Singapore is intensifying efforts to attract regional travellers, particularly for short trips focused on events like concerts. This strategy aims to position Singapore as a top destination for those seeking leisure and entertainment experiences.
These regional visitors, residing within a three-hour travel radius, currently represent approximately 40% of Singapore’s global tourist market. The Singapore Tourism Board‘s approach to increasing this share involves a comprehensive framework dubbed the “three I’s”.
Singapore Tourism on Ideas, Investment, and Infrastructure
To achieve its goals, the Singapore Tourism Board is concentrating on three key areas. The first “I” involves gathering “good ideas” to understand what motivates regional tourists to visit Singapore.
This includes understanding the specific desires of those within the crucial three-hour travel radius. For example, the strategy considers how a concert in Singapore might appeal to a 30-year-old traveller in Manila who has saved for a good trip.
Secondly, the strategy focuses on attracting “investors” for co-investment with the government. This collaborative funding model is crucial for ensuring the sustainability of initiatives.
It aims to ensure benefits return to commercial players, local Singaporeans, and businesses, rather than relying solely on government resources. Finally, the third “I” is dedicated to developing robust “infrastructure”.
This includes creating more suitable spaces, venues, and acquiring necessary equipment to host a diverse range of events. “Most importantly to bring this regional tourist in, it’s about tapping to good ideas, co-investments as well as good infrastructure,” stated Teyi Guo, Director, Leisure Events at the Singapore Tourism Board.
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About the speaker:
Teyi Guo
Director, Leisure Events
Singapore Tourism Board
Teyi Guo brings 15 years of extensive marketing and business development experience in travel and tourism. A dynamic professional, she has established global brand strategies and developed integrated multi-market campaigns across over 20 countries. Guo also has six years in strategic partnerships, securing multi-million dollar contracts to advance business goals. Her background includes pivotal roles at Citi, SilkAir, and Ogilvy Public Relations. Currently, she focuses on developing high-quality leisure events to strengthen Singapore’s position as Asia’s leisure events and entertainment capital.
5W1H summary on Singapore Tourism:
| Category | Description |
|---|---|
| Who | 1. Teyi Guo 2. Singapore Tourism Board |
| What | 1. Attracting regional tourists 2. Focusing on short trips 3. Leveraging concerts/events |
| When | 1. Current strategic efforts |
| Where | 1. Singapore |
| Why | 1. Grow tourist market 2. Ensure sustainable tourism 3. Benefit local businesses |
| How | 1. Good ideas 2. Co-investments 3. Infrastructure development |
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q1: What is the primary goal of the strategy discussed by Teyi Guo? A1: The primary goal is to bring more regional tourists into Singapore, particularly for short trips and events like concerts.
Q2: Who are the regional tourists being targeted? A2: The target regional tourists are those within a three-hour travel radius of Singapore, such as a 30-year-old traveler from Manila.
Q3: What percentage of Singapore’s global tourist market do these regional travelers represent? A3: Regional travelers within the three-hour radius make up about 40% of Singapore’s global tourist market.
Q4: What are the “three I’s” strategy for attracting tourists? A4: The “three I’s” strategy involves gathering good ideas, securing co-investments, and building robust infrastructure.
Q5: Why is co-investment important for this strategy? A5: Co-investment with the government is important to ensure the sustainability of tourism efforts, allowing benefits to flow back to commercial players, local Singaporeans, and businesses.
Q6: What kind of infrastructure is needed to support these events? A6: The needed infrastructure includes more spaces, venues, good sets, and equipment to allow events to take place.
Transcript of the interview:
What I can do to bring tourists into Singapore, not just about the railway but also about flying into Singapore, particularly for short trips. The regional travelers, if you think about a traveler who is in Philippines, he is in Manila, he is about 30, in his 30s. He wants to have a great time with his friends, he saved up for a good trip, he heard about a good concert in Singapore. Would that put Singapore on the map and in his consideration set for him to travel to Singapore?
In doing that, we would want to do three things: the three I’s. One is get good ideas to find out what would make people want to travel to Singapore, specifically all these regional tourists who are just within the three-hour radius and they take up about 40% of our tourist market globally.
Secondly, it would be how do we get investors to come in to co-invest with the government, because we can’t be putting resources out there all the time. It needs to be sustainable; benefits need to go back to the commercial players, to the local Singaporeans and the businesses.
And third, how do we build infrastructure to put in more spaces and venues, good sets, good equipment to allow for these events to take place. For me, I think most importantly to bring this regional tourist in, it’s about tapping into good ideas, co-investments, and good infrastructure.