An ever-growing roster of luxury hotels in Singapore is drawing greater interest from European buyers at the recent ITB Berlin.
Hollywood movie Crazy Rich Asians and the historic Trump-Kim summit in June last year delivered a promotional boost to Singapore, with icons like Marina Bay Sands, Capella Singapore and Raffles Singapore coming under the spotlight as some of the city’s luxury offerings.
Rica Thies, team assistant Asia, Art of Travel Germany, said: “The luxury hotels in Singapore are so impressive that they are able to provide an experience on their own already.”
Thies said her clients, who typically stay between one to three nights in the city, would often prefer city-based five-star hotels with a view of the Singapore River.
Anticipating the reopening of the iconic Raffles Singapore in August this year, Thies said: “We have many requests for this hotel already because it combines a lot of history, elegance and luxury which we do not get in typical hotels.”
Hasan Hakim, general manager, Beyond Oceans Travel Lebanon, agreed that the ready availability of quality and luxury hotels in Singapore is a winning factor. “It makes the destination’s image feel secure when you know of all the big hotel names,” he said.
Hakim, who is exploring Singapore as a new product, shared that he is looking at packaging the city with surrounding destinations like Indonesia and the Philippines. “I am looking for new ideas that can excite, and I think Singapore has many to offer,” he said.
He added that Sentosa could be a potential key product for his clients as its resort island offering with luxury hotels and attractions in one spot is a novel and attractive one.
As for Karin Portzgen-Pruijssen, representative of Reisteam in Netherlands, Singapore is an “all-in-one city that has everything travellers need”, with shopping as one of the top favourite activities among them.
Apart from luxury hotels, Singapore’s reputation for quality hotels is a “very strong” drawcard for Portzgen-Pruijssen.
Earlier last month, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) unveiled plans to woo longhaul markets like the UK and Europe with a roster of Bicentennial-themed programmes and tour products.
STB has also launched the next phase of its Passion Made Possible global campaign in 16 markets worldwide, including Germany and the UK.
