SingapoRewards platform, built by GlobalTix, simplifies redemption
While Hong Kong chose to give away 500,000 free air tickets and Taiwan opted for cash incentives of NT$5,000 ($165) each to 500,000 tourists to generate demand for their destinations, Singapore is choosing to reward them with “hidden gems” experiences when they arrive in the country.
Said Keith Tan, CEO of Singapore Tourism Board, launching the SingapoRewards programme at ITB Berlin, “We looked at what we needed. We did not need a programme for generating demand – that’s there – but where the gap is, is in exposing travellers to less well-known experiences, off the beaten track. The vast majority of travellers go to the usual attractions and repeat visitors are always asking, what’s new.
From left, Keith Tan, Singapore Tourism Board; Jean Choi, Mandai Wildlife Group and Chan Chee Chong, GlobalTix: Partners in showcasing Singapore’s more unusual attractions.
“It’s also in keeping with our strategy for quality tourism, people who spend more time in Singapore and understand us better – they become better advocates.”
The programme, to run through 2023, offers visitors an visitors an opportunity to try one of nearly 40 new or “off-the-beaten-path” experiences in Singapore for free. They can redeem them via the VisitSingapore app or SingapoRewards microsite. A panel will continuously evaluate the list and add new experiences.
The launch follows pilot trials in Indonesia, Australia and India and Tan said, from that exercise which ran from October 2022 to March 2023, “We learnt how to make the redemption process easier, to design the UI and UX better and which languages to focus on – Bahasa Indonesia, Mandarin and English. We also learnt which sort of experiences were more attractive and that helped us curate the programme.”
Different themes are offered – Novelty and excitement, Wellness, Dining and Sustainability. The tours range from the less well-known – for example. Broken Made Whole: Sustainable Coaster Making Workshop – to the better known S.E.A Aquarium + Behind The Panel at Resorts World Sentosa.
The pilot tests revealed the most popular were around sustainability and dining-related experiences. “We have some ways to go,” said Tan, “the most popular experiences now are those associated with the biggest attractions. We have to find a way to get ourside of that.”
He said no targets had been set on redemption but “we expect travellers who are more adventurous, from English speaking markets as well as individual travellers from China, the more intrepid ones, who hunt down cafes in Singapore that I don’t even know of.”
Taking lessons learnt from its SingapoRediscover voucher programme which sustained the island’s operators through the pandemic, Tan said, “It was about how to simplify. With SingapoRediscover, we worked with five partners. With this one, we worked with one partner, one booking platform, one booking pathway.”
He said tours and activities technology provider, GlobalTix, “leaned forward to design a good platform that is easy to use for travellers and will reward merchants”.
“In SRV, we also had hundreds of experiences and that can lead to analysis paralysis. With this one, it’s more curated. Our key KPI is that merchants benefit.”
STB will reimburse the merchants upon redemption of their activities.
Chan Chee Chong, CEO and co-founder of GlobalTix, said, “Operators of hidden gems are generally smaller in scale and hence it is important that they have easy to use tools that can help their daily operation, manage their inventories, update and marketing their products so as to maximise their sales. It was with this thinking that we designed and built the platform.”
Meawhile, at ITB Berlin, he said, “I care about the presence of the rest of Asia and South-east Asia. It’s good to see Asia back, that’s important for Singapore. Europe is a significant market for all of us as longhaul travellers like to make multi-stops.”
He said in the first two months of the year, the recovery rate of Europe has been strong – in January, it grew 60% compared to 2019 and in February, it grew 70%. “The recovery pace is growing. Our aviation partners tell us forward bookings are strong for the next six to seven months of the year.”
Prior to Covid, the STB had been looking into Eastern European markets such as Poland and “we will continue to explore this region”.
Back at the stand, media and visitors were exploring Singapore, learning about the new attractions at Mandai Wildlife Group whose “Singapore Zoo – Breakfast In The Wild” is among the curated experiences, and Jean Choi, chief of sales & marketing, highlighted the new Banyan Tree Mandai, the first resort by Banyan Tree in Singapore.
There was also gin tasting by Singapore’s first full-fledged micro-distillery of gin spirits, Brass Lion, whose Distillery Tour is also featured. Brass Lion opened in November 2018 and was born out of a visit to Germany by its founders who learnt about gin distilling from a local distiller in the Black Forest.
