Singapore: Where Every Moment Unveils a New Adventure

Safari Plus Intalk with Mr. GB Srithar, Regional Director, India, Middle East, South Asia & Africa, Singapore Tourism Board (STB)

Q 1) Indians have always looked to Singapore for their vacations. How has the industry grown over the previous six months of this year? Can you please provide the incoming data from India?

Singapore is among the top, preferred vacation destinations for the Indian travellers. We warmly welcomed a robust number of 6.28 lakh visitors from India during the period January to July 2023, a testament to the city-state's draw with world-class attractions, diverse culture, and excellent shopping and dining options. 

The addition of new attractions and a diverse range of offerings has contributed to enhancing the overall appeal of the destination.  Bird Paradise, under the Mandai Wildlife Group, now graces the Mandai area, complementing Singapore's renowned Zoo, and River and Night Safaris. The Palawan@Sentosa, spread across the sprawling shoreline of Sentosa island, offers a dazzling variety of activities over eight distinctive experiences, including Hyper Drive, Asia’s first gamified, electric go-karting circuit, a 18-hole mini golf course and Hydrodash, Singapore’s first floating inflatable playground. 

With these enhancements and the vibrant backdrop of international events, there are even more reasons for families and young Indians to visit and re-visit Singapore. Within a 3.5 to 5 hour flying radius from 17 direct connections from cities across India, the city is an easy-to-get-to destination of fun and exciting experiences. 

Q2) What effect would the movie "Lost and Found" release have in terms of Tourism, in your opinion? Is this aimed at millennials?

Titled ‘Lost and Found’, the film features a novel choose-your-own ending approach, which invites viewers to become a part of the narrative, steering its course through their choices as the characters lead us on a journey of discovery through the enchanting streets of Singapore. This will certainly be very engaging content for the young Indians or Millennials. 

This is a first for an National Tourist Organisation (NTO), as STB pioneers a strategic collaboration with a streaming platform, crafting an immersive campaign that puts the spotlight on Singapore’s unique destination attarctiveness and inspires travellers to explore the destination.  

“Lost and Found” follows the journeys of two characters, an introverted solo traveler (portrayed by Rithvik Dhanjani) and an adventure-seeking girl who strongly believes in the power of friendship (played by Apoorva Arora). As these two polar opposites embark upon a once-in-a-lifetime adventure through Singapore’s iconic landmarks and hidden gems, their fates are in the hands of the audience. The viewers hold the reigns, influencing the characters' decisions and eventual destinies, making each viewing experience unique. 

The themes of friendship, love, and passion are central to the story, aiming to inspire the audience to see Singapore as a destination of diverse experiences. Guided by the skilled direction of Harsh Dedhia and the creative brilliance of writer Kanishka Singh Deo, this film promises an unforgettable experience.

Q3) Singapore is a great place for families and children to vacation; what other audiences segments are you searching for from India?

Singapore is a very popular family destination and continues to draw high visitor-ship from the Indian family audiences. The variety of attractions from the Singapore Zoo, Bird Paradise to multitude of experiences in Sentosa, Gardens by the Bay, Museum of Ice Cream and different offerings by the Resorts World Sentosa draw many families to the city. They have fun and bond together as a family.  

However, Singapore is much more than a family-friendly destination. Increasingly, the young Indians are discovering the city as a fun and exciting city that offers a myriad of lifestyle, events, entertainment and dining experiences. Solo female travellers is an audience segment that Singapore caters to very well. The city’s range of experiential offerings to young millennials perfectly caters to the solo female travellers. With Singapore’s exceptional track record for women’s safety, such travellers often share that they are able to travel freely on their own terms and be inspired by the diminutive city-state’s boundary-breaking spirit.

Singapore is also well known as a cruise destination. Cruise holidays are all-in-one travel extravaganza. Cruise ships pack everything from swimming pools, spas, and fitness centers to kids' clubs onboard. Packages typically include everything from accommodation and meals to entertainment. Travelers have the freedom to do what they like and can also convene to have a meal together, making it multifaceted. This is why a cruise getaway is an ideal choice not just for families but also for traveling with friends, MICE and corporate trips. Currently, two ships home-ported, year-round in Singapore – Royal Caribbean International’s (RCI) Spectrum of the Seas and Resorts World Cruises’ (RWC) Genting Dream offer delightful cruise holidays with port calls in neighbouring cities. Cruise holiday makers can enjoy the city’s offerings pre or post their cruise travels. 

We also engage corporates across India to bring their Meetings and Incentive travel groups to Singapore. They can avail of our support schemes - Business Events in Singapore scheme for larger groups and INSPIRE programme for smaller groups to organise memorable group travels to our city. 

Q4) What strategies are you going to use to market Singapore to the Indian audiences?

Our innovative marketing initiatives in India encompass a diverse range of digital marketing, social media projects and creative, branded content collaborations. These efforts align seamlessly with our principles of destination marketing, including adopting agile, bold, and creative approaches to better engage our target audiences. 

We constantly and proactively seek out creative collaborators to work with and present Singapore in ways that bring the city even closer to the hearts and minds of the Indian consumers. 

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