SINGAPORE travel trade stakeholders will have a greater say in shaping the country’s tourism future, as the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) deliberates how to distribute its S$905 million (US$716 million) industry development war chest over the next five years.

The hefty budget forms the second tranche of the Tourism Development Fund, which was established in 2005 with S$2 billion to support targets set for 2015.

Two-thirds of the fund injection, or S$640 million, will be pumped into seeding new tourism ventures and projects, while the rest will be channeled towards supporting tourism-related education and skill-upgrading initiatives.

Key segments earmarked by STB for advancement include cruise tourism, the arts and entertainment sector, and the cultivation of the travel consultant industry as a key enabler for overall tourism development.

Addressing the city-state’s tourism practitioners during this morning’s Tourism Industry Conference, second minister for trade and industry, S Iswaran, said: “STB’s strategy is to help local travel (experts) with established outbound businesses to grow inbound traffic, (and) attract global companies to set up innovative inbound operations here that draw traffic into Singapore and the region.”

“Your partnership in this next phase of development is crucial. So even as we firm up the individual funding schemes, we want to hear from you on how we can make even better use of these monies.”

When asked how STB would attempt to establish closer ties with local inbound operators, considering the latter’s concern over the NTO’s perceived lack of support, the bureau’s chief executive, Aw Kah Peng, insisted that consultative meetings with different segments of the trade were already taking place on a daily basis.

“We have been doing this (partnering the trade) all this while. We have been using this same message (over) the last four years,” she said. “It is just that the industry has gotten bigger, (so) there are more players and we have to reach out more.”

“If they (trade players) want to reach us, just call us. We are contactable. We are accessible. If they don’t call us, we will find them,” she added.

Reactions to STB’s renewed focus on engaging local industry stakeholders were varied, with some industry members dismissing the NTO’s efforts to work hand-in-hand as lip service.

“Although they do communicate with us from time to time, there has been no real inclusion in the broader scheme of things. In our view, they might have elaborate plans, but it might all just be rhetoric,” said Dennis Law, managing director, Star Holiday Mart.

CTC Travel’s vice president of channel distribution, Sylvia Tan, was less scathing about the NTO’s efforts. “Over the past year, we’ve had several meetings with STB. They have been working heavily on the ground, feeding us marketing insights that we’ve assimilated into our business strategy,” she said.

“STB is making a step in the right direction, and now it is up to the industry, and how receptive we are to new ideas to develop innovative products.”

Additional reporting by Linda Haden

THE SINGAPORE Tourism Board (STB) has unveiled its new vision and strategy to seal Singapore’s position as a quality, world-class destination.

The brainchild of STB’s assistant chief executive Tony Lai, Tourism Compass 2020 was conceptualised over a period of two years, taking into account input from the Tourism Consultative Council, which comprises of representatives from the country’s business, lifestyle, entertainment, marketing, travel and hospitality industries.

The strategy is based on four key tenets – sustaining a pipeline of original tourism experiences; renewing and rejuvenating the tourism landscape; harnessing the collective energies of Asia; and strengthening industry competitiveness through capabilities upgrading.

The scheme also calls for closer collaboration and increased innovation among travel industry stakeholders, to transform Singapore into “a city that inspires”.

Oliver Chong, director of communications, STB said: “Ultimately, we want to encourage industry members to evolve from within, and to develop unique products that will drive sustainable tourism growth. It’s not about volume; it’s about creating a quality tourism product to draw quality tourists.”

“At the heart of this new direction are collaborative partnerships, with players both in and out of Singapore,” he added.

“STB wants to inspire the industry, and not just dole out ideas. We aim to encourage co-operation at all levels and across sectors, with STB acting as a facilitator of ideas.”

Sylvia Tan, vice president, channel distribution, CTC Travel was supportive of STB’s new tourism roadmap.

“This will preserve Singapore’s competitiveness for the long term against our regional rivals, who have more natural resources to tap into. There is no longer any point in just attracting vast numbers – I believe that it is more important to look at how to grow receipts,” she said.

A TOTAL of S$265 million (US$210 million) will be invested by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to help the country’s tourism industry stakeholders build up their manpower capabilities.

The funds are part of STB’s S$905 million budget for industry development over the next five years, and will go towards supporting various tourism-related education and skill-upgrading initiatives.

According to S Iswaran, second minister of trade and industry, STB will build on basic tourism-related courses already offered by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency and Employment and Employability Institute, and ramp up advanced specialist training in key areas such as conference management and attractions operation.

“These are timely interventions that complement what we are doing on the hardware side with business travel and MICE infrastructure, such as the new MAX Atria (Singapore Expo Convention and Exhibition Centre’s new conference centre) and our pipeline of new attractions,” he said.

Neeta Lachmandas-Sakellariou, assistant chief executive, STB confirmed that the training programmes would “spread across all spectrums” of the industry. Tourism-related scholarships will also be rolled out to groom the next generation of industry leaders.

MICE practitioners whom TTG Asia e-Daily spoke to were of the opinion that much more effort was needed to boost talent development and retention, especially in light of increasing regional competition.

“We need new blood to replace the old guard,” said a local MICE educator. “We (Singapore) can build the best infrastructure, but so can other destinations. Where will we stand without soft skills? Malaysia is investing a lot into raising MICE knowledge and improving skills of professionals, not just providing entry-level certification courses.”

According to Andy Nazarechuk, president, Asia-Pacific Council of Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education, managerial-level tourism-related training programmes, as well as MICE-specific courses were lacking in Singapore.

“There are MICE training courses for professionals, but these are not easily accessible. MICE professionals are faced with time constraints – they have to work – and cannot afford to take two or three years to complete a course,” he said.

“They want courses that allow them to learn and interact with others from the trade, so they can network and share ideas.”