles,the founder of present-day Singapore, established the island as a British colony.Today,ChangiAirport welcomes more than 37 million annual visitors on 96 international airlines—manyof them attracted by Singapore’s business-friendly environment and exciting developments, includingnewhotels and gaming venues.For more information, visit the SingaporeTourism Board’s business-focused website at http://mice.yoursingapore.com.

DIG IN

Singapore is famous for its food—and one of its can’t-miss culinary attractions is the incredible variety of street food, sold from

what are known as “hawker stalls.”

One great place for visitors to sample authentic street

fare is the Maxwell Road Hawker

Center (http://bit.ly/ h0YPST), a bustling, 100-stall market in Chinatown where

you can chow down on the famous Tian Tian Chicken Rice, beloved by Food Network star

Anthony Bourdain, among many other delicious, inexpen- sive dishes.

ROOM TO SPREAD OUT: Just five min- utes from Changi Airport (and 15 min- utes from the city center), Singapore EXPO Convention and Exhibition Centre (www. singaporeexpo .com.sg) is Singapore’s single- largest exhibition facility, with more than 1.3 million square feet of available indoor and outdoor space. A new convention wing is scheduled to open in 2012.

BRIGHT LIGHTS, BIG CITY:A view of Singapore’s thrilling downtown skyline and the Boat Quay bayfront entertain- ment district.

28 pcmaconvene January 2011 www.pcma.org