G B Srithar, Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia, Singapore Tourism Board shares his view on the strategy for the India market
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) plans to expand its agile, bold and creative marketing activations to strengthen the strong affinity for Singapore among Indian travellers. The Board’s theme for trade engagement for 2023 is “Ramping Up Our Pathways to Recovery, Together!”. Excerpts from interview:
How do you see the global tourism scenario unfolding?
Global tourism is set to recover and grow in 2023 and beyond, despite some headwinds that may come up. For Singapore, our overall 2022 tourism performance gives us confidence in the city’s appeal as a leading business and leisure destination for post-pandemic travellers. STB expects the tourism sector to continue its growth momentum this year, on the back of the global resumption for outbound travel and increasing flight capacity.
Singapore’s top priority has always been the well-being of residents and visitors. Keeping this in mind, we have consistently adopted a measured approach to public health initiatives while closely observing global developments. With continued government support, the global tourism industry has improved its capabilities, become more resilient, and taken impressive steps to navigate through the post pandemic world.
How was the performance of India market for Singapore in terms of arrival number, traveller’s profile, average stay and spend? Where does India stand as a source market?
Pre Covid, Singapore was consistently a top destination of choice for Indian travellers. With Singapore easing travel restrictions for fully vaccinated travellers without any Covid testing requirements, under the Vaccinated Travel Framework (VTF) from 1st April 2022, we witnessed the return of Indian travellers to enjoy the city’s diverse offerings.
In 2022, we welcomed 686,000 Indian travellers, which is close to 50% of 2019’s Indian visitor arrival number to Singapore, making India the second largest visitor arrival source market for us. Strong air connectivity to Singapore, with 16 cities having direct flights, allows Indian travellers to visit Singapore easily. In terms of MICE, we observed a strong rebound of demand and interest among Indian corporates making Singapore as a destination for their M&I activities – this included a large 2,400 pax movement by SBI Life. Pre Covid, India was our top cruise source market and in 2022, Indian travellers re-emerged as among the top cruise holidaymakers for Singapore.
Together with our partner-friends in India and Singapore, we step into 2023 determined to accelerate our pathways to tourism recovery. We are confident that Indian travellers from families, young adults to M&I groups and cruise holiday makers will visit and re-visit Singapore.
STB has been on an aggressive marketing and promotional activities in India. What is the India plan for 2023? What is the marketing budget for India?
Indian tourists are increasingly discerning in their travel expectations and seeking out fresh, unique and immersive experiences. In 2022, we had embarked on several bold and agile marketing initiatives to remain connected with Indian audiences. Singapore’s brand and destination affinity were strengthened through various consumer and travel trade activations, including a joint art installation project with St+art India, a SingapoReimagine Global Conversation with Network18 and social media outreach with Influencers like DJ NYK and Carry Minati.
In 2023, we have plans to ramp up on our agile, bold and creative marketing activations to strengthen the strong affinity for Singapore among Indian travellers. Through various consumer and travel trade outreach efforts, we will invite our Indian audiences to Singapore to enjoy an exciting array of lifestyle, events, entertainment, dining, and tour experiences. In line with our “Passion Made Possible” brand, travellers could immerse themselves in the experiences that reflect their personal preferences, travel expectations and interests. We will collaborate with consumer brands, content partners, airlines, tour operators and agents to create awareness and promote the destination.
What digital activities are in the store for India in 2023?
In our outreach with the travel trade community in India, we have adopted an omni-channel approach that connects them with stakeholders in Singapore, helping foster stronger relationships.
STB has been using a mix of cutting-edge solutions to drive awareness and affiliation. By using technology based on data and advanced algorithms, we can segment our consumer base into smaller, more specific groups based on various factors such as demographics, purchasing history, and interests. This allows for more targeted marketing strategies and personalised messaging, resulting in increased effectiveness and engagement with consumers. We are lining up an interesting array of digital marketing and social media projects in 2023 and are on the look-out for like-minded, creative collaborators.
STB initiated many green and sustainable measures. What new plans are in the pipeline?
The pandemic has shed light on the demands of the next generation of travellers, among which sustainability is a top priority. While Singapore is well-known as an urban metropolis, it views sustainability as integral to the city’s development. Over the next few years, STB aims to develop Singapore into a sustainable urban destination. To achieve this, STB will ensure that development efforts in the tourism and travel-related sectors contribute to national-level sustainability goals.
STB developed its destination sustainability strategy and roadmap for the tourism sector in line with the Singapore Green Plan 2030, with a focus on environmental sustainability and sustainable management. This was done in consultation with the tourism sector and refined by a sustainability study commissioned to assess the quantitative benefits of sustainable travel.
We hope to transform Singapore into a sustainable urban destination where it is fun to travel sustainably. We will embark on the sustainable development of tourism hardware and software while growing events sustainably, which will create a holistic visitor experience that is sustainable across all aspects and touchpoints.
Our journey towards sustainability is a collective effort that depends on addressing global challenges. Singapore as a responsible travel destination is constantly incorporating its commitment to sustainability into its tourism offerings in order to realize its goal of becoming a City in Nature.
Have you noticed any change in travellers’ profile from India post pandemic?
Singapore continues to be a top family destination among Indian travellers. Singapore offers a wide variety of family-friendly attractions, like the Singapore Zoo, Gardens by the Bay and experiences in Sentosa. We anticipate an increase in the number of young adult visitors as they are making travel a priority now more than ever. STB will continue to spotlight Singapore’s exciting offerings for millennials travellers who are looking for a mix of urban adventure and cultural immersion.
Indian consumers are also increasingly aware and seeking to do Wellness Tourism. This has become especially pertinent post-pandemic, with travel being seen also as a means to achieving holistic well-being. As Indian travellers’ expectations continue to evolve, we see that they are looking to all aspects of the travel and tourism experience. Singapore aims to cater to these travellers through our multifaceted wellness offerings that cover mental and emotional wellbeing, fitness classes, and lifestyle experiences.
As part of our long-term strategy to reimagine tourism in Singapore, we have developed various strategies and initiatives to establish Singapore as an emerging wellness haven. In fact, our tourism stakeholders have already begun incorporating wellness into their products and experiences.
Anything more you would like to add…
Our trade engagement theme for the year is “Ramping Up Our Pathways to Recovery, Together!”. It is our rallying call to our travel trade partner-friends to continue working together with us to promote Singapore’s experiential offerings and welcome their clients to Singapore. In line with creating and providing cutting-edge experiences that cater to tomorrow’s traveller standards, we intend to engage them in meaningful ways. Our 2023 calendar is packed with key trade engagement initiatives, spanning important B2B touchpoints as roadshows together with Singapore tourism stakeholders across key source cities, product update sessions with airline partners, wedding networking platforms in Mumbai and Delhi, MICE networking programmes and participation in trade exhibitions like SATTE 2023.
