Sparkling Singapore

Thanks to its endless attractions and facilities that never fail to wow any spectator, Singapore remains a leading option for travellers heading to Southeast Asia. 

Singapore’s tourism performance has broken the record for two consecutive years. As recently announced by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the city-state has recorded an amount of SGD 26.8 billion from January to September 2017, an increase of 3.9 per cent from 2016 tourism revenues of SGD 25.7 billion. The boon comes from an increasing number of tourist arrivals from countries with high spending and purchasing power, such as China, South Korea, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Indonesia, listed as a potential and important market for Singapore tourism, sits behind China and India in terms of visitor arrivals, having grown by two per cent to 2,954,000. The growth is in line with positive sentiments of outbound travel from Indonesia as a whole. In December 2017, the number reached its peak with the arrival of 330,081 Indonesian travellers.

“Jakarta continues to be the greatest source of most visitor arrivals although big cities outside Jakarta have also recorded growth in 2017,” said Raymond Lim, Area Director Indonesia of Singapore Tourism Board.

Raymond also said that Singapore will be looking into discovering the potentials of other big cities in Indonesia. In October 2017, STB opened a regional office in Surabaya, which also serves as a base to strengthen marketing in the eastern part of Java, as well as Bali and Sulawesi. Meanwhile, STB office in Jakarta will focus on central and western parts of Java.

A popular choice for Indonesian travellers that’s predicted to grow this year is cruising. According to Raymond, demand for cruising among Indonesian travellers heading to Singapore has resulted in 421 ship calls. Based on this trend, a new scheme called Cruise Development Fund has been launched to promote cruise packages and call on tourists to stop by in Singapore before and after cruising.

In 2017, STB and the Economic Development Board introduced the new brand “Passion Made Possible” where the country tries to connects with international audiences to a deeper level through inspiring stories and authentic representation about Singapore. By appointing a celebrity family – Presenter/Actor Gading Marten, Singer Gisella Anastasia and their daughter Gempi – as brand ambassadors for its new marketing campaign, STB aims to set Singapore as the place to explore and chase passion.

The marketing campaign will be aided by other initiatives to boost tourist attractions and industrial competitiveness.

Other upcoming highlights include the Disney Star Wars (under a three-year partnership with Disney), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Fight Night Singapore and the International Champions Cup Singapore. Moreover, Singapore has also extended the contract for Formula One Singapore Grand Prix for four more years. These world-class events are poised to enhance Singapore’s attractiveness among travellers from Indonesia.

Singapore is targeting to collect tourism receipts totalling SGD 27.6 billion this year, an increase of between one and three per cent. It’s also aiming to welcome between 17.6 million to 18.1 million international visitors, which is an increase of between one to four per cent.

Sari Widiati

Sari has been an arts and culture enthusiast for many years. She has written extensively on the arts, travel, and social issues as Features Writer at NOW! Jakarta.