Travel management company TAG opens Singapore office

Global independent travel and event management company The Appointment Group (TAG) is expanding its Australasian reach with a new office in Singapore.

From its current offices (Sydney, Melbourne, London, Manchester, New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles), TAG operates on a global level with the management behind artists including Kylie Minogue, Foo Fighters and Coldplay tapping into bespoke software programs which are linked from country to country. This means the artists’ necessary passport details, seating preference, meal requests, frequent flier numbers, riders etc. don’t have to be repeated for every tour stop.

Opened during music industry conference Music Matters this week, the Singapore post comes two years following the opening of TAG’s Melbourne office in 2013 and one year since its opening in Sydney in 2014, giving the 25-year-old company a total of eight offices.

TAG Singapore will be a natural extension of its Australian offices due to the favourable time difference –Singapore and Perth share the same time zone and the country is two hours behind Sydney –and the amount of trade that exists between Asia and Australia.

“We can take advantage of these synergies to ensure our Australian operations and Singapore operations are fully integrated and networked to maximise our 24/7 (after-hours) Emergency Support services for our valued clients,” TAG Australia Managing Director ShaneBarr told TMN.

TAG Singapore’s Touring arm – which locally has seen the Australian office work with acts including Foo Fighters, Coldplay, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Courtney Barnett and Flume in the last 12 months alone – will follow the same operational structure as all the other TAG offices across the globe;as will its Corporate division. It has opened with a team of three personnel to start, with plans to strengthen the team as the business grows.

“Similarly to when we opened in Australia, lots of our new business has been from word of mouth due to the level of service we provide in comparison to what the Australian entertainment market has been used to,” Barr said. “We’re looking for a repeat ofthat same success in the Asian market too.”

Singapore has grown to become a key destination on the global touring circuit, having recently hosted Rolling Stones, Ellie Goulding and Michael Buble with Mariah Carey, as well as festivals including Australia’s own Laneway Festival, Mosaic Music Festival and The Singapore Rock Festival, which was headlined by Alice In Chains and Korn. On the recorded front, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry’s (IFPI) recent report on digital music stated music sales in Singapore rose by 4.7% last year, beating out the US’ 2.1% increase and Europe’s market decline of 0.2%.

“The entertainment sector in Asia is a thriving industry,” Barr told TMN. “We’re looking forward to working closely within the key suppliers and companies within the Singapore entertainment industry and being an integral part of the local industry for a long time, as it continues to grow in the future.”