Singapore welcomes 14.5 million tourists in 2012

And pockets S$24 billion returns - bring it on!

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) forecasts S$23 to S$24 billion in tourism receipts and 13.5 to 14.5 million visitor arrivals for 2012 at the Tourism Industry Conference today. STB also urged more than 800 industry partners at the event to come together to compete at a new level, and drive towards quality tourism.

Held at MAX Atria @ Singapore Expo, the Tourism Industry Conference is an annual platform for STB to share its plans for the year. It also brings together businesses from the entire tourism sector to discuss the challenges ahead and growth opportunities for the industry. The event was graced by Mr S Iswaran, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry who called for greater collaborative efforts from the industry.

Sharing the outlook for 2012, STB’s Chief Executive Ms Aw Kah Peng remarked, “While Singapore’s tourism industry has performed very well in the past two years, the ongoing uncertainty in the global economy will moderate our tourism growth prospects in 2012. The operating environment in Singapore has also shifted. To ensure sustainable growth, we must be cognizant of the evolving realities and continue to innovate and build stronger, more competitive tourism enterprises which are focused on quality tourism.”

Quality tourism: Understanding consumer needs and strengthening industry capabilities
2011 was a record year for Singapore tourism. Visitor arrivals reached 13.2 million, a 13 per cent year-on-year increase. More importantly, tourism receipts hit S$22.2 billion, a 17 per cent year-on-year increase. The latest projections by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) indicate that international tourism will continue growing in 2012, with Asia leading the growth at four to 6%. There continue to be opportunities to explore as Singapore’s top source markets are from the Asian region which has to date remained relatively resilient.

Illustrating the drive towards quality tourism, STB drew on Tourism Compass, a strategy direction for the future of tourism, developed collaboratively with the industry. Re-emphasising the need to sustain a pipeline of original tourism experiences, STB called for creativity and innovation to design experiences that would resonate with customers. This would require connecting with consumers and building a deeper understanding of their needs, to create relevant and value-added experiences.

Providing further inspiration was a panel of industry members who led an engaging discussion on consumer insights and how understanding their consumers had helped their businesses stay on top of the game. Enhanced customer experiences would also entail constant rejuvenation of

existing products and cleverly combining them with other activities and experiences, especially in distinctly Singapore settings like historical, ethnic or lifestyle precincts. Collaborations with precinct stakeholders and associations would not only ensure a varied stable of experiences catering to different consumer preferences, but also strengthen stakeholder capabilities and build longer-term sustainability.

Acknowledging manpower as a key challenge faced by the industry, STB reiterated the need to strengthen capabilities for the entire tourism sector, and further increase the value-add of the industry by building stronger companies and creating better jobs. The recently announced S$905 million for the Tourism Development Fund would support the co-creation of innovative tourism products and events, and the enhancement of workforce capabilities.

“Quality tourism begins with deepening the understanding of our target audience’s needs, giving us the impetus to invest in creating that special, sometimes intangible edge that enables our products and services to connect with the customer at a new level,” elaborated Ms Aw. “Building industry capabilities, raising productivity and improving the competencies of our service workforce will also place us in a better position to present more innovative experiences to meet the evolving needs of our customers. The opportunities for growth are exciting and quality tourism will help us take advantage of these opportunities for long-term sustainable growth.”