THE first virtual Singapore Tourism Awards held this week opened with a glimmer of hope for an industry forced to survive on domestic when Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong alluded to a tourism reopening roadmap over the next few months.
Mentioning “group travel” with safe itineraries as an idea that could be developed, he told the audience that “as more countries prepare to live with endemic Covid 19 and open up their borders and with higher vaccination rates around the world, travel by year end may be a possibility”.
He said, “We can reconnect with the world with effective safeguards in place. We will work with countries with high vaccination rates and good control over the pandemic to explore opportunities for travel.”
Meanwhile, with Singapore in heightened restrictions and its neighbours in South-east Asia facing record infection waves, it was time to recognise the “dedication and professionalism in the face of adversity, the courage to innovate and transform, and of course, the sheer grit” of the 77 finalists of the annual Awards programme, said STB chief executive Keith Tan.
New initiatives that were instituted because of the need to attract locals, said Tan, would no doubt be “similarly interesting for travellers seeking high quality, authentic experiences when they visit Singapore in the future”.
One such experience is “Fascinating World of Aviation PLUS Exclusive Hangar Tour” developed by Xperience DMC which won “Outstanding Tour Experience”.
When business disappeared almost 100%, Jane Goh, Director, Xperience DMC, which curates experiences for the MICE market, knew she needed to do two things very quickly; open up to the local market and create tour experiences that would attract locals. She started hunting for potential spots and on a cycling trip to the Seletar Aerospace Park, she knew she had found a gem.
“The vast Seletar Aerospace Park is part of the Park Connector Network, you can actually have this experience where you are cycling along the PCN, with the runway beside you.”
The area also has a rich history from Singapore’s colonial past. It was part of Seletar Camp, the British Royal Air Force’s most important military base in the Far East, and the area is still home to colonial black and white bungalows which housed military families back in the day, in a British enclave known as Seletar Ville.
It was on her fifth visit that the second part of the tour took shape. A fellow cyclist wanted to enter the private lounge operated by WingsOverAsia and Goh asked if she could do a “site visit” for a potential collaboration.
That discussion culminated in the “PLUS Exclusive Hangar Tour” part of the experience. Two months later, Goh was approached by JTC (Jurong Town Corporation), which manages the bungalows in The Oval (an F&B enclave) and asked if she would like the keys to a refurbished black and white. Now the full experience includes a walk-through of the old colonial residence of senior officers.
The tour is distributed through Klook and on Changi Recommends, and “has been very well received by the local residents, young and old,” said Goh.
Local players also had to get creative with their marketing and Skypark Sentosa by AJ Hackett won Outstanding Marketing Idea for its “No Scream (or Ice Cream) Challenge”.
During Circuit Breaker in April 2020, general manager Luke Johnson was worried about cashflow and reserves. The park had been geared towards foreign clients and he had to get creative about how he could get locals jumping.
First, he lowered the price of the jump over the promotional period, then he threw in a free jump for people who successfully completed their first one without screaming. Finally, to get the message out, Johnson reached out to Klook, piggybacking on its distribution channels and pulled off the entire campaign with almost no marketing spend.
Relying on Facebook and Instagram with influencers playing a big part in developing content, the campaign reached about 200,000 people on FB and 30,000 on IG over the four-month run.
It also became the springboard for Skypark Sentosa to launch its own Tik Tok page, which has so far garnered over 23m views, and reached 2m people.
Both the bungee and the swing were at capacity on weekends throughout the promotional period, and the reach was so extensive that people are still talking about it now, Johnson said.
“I always thought the domestic market was there, but it wasn’t a huge piece,” he said. Now that he’s seen there is a market and with 30-35% of jumpers being returning customers, this interesting marketing idea forged out of the pandemic could keep that market coming even when international travel returns.
This year, three new awards were also added to the Special Recognition Category.
The first, in line with STB’s stated vision to position Singapore as a top sustainable and innovative urban destination, was the Special Award for Sustainability, which saw two winners.
Mandai Park Holdings was recognised for its support of more than 50 local and regional conservation projects, through its various entities. MPH has also reduced its carbon footprint by 30% and reused 25 tonnes of horticultural waste in 2020.
Resorts World Sentosa was also recognised in this category for its use of technology for energy and water conservation. Its District Cooling Plant, that supplies chilled water to the air conditioning systems, is one of the most energy efficient of its kind in Singapore.
Chan Mun Tat, vice-president of facilities management & engineering at Resorts World Sentosa, credits this, along with data collected via its building management system, the installation of solar panels, and the provision of electric car charging stations, for the 18% reduction in RWS’ energy consumption.
The organisation has also adopted a rainwater harvesting system for general landscaping purposes on its premises and has ceased providing single-use plastic straws and sales of single-use plastic water bottles, saving approximately 130 tonnes of plastic waste annually.
Another Special Recognition Category, for the Most Exemplary Employer, recognised organisations that actively sought to retain and retrain employees during the pandemic. This award was given to Wildlife Reserves Singapore and Gardens by the Bay.
The final Special Recognition award for Community Care, which celebrated businesses that stepped up as leaders for positive change and displayed care and selflessness for the wider community during the pandemic, was given to Marina Bay Sands, Resorts World Sentosa, and SATS-Creuers Cruise Services Pte Ltd & Star Cruises.
In total, 34 awardees were selected from the 77 finalists.
