Increased Funding For New Tourism Projects in Singapore

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is now considering how to distribute its S$905 million (US$716 million) industry development funding over the next five years.

The large budget forms the second tranche of the Tourism Development Fund, which was established in 2005 with S$2 billion to support targets set for 2015.

Two-thirds of the fund injection, or S$640 million, will be used to establish new tourism ventures and projects, while the rest will be put towards supporting tourism-related education and skill-upgrading initiatives.

Key segments earmarked by STB for advancement include cruise tourism, the arts and entertainment sector, and the cultivation of the travel consultant industry as a key enabler for overall tourism development.

Singapore

Addressing the city-state’s tourism practitioners during this morning’s Tourism Industry Conference, second minister for trade and industry, S Iswaran, said: “STB’s strategy is to help local travel experts with established outbound businesses to grow inbound traffic, and attract global companies to set up innovative inbound operations here that draw traffic into Singapore and the region. Your partnership in this next phase of development is crucial. So even as we firm up the individual funding schemes, we want to hear from you on how we can make even better use of these monies.”

When asked how STB would attempt to establish closer ties with local inbound operators the bureau’s chief executive, Aw Kah Peng, said that consultative meetings with different segments of the trade were already taking place on a daily basis.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB)

“We have been doing this partnering the trade all this while. We have been using this same message over the last four years,” she said. “It is just that the industry has gotten bigger, so there are more players and we have to reach out more. If they trade players want to reach us, just call us. We are contactable. We are accessible. If they don’t call us, we will find them.”

CTC Travel’s vice president of channel distribution, Sylvia Tan said “Over the past year, we've had several meetings with STB. They have been working heavily on the ground, feeding us marketing insights that we've assimilated into our business strategy. STB is making a step in the right direction, and now it is up to the industry, and how receptive we are to new ideas to develop innovative products.”