SINGAPORE, 2 February 2022: The Singapore Tourism Board and five tourism industry associations launched the Safe Itinerary Guide and “Experience Singapore” Compendium last week as Singapore prepares to welcome more international travellers.
The two handbooks will help the industry design and deliver innovative experiences that are in line with new traveller demands. STB partnered with the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS), Association of Singapore Attractions (ASA), Singapore Association of Conventions & Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers (SACEOS), Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) and Society of Tourist Guides Singapore (STGS).
The Safe Itinerary Guide provides strategies to help tourism businesses better understand their consumers so that they can personalise travel itineraries based on traveller profiles. It also outlines how businesses can design safe and engaging visitor journeys while highlighting key capabilities such as data analytics and design thinking, which are needed to respond to future challenges.
For example, tourism businesses are encouraged to explore cross-sector partnerships with healthcare providers to give travellers added assurance during their travels or gamify their offerings to keep travellers engaged.
Key information from the guide will also be shared with overseas travel businesses and partners.
Meanwhile, the “Experience Singapore” Compendium consists of tourism and lifestyle offerings for leisure and business travellers across various price points and interests. This was also developed in partnership with the five tourism associations. They engaged their members to design and curate experiences for various customer segments.
For example, visitors looking to satisfy their wanderlust can take part in an aviation experiential workshop or explore landscapes around the world with a virtual reality flight simulator. Art enthusiasts can interact with art pieces by renowned artists through augmented reality, while those seeking a more exclusive experience can take part in back-of-house tours. Some of these experiences have already been incorporated by the providers into itineraries for visitors coming to Singapore on the Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs). The compendium even provides travel intermediaries with helpful information on healthcare services, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and telemedicine consultation services.
Singapore Tourism Board director, travel agents and tourist guides Kenneth Lim said: “As international tourism gradually resumes, consumers will have to navigate various health and safety requirements when planning their travels. STB has worked closely with our tourism partners to put these resources together so that they can design travel itineraries that add value and reduce friction for their customers. We hope that these resources will be useful as Singapore progressively reopens our borders.”
“Covid-19 has changed the way people live and travel, and we hope to encourage tourism businesses to develop creative and compelling offerings while providing a safe experience for visitors. We also hope the launch of the Experience Singapore Compendium will encourage and pave the way for greater collaboration across the tourism sector,” said NATAS secretary-general and chairman of the Experience Singapore! Committee Charles Tan.
The Safe Itinerary Guide and “Experience Singapore.” The Compendium can be downloaded from the Travel Related Users’ System (TRUST) website (https://trust.stb.gov.sg).
