The Hotel Industry Transformation Map (ITM) 2025 was launched by minister of state for trade and industry and culture, community and youth, Alvin Tan, on October 25 with the aim to create a compelling, innovative, and sustainable hotel industry, supported by a strong local workforce in Singapore.
The roadmap lays out strategies to achieve real value-added growth of 5.9 per cent from 2020 to 2025, and will help future-proof the industry by creating good jobs in emerging areas such as wellness, sustainability, and technology.
Developed by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) in partnership with the Food Drinks and Allied Workers Union, Singapore Hotel Association (SHA), industry players and other government agencies, the Hotel ITM 2025 was endorsed by the Future Economy Council (FEC) earlier this year.
Since the launch of the first Hotel ITM in 2016, the hotel industry has posted strong growth with average occupancy of 87 per cent and a total workforce of close to 35,000 in 2019. Over 1,400 workers across about 60 hotels benefited from Workforce Singapore (WSG)’s Career Conversion Programme for Hotel Professionals from March 2020 to August 2022.
Tapping on new consumer preferences for sustainable hospitality, digital-enabled experiences, and wellness travel, the hotel industry is well positioned to recover strongly.
Building on the success of the first ITM, strategies to support the next phase of growth and transformation include capturing demand with fresh hotel concepts, driving sustainability as a core strategy, gearing up for the next phase of innovation, and future-proofing the workforce.
“A strong and growing tourism sector needs a vibrant hotel industry. Singapore’s hotels are among the best in the world but they can continue to transform and grow so that Singapore’s tourism sector can capture the next phase of growth. The Hotel ITM 2025 charts a clear vision, and we look forward to working closely with our industry partners on this journey,” said Keith Tan, chief executive, STB.
Kwee Wei-Lin, president, SHA, shared: “Despite the pandemic’s impact on the tourism sector, our hotels have demonstrated remarkable resilience and creativity. Taking full advantage of the downtime, they have successfully piloted innovative experiences, pivoted to new business models, enhanced capabilities, and refurbished their infrastructure. We will continue to work with the government to catalyse new ideas and solutions to achieve the goals of the refreshed ITM.”
Commenting that the Hotel ITM 2025 will better position businesses to seize the emerging opportunities from global tourism trends and sustainability, Low Yen Ling, minister of state for trade and industry and culture, community and youth and FEC lifestyle cluster co-chair added: “This holistic approach will help enhance Singapore’s attraction as a compelling destination for travel, business and leisure.”
