For Gina Lim, operations manager of Pacific World Singapore, serving her clients is about much more than business. “We work with many clients who become friends, or like family,” she says. So much so, that Lim has earned the nickname Mama G for her caring, patient and generous approach to helping organizations visiting Singapore to get the most out of the destination’s ever-growing offerings and rich history.

Whether running a site inspection for a major convention, suggesting tips on the best places for a small group to sample the city’s famous chili crab, or helping create a showstopping event on the beach or in the jungle, Lim invariably turns her business relationships into personal connections. She sees destination management less as work than as an opportunity to share what she loves about Singapore.

As an example, Lim cites INSOL International (the International Association of Restructuring, Insolvency & Bankruptcy Professionals), whose conference director, Tina McGorman, reached out to Pacific World this past December. It had been several years since the organization had held an event in Singapore, and McGorman needed some guidance in planning the 800-person INSOL Singapore Annual Regional Conference, taking place at the Marina Bay Sands in April 2019.

Lim offered venue options, menu suggestions and activity ideas — even after McGorman said her group might not be able to afford the destination management company’s services and would have to go on their own. “I said, ‘It’s fine — even if you don’t take our services, I’m happy to share the information,’” she says. “I’m very proud as a Singaporean to share all that we have here, whether they are clients or not. It’s not about whether I get the business. It just makes me feel good to help.”

The idea was to tap into Pacific World to help plan a conference dinner, but as McGorman’s work with Lim continued, a partnership blossomed, and soon Lim was assisting with the welcome reception, serving as floor manager on the day of the event and pitching in in numerous other ways. As has happened throughout her decades-long career in Singapore’s hospitality industry, Lim’s generous spirit resulted in generous returns.

“In my two decades of working in the event industry, I have worked with many good DMCs around the world, but very few that are exceptional,” McGorman notes. “Gina is exactly that — an exceptional business partner who makes the difference between a good event and a fantastic event.”

Lim recently celebrated her 21^st year with Pacific World, but her experience servicing visitors to the Southeast Asian city-state began in 1980, when she took a secretarial job in the security department at the Shangri-La Singapore. “In the 1980s, in Singapore, the Shangri-La was the hotel,” she recalls. “As coordinators, we were helping out with site inspections, client communication and more.”

Security was a man’s world at the time, but Lim was not intimidated by the challenge. She soon made such a strong impression on her superiors that they gave her opportunities to work with other departments — HR, sales, catering — and she was promoted from secretary to coordinator to assistant director of catering and then director. In the latter role, Lim helped organize the 60^th wedding anniversary for the ex-president of Singapore, where prominent figures, committee members and others were in attendance. The event’s success gave her the confidence that she could orchestrate VIP events, just as Shangri-La itself continues to draw major figures from the Asia-Pacific security industry at such gatherings as the annual inter-governmental Shangri-La Dialogue conference.

After having learned the ins and outs of hotel events management, Lim left the Shangri-La for a new opportunity. A friend alerted her that Pacific World was seeking a new staffer. After reviewing her résumé, the DMC ended up creating a new position for her as an administrator in the special events department, providing support for all of the organization’s account managers.

The work was more complex than working with a single hotelier, and at the time, Pacific World had just over a dozen people on staff. But as Singapore’s profile as a meetings and incentive destination grew — from 10.8 million available room nights in Singapore in 2005 to 13.3 million in 2010 to 21.2 million last year — so did Pacific World Singapore, and Lim evolved with it, rising from administrator to project manager to senior project manager to MICE manager.

“She is someone who is always striving to go above and beyond for the client,” says Diana Sani, head of meetings and events, Singapore, for Pacific World. “For example, if a venue doesn't quite match client expectations, she goes out of her way to fix it, even though it's not within her job scope and is of no direct benefit to her.”

Giving so much of herself to her job has sometimes meant sacrifices in Lim’s own personal life. Mama G has a son whom she has raised on her own. It was not unusual for her to bring him to work with her or to get help from her neighbors to look after him. In a situation that was not uncommon for a world banking conference, Lim once was tasked with overseeing the final-night gala event for 5,000 people at the Singapore Turf Club. It meant two days of set up and two days of take down and required her to stay on-site for most of the day, making it a challenge to have time to take care of her son.

That was about 10 years ago, and her son is now 21 and serving in the Singapore army. When Lim can take time off, she times it so she can travel with her son, such as a recent tour of Japan and one of Bangkok. She has passed along her passion for travel and exploration, and while she spends most of her days carefully planning itineraries for her clients and pulling out all the stops to ensure they have a terrific time in Singapore, when traveling with her son, Mama G gets a rare break.

“My trips overseas are honestly usually led by him,” says Lim. “My colleagues say, ‘he could work in the tourism industry.’”