Singapore revs up to welcome year-end visitors

In the lead-up to 2003 and the year-end festivities, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) continues to pull out the stops to attract visitors to Singapore. With a calendar bursting with events, the Board is optimistic visitors will find Singapore a hard-to-resist destination.

Despite the October 12 Bali blasts and the uncertain economic and political climate, numerous high-profile groups have arrived or are in town over the next weeks, testifying to Singapore's appeal to a broad range of visitors. Moreover the high-spending MICE visitors are still arriving on its shores.

For instance, about 1,300 Indian incentive visitors are sailing the Malacca Straits and visiting Singapore in November, one of the largest incentive groups from India to come to the Lion City. Embarking on two cruises from Singapore on 10 and 17 November, this Singapore holiday is an incentive given by Amway India Enterprises as a reward to its distributors for a job well done.

Its chief executive officer, Mr. William Pinckney, felt Singapore was "absolutely safe". He remarked, "Singapore has established its credentials as a tourist destination that's clean, safe and offers value for money."

Amway India Enterprises' confidence in Singapore underscores the consistent message the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has been reiterating to trade partners and potential visitors: Singapore is as committed as ever to safety for its visitors. Moreover it is a great destination in which to live it up, whether you are a stressed-out executive needing a break, an arts lover catching a concert at the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, or just looking for a destination for your family to get together.

Another high-profile group which chose Singapore was the 650-delegate Harvey World Travel, one of the largest Australian-based retail travel agency franchise networks with operations in Australia, New Zealand and Southern Africa. Their annual international conference held from 11 to 14 November at the Swissotel Stamford hotel went without a hitch.

Mr Barry Mayo, HWT's Managing Director, explained why they stuck with Singapore, even after the Bali blasts on Oct 12. "Admittedly some of our delegates had concerns but the Board was swift in outlining how Singapore's authorities have stepped up vigilance. The STB's reassurances were augmented by our ground handlers Tour East who were unstinting in taking extra precautionary measures. All this gave us the confidence to continue with our conference as we had planned."

Although Singapore is still maintaining its reputation as one of Asia's favourite MICE destinations, the Board continues to aggressively market Singapore. It continues to showcase Singapore to travel agents and tour operators, one of the key ways to reach out to potential visitors.

From November 14 to 16, the STB, together with Singapore Airlines, will host a mega familiarization trip for 100 British and Irish travel agents. This trip will acquaint agents with Singapore, particularly as a twinned destination with Australia, which remains popular with many visitors from the UK. These agents will be taken to renowned venues such as the Night Safari and Sentosa.

Closer to home, STB/Bangkok will also be making sure travel agents from Thailand have a first hand experience of Singapore's sights and sounds. Once again with SIA's support, some 200 travel agents in five separate groups will be in town for a three-day, two-night itinerary from 15 November to 1 December. Collectively, these Thai travel agents make up the largest-ever travel agent familiarization group to Singapore from Thailand.

Mr Lim Neo Chian, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive, thanked visitors and major international industry players for their confidence in Singapore. "We are pleased that visitors are still finding Singapore an attractive destination, despite this period of uncertainty."

He added, "Following Oct 12, it has been a challenging time and we are still monitoring the situation. Ultimately, we are here for the long haul. People still need to travel for work or play in today's globalised age. The Singapore Tourism Board will be there to make sure their trip to our city-state will be as smooth and enjoyable as possible."