IN 2022, WE WILL CONTINUE WORKING CLOSELY WITH OUR TRAVEL TRADE PARTNER-FRIENDS, UNDER THE THEME OF “CHARTING OUR PATHWAYS TO TOURISM RECOVERY, TOGETHER!”
MS. If you would like to summarize the learnings from 2021, then what would they be?
GB Srithar. Being Agile and Creative, Keep Connecting and Stand United – these were for me the main learnings in 2021. It has been a very busy and fruitful year in trade and consumer engagements for us, despite the many constraints that we faced. The tough pandemic situations through the year forced us to re-think our plans and required us to be agile, nimble and get creative in keeping Singapore in the minds of the Indian leisure and MICE travellers. Instead of stepping back, we stepped forward, aiming to be proactive in reaching out to our consumers and travel trade. We kept them informed of how Singapore is putting in place the essential protections to assure travel safety and evolving its tourism offerings.
We continued our firm belief in keeping our connections with our audiences growing. As part of our ongoing consumer engagement, we embarked on a series of innovative marketing initiatives in 2021. We began the year with an artistic collaboration between Indian Gond artist Bhajju Shyam and Singaporean artist Sam Lo in January 2021 to create one of the tallest murals in Little India in Singapore. In July 2021, we collaborated with Voot Kids and Green Gold Animation to present a “Gift of Smiles” to children and families across India – an animated seven-part webisodes titled ‘Chhota Bheem – Adventures in Singapore’. We had partnered with Foodhall India to celebrate the 28th edition of the Singapore Food Festival by bringing diverse culinary experiences at Foodhall stores across the country. And we have wrapped up the year with our Instagram reel campaign, where 27 influencers shared their favourite moments in Singapore to the beat of Khoye Se song and invited audiences to share their versions.
On the trade engagement front, our call of solidarity was #UnitedWeStand. This was to signal our commitment to stay connected with them and work together for tourism recovery. We started the year by organising a Virtual Tradeshow 2021 which saw more than 45 SG stakeholders and 2800+ participants for the 4-day event. Under the theme “Charting Our Pathways to MICE Recovery, together” we organised a virtual lunch session for 50+ distinguished MICE corporate decision makers from various industry sectors in February and August. STB India was the exclusive Platinum partner of International MICE Showcase 2.0. The virtual event assembled more than 800 MICE industry professionals and 93 global leaders from 50+ countries as esteemed speakers in 20 live sessions across three parallel tracks. We had regularly updated our trade partner-friends on the latest happenings in Singapore through our WhatsApp subscriber platform.
As 2022 approaches, the evolving Omicron situation will impact travel for at least the first few months of 2022. As travel conditions improve, we will continue to engage the travel trade and consumers to showcase Singapore as a must-visit destination.
MS. What according to you would be the top trends in 2022?
GB Srithar. Tourism is and no longer will be the same. More so than ever, the ability of a destination and its tourism establishments to provide good health and sanitisation practices will be vital in inspiring confidence and influencing consumers’ choice to travel.
Going digital & contactless:
Singapore has gone digital and contactless to provide added reassurance to its citizens and visitors when international travel resumes. For example, Changi Airport’s kiosks have proximity sensors instead of touchscreens, immigration lanes use biometric face and iris recognition and robots in the terminals spray disinfecting mist. Some attractions have gone completely contactless too, with apps that allow customers to pre-book at appointed time slots to visit the attractions. In addition, consumers will likely be more adept at using digital tools and may choose to consume services and experiences in different ways. The current COVID-19 environment presents an opportunity for Singapore to continue to reimagine tourism and design safe experiences for visitors through innovative formats and digital adoptions.
Immersive travel on the rise:
The one thing that the pandemic has taught people is to slow down and appreciate an unhurried life, which is why there will be rise of slow, immersive travel options. According to a news report by MakeMyTrip, more and more people will prefer travel that balances their itinerary with a languid pace affording them the time to explore more while eliminating the stress of rushing around many places to tick the boxes.
Conscious Travel:
According to a research conducted by Booking.com, 96% of Indian travellers identified sustainable travel as important to them, while 76% said they were more determined to make sustainable choices when looking to travel again in the future. Travelers are putting a lot of thought into planning their next trip – in terms of safety as well as being environmentally and socially conscious about their choices. This puts the travel industry in a position of great responsibility. Consumers are looking to make sustainable and more conscious choices and as travel picks up, there will be more pressure on the industry to identify exactly what is being done to protect the planet and understand how travel is positively impacting local communities. Hence, we expect to see a more sustainable approach to travel in the near future.
MS. What will be your plans for 2022?
GB Srithar. We remain confident in the long-term prospects of Singapore’s tourism sectors – both for leisure and MICE & business travel – as the fundamentals that make Singapore an attractive place for unique, high-quality travel and MICE experiences remain unchanged. In 2022, we will continue working closely with our travel trade partner-friends, under the theme of “Charting Our Pathways to Tourism Recovery, Together!” to present Singapore’s offerings to their clients. Continuing the innovative consumer engagement partnership projects we had in 2021, we will work with relevant brands to bring Singapore closer to the hearts and minds of the Indian travellers.
As travellers from India are likely to seek more immersive and longer stays in Singapore, we will present the different, re-imagined experiences in the city. Some new attractions that visitors can enjoy when visiting the country include: the Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC), a popular US-based attraction launched in August this year; SkyHelixSentosa, Singapore’s first open-air panoramic attraction that allows visitors scenic views of Sentosa and Southern Waterfront, opened in December; and Slingshot – Asia’s tallest slingshot, a new thrill ride concept at Clarke Quay, is due to open in 2022.
MS. What message would you like to give to the industry?
GB Srithar. I believe the learnings in 2021 are relevant for 2022. Let us be agile and creative in dealing with the evolving situations and how best to pivot our businesses, consumer and MICE corporate engagements and delivering safe, top-class traveller experiences. We need to keep connecting with our audiences with clarity, empathy and authenticity. And, as members of the travel and tourism fraternity let us stand together and united as partner-friends to chart the pathways to tourism and MICE recovery, together.
