The prestigious Singapore Tourism Awards 2024, held in the evening of June 28, honoured seven recipients for the Top Awards category as well as 20 top performers across the categories of Experience Excellence (Leisure/MICE), Enterprise Excellence and Customer Service Excellence.
The awards, organised by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), aim to raise the sector’s competitiveness by motivating individuals and organisations to create compelling experiences and adopt best practices, so as to deliver exceptional experience and service to visitors.
In congratulating all award recipients, STB chief executive Ms Melissa Ow said: “Their contributions and dedication to tourism are an inspiration to others. 2024 marks Singapore Tourism Board’s 60th anniversary, and their achievements exemplify the remarkable passion and commitment of our people who have shaped Singapore’s dynamic tourism sector over the past six decades. Their success inspires new benchmarks for excellence.”
The Top Awards winners are Pamelia Lee, a pioneering figure in Singapore’s tourism scene since 1978, who was conferred the Awards’ highest accolade, Lifetime Achievement for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism; Ron Tan, executive chairman & group CEO of Neon Group, who was awarded Outstanding Tourism Entrepreneur for his leadership in pioneering immersive experiences through successful partnerships with renowned international studios such as Disney, Marvel, and Warner Bros; and Lynette Tan, CEO and chairwoman of Space Faculty Asia, who was awarded the Best Business Event Champion for her advocacy of Asia’s deep-tech sector and active promotion of Singapore’s strengths internationally through her extensive network.
Additionally, four recipients were each honoured with the Special Recognition award for their outstanding creativity, innovative best practices, and significant contributions to the tourism sector. They are Kung Teong Wah, general manager of Parkroyal Collection Pickering, Singapore, who is a dedicated advocate for digital transformation within the hospitality industry; Damian D’Silva, chef and owner of Rempapa, a passionate advocate for Singapore’s food heritage, tradition, and culture; Changi Airport Group, which plays a pivotal role in facilitating the strong rebound in tourist arrival; and the Singapore Airlines Group, including SIA, Scoot, Pelago and Kris+, which is instrumental in Singapore’s strong tourism recovery.
Limelight that evening was also shone on The Sundowner Nature Experience Centre’s flagship tour, the Rooftop Farm Experience,which was named Outstanding Tour Experience for its farm-to-table concept; Xiu Nature Connections, which took home the Outstanding Wellness Experience award for the second consecutive year, this time for its Morning Forest Bathing experience in Bird Paradise; Constellar Exhibitions, which received the Outstanding Event Organiser (MICE) award for its orchestration of the Agri-Food Tech Expo Asia and the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) in 2023; Mandai Wildlife Group’s Take Off to Paradise campaign, which was recognised with Outstanding Marketing Idea, for showcasing excellence from conceptualisation to execution; and many more.
STB’s Ow urged Singapore’s travel and tourism industry players to tackle “increasing competition” by “working together to strengthen Singapore’s appeal, and give visitors compelling reasons to visit Singapore”.
“With growing sophistication among travellers, delivering on quality experiences will become a competitive edge for our businesses and put Singapore ahead as a destination. To achieve this, every effort counts, regardless of whether you interact directly with customers or work behind the scenes or manage or own businesses that serve visitors,” she said.
Travellers from Australia and New Zealand will now be able to enter China for business, tourism, and transit without a visa for up to 15 days, thanks to the country implementing a unilateral visa-free policy.
Australia and China also jointly declared to provide multiple-entry visas mutually with a validity period of three to five years.
According to the National Immigration Administration of China (NIA), the number of Australian visitors to China is continuously increasing.
In October 2023, the NIA released a list of 53 eligible countries for a 72/144-hour visa-free transit, including the UK, France and Australia. Then on May 15 this year, the NIA permitted the entry of foreign tourists by cruise ship without a visa, facilitating inbound visits by Australian residents.
Australia has a large community of Chinese residents; thus the introduction of the unilateral visa-free policy not only facilitates their visits to relatives and friends but also a chance to see the changes in China over the years.
New Zealand will also be included in the unilateral visa-free list, as flights between China and New Zealand have recovered quickly. Since last December, direct flights between China and New Zealand have recovered to that of pre-pandemic period. Six airlines including Air New Zealand, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Air China, Hainan Airlines, and Cathay Pacific are offering direct flights from eight stops in China to New Zealand.
China has been continuously expanding the unilateral visa-free countries since 2023 – to date, China has implemented unilateral visa-free for countries including France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, and more. Additionally, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and Georgia are mutually visa-free countries with China.