In line with the trends towards travellers seeking experiences beyond tours and activities, destination management company, Destination China and The Witty Guide, have joined forces to create a new agency to develop and manage programmes for more independent-minded visitors to Singapore.
Xperience Singapore Events & Travel, launched last month, is led by The Witty Guide, Jane Goh, who after years of being a tour guide herself, has decided to take the leap to creating and managing her own itineraries.
Goh, who led tour groups on behalf of corporate and MICE clients, as well as FIT travellers said, “Singapore is already recognised as a world-class destination for MICE, but we want to be different from the rest of our competitors by developing new experiences which will show that there is a lot more in Singapore than the usual man-made attractions and skyscrapers.
“We want our clients to get behind the scenes of our unique culture and modernity that will appeal to a broader range of tastes.”
The company will offer experiential programmes for MICE and FIT travellers, which aim to avoid mainstream destinations and showcase quirkier spots that make the city unique and bolster its reputation as a multi-cultural city.
Having taken visitors around Singapore for over a decade in her career as a tour guide, Goh has a unique perspective on what travellers are looking for and the curiosity they have about Singapore.
“Being a tour guide allows me to step in the shoes of a tourist or visitor, to see and feel how they see Singapore, and to interact with people from all nationalities. Every day is different as people all over the world ask different questions about our daily lives, and how our country has developed into this modern metropolis in such a short period of time.”
“The most asked question is, why are there no homeless [people] in Singapore? I joke that we do, just that we hide them away during your visit and bring them out when you leave.”
Her business idea also plays into the Singapore Tourism Board’s new campaign, “Passion Made Possible”, which encourages travellers to look beyond the places to the people who make Singapore tick in unusual, unique ways.
“Passion Made Possible”, as well as changes in travellers’ behavior, has also encouraged tour guides like Goh to step out of their comfort zone to create and market their own products.
After all, just as everyone can create content, everyone can also be a tour guide today. Airbnb’s Experiences allows residents anywhere to list their offerings and services, without having to get a tour guide license.
“The satisfaction I feel after every tour that a visitor is bringing home knowledge and a love for our little island, makes this the least boring job I every had in my career! It does not even feel like a job… [It’s] more like bringing new friends out to explore and enjoy the city and it’s many attractions.”
“One of the biggest perks of being a tour guide is you can tell the same jokes every day to people and they still laugh.”
Goh is active on social media and is self-taught on content creation, both static and video, for the digital age. She knows how to reach individual travellers and with this partnership with Destination China, will be able to dip into a deeper pool of customers, as well as through 12 internationally located sales and marketing reps.
With its launch, Xperience Singapore Events & Travel has also released a tour booklet entitled ‘Xperience Singapore’, which strings together a range of experiences catering to first time and returning travellers.
“The Xperiences put together in this booklet are some of ‘Singapore’s Unique Surprises’. These are options for those who want to get a deeper knowledge of Singapore, enjoy a quirky experience that is fun and interactive, and for those who feel like they have done it all,” Goh explained.
