Singapore's New Vision for Tourism

Tourism Compass 2020

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has unveiled its new vision and strategy to seal Singapore’s position as a quality, world-class destination.

Tourism Compass 2020 was the idea of Tony Lai, STB's assistant chief executive. He worked on the idea for more than two years, taking into account input from the Tourism Consultative Council, which comprises of representatives from the country's business, lifestyle, entertainment, marketing, travel and hospitality industries.

Tony Lai (left)

The strategy is based on four key tenets – sustaining a pipeline of original tourism experiences; renewing and rejuvenating the tourism landscape; harnessing the collective energies of Asia; and strengthening industry competitiveness through capabilities upgrading.

The scheme also calls for closer collaboration and increased innovation among travel industry stakeholders, to transform Singapore into “a city that inspires".

Oliver Chong

Oliver Chong, director of communications, STB said: "Ultimately, we want to encourage industry members to evolve from within, and to develop unique products that will drive sustainable tourism growth. It's not about volume; it's about creating a quality tourism product to draw quality tourists. At the heart of this new direction are collaborative partnerships, with players both in and out of Singapore. STB wants to inspire the industry, and not just dole out ideas. We aim to encourage co-operation at all levels and across sectors, with STB acting as a facilitator of ideas.”

Sylvia Tan, vice president, channel distribution, CTC Travel was supportive of STB’s new tourism roadmap. “This will preserve Singapore’s competitiveness for the long term against our regional rivals, who have more natural resources to tap into. There is no longer any point in just attracting vast numbers – I believe that it is more important to look at how to grow receipts," she said.