SG govt allocates close to half a billion dollars for tourism recovery

The Singapore government is setting aside close to half a billion dollars to support the country's tourism recovery in the coming years. Minister of state Alvin Tan said during the Tourism Industry Conference 2022 that the government will also launch the Tourism Sustainability Programme (TSP) to offer tourism businesses with resources to identify strategic areas to embark on or expand their sustainability efforts.

The programme will focus on three main areas - capability and growth, innovation, and education and awareness. Support in capability building and training will be offered through Training Industry Professionals in Tourism. Grants such as Business Improvement Fund will be provided to improve companies' resource efficiency and competitiveness.

To encourage innovation, Tan said the government will support the development and test-bedding of innovative sustainable solutions through the Singapore Tourism Accelerator. Innovative technology providers and tourism businesses will work together to develop solutions in areas such as waste, water, energy and carbon emissions management that can be scaled up across the industry.

It will also continue to educate and provide information on best practices and focus areas to inspire businesses to consider new opportunities in their pursuit of sustainability. This includes the Singapore Hotel Sustainability Roadmap jointly launched by Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Singapore Hotel Association just last month.

Over the past two years, the Singapore government has set aside SG$320 million for the SingapoRediscover vouchers aimed at driving domestic demand and provided more than SG$1 billion in support measures for the tourism sector. 

The government also plans to position Singapore as an urban wellness haven to capture wellness tourism that is expected to boom post-COVID-19. According to Alvin Tan, wellness tourism is expected to grow in the next five years to hit US$1.1 trillion by 2025.

"We want to target secondary wellness tourists, who seek wellness experiences or healthy options during their travel to Singapore, whether for leisure or business," he said. To drive demand for wellness products, the inaugural Wellness Festival Singapore will be launched in June this year. The festival aims to become an annual calendar peak when the community, businesses and government collaborate to curate wellness programmes for all.

Some of the offerings include a multi-sensory pop-up at Gardens by the Bay together with wellness masterclasses, an inaugural Livewell Festival at Sentosa, and a series of art, wellness, and mindfulness programmes at National Gallery Singapore. "We will drive international tourism recovery and help the industry emerge stronger with reimagined products and experiences through STB’s grants and schemes," the minister said.

Four key pillars of Tourism 203X

The plan to position Singapore as a wellness haven is one of the four key pillars of STB's Tourism 203X strategy, which also sees Singapore becoming a sustainable urban destination.

In 2022, STB's chief executive Keith Tan said the country will participate in the Global Destination Sustainability Index for the first time, to benchmark its sustainability performance against other MICE destinations. It will also start on its journey for Singapore to be certified as a sustainable destination under the Global Sustainable Tourism Council's Destination Criteria.

Another focus area of STB's is for Singapore to be home to best-in-class MICE events. In the next few weeks, the country will host three major events: Singapore International Water Week, CleanEnviro Summit Singapore, and Asia Tech x Singapore. About 25,000 individuals from around the world are expected to attend these events

At the same time, STB also wants to raise the "fun" quotient of the events and experiences in Singapore by working with well-known lifestyle or entertainment brands and IP so that the events can stand out. For example, Gardens by the Bay will be hosting Avatar: The Experience, complementing the worldwide release of the sequel. In particular, the Cloud Forest will be transformed into the world of Avatar.

There will also be hands-on and educational experiences to engage guests, such as the Hells Museum at Haw Par Villa and homegrown brand Mr Bucket Chocolaterie, which will launch a new Chocolate Factory concept later this year at Dempsey.

Aside from introducing new events, STB is also refreshing existing spaces such as Orchard Road. A new concept named Trifecta will be launched next to the Somerset Skate Park. Trifecta is a facility where visitors can skate, surf, ski and snowboard and the tender has been awarded to The Ride Side.

Also, with the Merlion sculpture at Merlion Park turning 50 this year, STB wants to work with members of the public to create fresh, new content, products, and activities to commemorate Merlion 50. Additionally, STB has raised the grant cap of its Kickstart Fund, which supports pilots of new events, from SG$200k to SG$250k.

Continued support for tourism via SingapoReimagine campaign

Meanwhile, STB also plans to support in-market efforts for its SingapoReimagine international campaigns in countries including Indonesia, India, and Australia, by strengthening regional and global partnerships to feature Singapore.

STB's chief executive Keith Tan said during a speech at the Tourism Industry Conference 2022 that these include tie-ups with aviation partners such as Singapore Airlines, Qantas, and Changi Airport, as well as regional airlines such as airasia, Scoot, and Jetstar. Major online travel agencies such as Expedia, Agoda, Klook, and Traveloka as well as media and entertainment partners such as WarnerMedia are also among the list of companies STB will continue to partner with.

Singapore officially launched the Vaccinated Travel Framework on 31 March, allowing all fully vaccinated travellers to enter the country with fewer restrictions. As Singapore gradually reopens borders, STB will launch a new incentive programme that will offer visitors a complimentary experience when they visit the country. While more details will be announced later this year, Tan said STB wants to delight visitors with "hidden gem surprises" so they can experience more of Singapore.

At the same time, STB is also rapidly accelerating the SingapoReimagine international recovery campaign globally. In Indonesia, for example, STB has an ongoing collaboration with Artotel Group and Far East Hospitality where it designed unique Singapore-themed rooms while offering discounts at Far East properties in Singapore. Singapore's tourism offerings were also promoted with redeemable rewards at the Astindo Travel fair in Jakarta last month and STB is now finalising partnerships with Indonesian banks and malls to promote Singapore offerings.

In India, it featured a Singapore Experience Zone at the country's largest gin festival with over 5,000 physical attendees and a digital reach of approximately three million. It also launched a new collaboration with the St+art India Foundation, bringing together a Singapore-based artist Tina Fung and an Indian artist Osheen Siva, to create a large-scale outdoor art installation in Chennai.

Meanwhile, Tan said Singapore is the first destination outside Australia and New Zealand to have its own dedicated page on Urban List, covering the country's lifestyle offerings. Australian media house Urban List launched Urban List Singapore just last month.

Singapore’s international visitor arrivals (IVA) and tourism receipts (TR) reached 330,000 and an estimated $1.9 billion respectively in 2021. While these numbers represent only a fraction of Singapore’s tourism performance prior to the pandemic, STB said earlier this year that there have been encouraging signs of recovery in the tourism sector, with year-on-year growth in the last three quarters of 2021.

Becoming future-ready

As Singapore pursues efforts to become more attractive and exciting in the eyes of consumers, STB's Keith Tan encouraged businesses to continue upskilling their workforce through offerings such as the Tourism Careers Hub launched together with NTUC and Workforce Singapore last year, and the Tourism Technology Transformation Cube.

Doubling down on its AR capabilities, STB has developed 100 3D models of its points of interest which are available for free via its Tourism Information and Services hub. Since then, STB has also expanded into extended reality which encompasses AR, MR and VR.

For example, it worked with S.E.A Aquarium on an AR app for visitors to interact with marine animals digitally, and learn more about marine life, and Grand Park City Hall, on a solar-system themed AR app for younger guests. To expand these efforts, STB launched a grant call in February called "The Nest Experience" to create XR-enabled experiences around the country to motivate people to visit multiple points of interest.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's Content 360 is back for its 10th year! Running from 26 to 27 April 2022, the hybrid conference covers topics including the creator economy, value-based storytelling strategy, consumable content on social, as well as video and community content. Register today to learn, connect and level up with the best content marketers in Asia! 

Photo courtesy: 123RF

Related articles:
Singapore Tourism Board concludes global creative and media pitches
Singapore Tourism Board concludes PR pitch in Indonesia
SG tourism sector sees 'encouraging signs of recovery' despite year-on-year visitor dip
Singapore Tourism Board uses drone views to reimagine SG virtually in video series