SINGAPORE — It's not only the weather that might come as a shock when the World Economic Forum moves from Davos, the Swiss ski resort after which it takes its informal name, to the tropical Southeast Asian city-state of Singapore in May.
"Singapore does not take risks," said Christopher Khoo of Singapore tourism consultancy MasterConsult Services, adding that he expected fewer attendees and that virus curbs would make it hard to recreate Davos' networking environment. Announcing the change late Monday, WEF's chief Klaus Schwab said the decision was made to safely ensure the first "in-person" meeting of business executives, government leaders, and civil society since the start of the pandemic to discuss recovery.
By contrast, Singapore averaged around 400 arrivals daily in October, the latest official figures available, less than 1% of those arriving during the same period in 2019. "It is not necessarily whether Singapore is ready to welcome them but whether people are ready to start travelling," said Lei, adding that many companies still restrict travel, especially for their top executives.