As mentioned by STB Chief Executive Mr. Lionel Yeo’s presentation at the Tourism Industry Conference held last week, Changi Airport Group (CAG), Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will take an ongoing joint partnership, aimed at promoting inbound travel, to new heights.
Under a renewed three-year partnership, the three parties will jointly invest S$33.75 million, the highest-ever amount to promote Singapore as an attractive stopover and twinning[1] destination.
The partnership’s joint marketing efforts will focus on promoting Singapore as a stopover or twinning destination to travellers globally. This augments the previous approach of only targeting travellers from specific long-haul markets such as the USA and Europe.
Another focus area for the partnership is the broadening of a marketing program to woo business and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions) visitors.
The partnership will also refresh the Free Singapore Tour (FST), which provides transfer passengers with a free taste of Singapore’s offerings. FST will be expanded to include more authentic experiences curated based on travellers’ interests, such as a foodie tour where participants get to sample a popular local delight.
The Free Singapore Tour has been well-received, pulling in 59,000 passengers last year, up 8 per cent from the previous year. As of April 2017, it was rated as one of the top ten tours on popular travel website TripAdvisor’s “Top Tours in Singapore”[2].
Changi Airport Group’s Chief Executive Officer Mr. Lee Seow Hiang said,
“By collaborating closely with airlines and the travel industry, we can grow passenger segments, such as MICE and transfer passengers. With encouraging results from the current partnership, this second collaboration strengthens all parties’ efforts to raise awareness of Singapore as a stopover point and as a destination. We look forward to continue working with SIA and STB, leveraging on our strengths to pursue sustainable traffic growth in an increasingly competitive landscape.”
“This partnership reflects Singapore Airlines’ commitment to further developing our home base at Changi Airport and promoting Singapore as an exciting tourist destination. We are delighted to build upon our cooperation with STB and CAG, and leverage the SIA Group’s strengths to increase inbound travel to and through Singapore,” said Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Goh Choon Phong.
“STB’s collaboration with CAG and SIA is a prime example of how we partner with industry players for tourism success. This partnership between our airport, national carrier and national tourism body is a powerful one that has helped to boost Singapore’s tourism growth in the recent years. The renewal of this partnership reflects our confidence that we can continue to cooperate fruitfully to better serve our visitors and drive tourism outcomes,” said Mr. Lionel Yeo, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board.
[1] Twinning: Travelling to two destinations on one itinerary; an example would be pairing a city destination with a beach getaway.
[2] Accurate as of 17 April 2017.
