As revival of international tourism is underway, Singapore Tourism Board concluded a panel discussion on the topic ‘Singapore Tourism on the pathway tourism recovery’ at the 29th edition of SATTE held at the India Expo Mart, Greater Noida, Delhi-NCR on Wednesday May 18, 2022. The discussion was part of Singapore’s larger narrative of SingapoReimagine recovery initiative to chart pathways for tourism recovery with collective efforts. Key topics discussed included trends emerging in post-pandemic, initiatives taken by the STB to encourage the Indian travellers and Singapore’s focus on technology, ingenuities and sustainability to carve a niche in the future of tourism, among others.
The discussion featured prominent industry experts and thought leaders – Mr. Keith Tan, Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board, Ms. Thien Kwee Eng, CEO, Sentosa Development Corporation, Ms. Jean Choi, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer, Mandai Wild Group and Mr. Peh Ke Wei, Vice President, Market Development, Changi Airport Group.
Since April 2022, when Singapore started welcoming all vaccinated travellers with no quarantine/testing requirements, the country has witnessed healthy travel demand under the new Vaccinated Travel Framework, with a significant. The easing of travel restrictions comes at a favourable time for Indian travellers with the start of the peak summer family travel season around the corner.
India is the second most important source market for Singapore tourist arrivals for period 1st January to 28th April 2022, after Indonesia (Australia is 3rd). We had welcomed 91,200 Indian travellers for the period. As of May 2022, 70% of India’s pre Covid flight capacity to Singapore has been restored. Singapore is connected to 14 Indian cities offered by a combination of both full-service and low-cost carriers: Nine in South India: (Chennai, Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai, Bengaluru, Cochin, Trivandrum, Vizag, Hyderabad); twoin West India: Mumbai, Ahmedabad; and three in North & East India: Delhi, Kolkata, Amritsar
Singapore has also emerged as a key MICE outbound destination in the Indian MICE industry due to its top-notch safety and hygiene standards. Additionally, to become a pioneer in sustainable tourism, STB has developed a destination sustainability strategy and roadmap for the tourism sector in line with the Singapore Green Plan 2030. A focus on environmental sustainability and investments in sustainability solutions, such as food waste management or sustainable building management systems, will also be beneficial in the long run through better resource management.
