Singapore launches new tourism campaign

SingapoRediscovers is a SGD45 million (US$32.5 million) public initiative aimed at attracting locals to hospitality and leisure experiences.

Singapore.- Three government agencies have launched the country’s largest domestic tourism campaign in history to boost local tourism and aid hospitality and gaming companies to recover financially from the pandemic.

The SGD45 million (US$32.5 million) “SingapoRediscovers” campaign is a joint initiative from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Enterprise Singapore and Sentosa Development Corporation.

It aims to encourage locals to experience leisure and hospitality in the city, thus helping local businesses recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

STB said it was is the largest campaign yet aimed at driving local demand, in Singapore, following Step Out Singapore, the campaign that followed the SARS outbreak in 2003, and BOOST (Building on Opportunities to Strengthen Tourism) in 2009 after the global financial crisis.

The campaign focuses on three broad areas: partnering local communities to help locals discover “hidden gems”; curating precinct itineraries; and collaborating with hotels, tour operators, attractions and precincts to develop quality experiences and attractive promotions.

Keith Tan, chief executive of the STB said: “Covid-19 has had a severe impact on many sectors of our economy, and it will take time for consumer confidence and international travel to recover.”

Singapore is home to two integrated resorts, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), which were both ordered to shut to prevent Covid-19 spreading on April 7.

They were allowed to partially reopen with capacity limits on July 1.

Both companies were heavily hit by the pandemic, with RWS having to reduce staff and Marina Bay Sands losing revenue.