The Wrap is a round-up of news in the travel and technology industries, and to keep track of developments in these sectors as the green shoots of recovery slowly take root.
STB, Visa collaborate to aid Singapore’s tourism and lifestyle SMEs in their recovery
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Visa have signed a three-year partnership to support local tourism and lifestyle small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) whose businesses have been affected by Covid.
The STB-Visa collaboration focuses on two strategic areas to revive the local tourism industry – marketing partnerships and joint research and analytics.
Joint marketing
In the first phase of their marketing partnership, to be launched this October, both organisations will leverage their respective campaigns – #SingapoRediscovers and #WhereYouShopMatters – to encourage Singaporeans to shop at local retailers and support the domestic economy.
Visa introduced #WhereYouShopMatters in August to encourage consumers to support local businesses in Singapore while helping SMEs to go digital.
The partners will introduce joint promotions centred on three key themes: Escape, Feast and Shop. The aim is to bolster spending at hotels, attractions, food and beverage outlets and other local retailers. They will also profile homegrown brands and business owners through content that highlights their aspirations, passions and adaptability. This includes showcasing how SMEs can adopt e-commerce and technology such as contactless payments.
The second phase, which focuses on international marketing, experiences in Singapore such as shopping, dining, sightseeing, events and entertainment, will be promoted through content creation, promotions and tourist privileges. These campaigns will be rolled out in phases in key countries based on the respective market’s readiness to travel. STB and Visa will also testbed initiatives to drive incremental spending through cross border e-commerce.
Data and research collaboration
This will see both organisations combine proprietary data, as well as research and analytical capabilities, to derive insights on how Covid-19 has changed domestic and international consumer behaviour. These insights will help identify new trends and untapped opportunities that will be shared with local SMEs for them to develop their own data-driven campaigns and initiatives.
STB and Visa have kickstarted the joint research with the report, Impact of COVID-19 on Tourism in Singapore and the Road to Recovery and Transformation (click to download). This 16-page PDF report found that local brands are worst hit by the pandemic, experiencing double-digit negative growth. The lack of an online presence has also left local brands more vulnerable to the adverse economic impact of the pandemic, especially those located in tourism precincts such as Bugis, Marina Bay and Orchard Road.
In the next phase of their data and research collaboration, STB and Visa will focus on the impact of Covid on business travel, as this sector represents the country’s highest yielding segment. An in-depth study to identify changing behaviours, new trends and growth opportunities will be carried out, and insights from it will guide future campaigns to capture inbound business tourism spend and help local SMEs recover.
STB chief executive Keith Tan said both STB and Visa want to help SMEs survive and succeed in the new environment. “We hope to help them develop new digital capabilities and transform their businesses. Through our partnership with Visa, we also aim to give local businesses a much-needed boost through domestic spending.”
Kunal Chatterjee, Visa country manager for Singapore and Brunei, added the analysis and insights derived would enable the company to support local businesses in their recovery. “ In addition, we will work with STB to revive inbound tourism when borders reopen, and more travellers start entering Singapore for business and leisure.”
WTTC Safe Travels stamp reaches milestone with 100 destinations onboard
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has reached a new milestone, as in just three months it has 100 destinations using its Safe Travels stamp, with the Philippines becoming the latest member.
The specially designed stamp enables travellers to recognise destinations around the world, which have adopted health and hygiene global standardised protocols so they can experience ‘Safe Travels’.
The launch of the global safe protocol has received the backing of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), and has been embraced by over 200 CEO’s including some of the world’s major tourism groups.
Gloria Guevara, WTTC president & CEO, in welcoming the Philippines said the organisation is “delighted” to see the success of the initiative and used by destinations from all corners of the globe.
“As the stamp continues to gain in popularity travellers will more easily be able to recognise the destinations worldwide which have adopted the new set of global protocols, encouraging the return of ‘Safe Travels’ around the world.”
Guevara added the success of the stamp was not only important to countries and destinations, but also to travellers and the 330 million people around the world who work in and depend on a growing travel and tourism sector,
MATTA takes its travel fair online
The Malaysian Association of Tours and Travel Agents (MATTA) has taken its 2020 travel fair online with its first-ever virtual event taking place from September 23-30.
The MATTA Fair Online, with tagline ‘Buy Now Travel Later’, focuses on domestic travel but also features future international holiday packages from about 100 participating exhibitors.
This new initiative signals MATTA’s efforts to kickstart recovery in the country’s travel sector devastated by Covid, as well as to create interest and confidence among consumers to travel again.
In line with this MATTA recently developed a digital platform to facilitate its members to sell holidays packages directly to consumers, focusing mainly on domestic travel.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the future of travel and we are in a position to seize new opportunities by transforming and enabling discovery and booking of travel products and services through a digital platform,” said MATTA president Datuk Tan Kok Liang in a statement.
He is confident the online fair will be a success for the participating agents and for the industry, boosting the tourism industry’s recovery.
The association plans to hold a two-day physical B2C Fair in Kuala Lumpur this November.
Visit MATTA Fair Online here.
• Featured image credit: undefined/Getty Images
