Singapore Tourism Board Launches S$90 Million BOOST for Tourism Sector

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) announced today full details of BOOST (Building On Opportunities to Strengthen Tourism) – its S$90 million initiative aimed at helping the tourism sector ride through the challenging times at its Tourism Industry Conference. STB also shared its forecast for the sector in 2009; 9 – 9.5 million in visitor arrivals and S$12 – S$12.5 billion in tourism receipts.

Held at the Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre and attended by some 500 industry members, the Tourism Industry Conference was a platform for STB to share with the industry its plans for 2009 and beyond, and garner feedback and ideas from members on how the industry can tackle the economic downturn and prepare for the future.

BOOST will offer funding and global marketing support for various industry suppliers, including leisure and Btmice and will increase subsidies for industry training programmes such as The Training Industry Professionals in Tourism (TIP-iT) scheme. For applications received from 1 March 2009 to 28 February 2011,companies will enjoy enhanced funding support under TIP-iT Plus of up to 90% of the allowable costs for certifiable training held overseas as well as for training conducted locally by overseas trainers.

In order to help the tourism players lower their business costs, STB is waiving license fees for travel agents and tour guides, and reduced participation fees for overseas leisure and MICE trade shows led by STB. Suppliers are encouraged to develop star deals for this programme and STB will in turn co-fund the advertising and marketing of these deals.

A key feature of BOOST would be the year-long "2009 Reasons to enjoy Singapore" global marketing campaign aims to capture mindshare among the audience in Singapore’s key source markets and to grow the market share in these markets. It also aims to convey to visitors that Singapore offers quality and exciting experiences at value-for-money prices.

To create more buzz about Singapore, STB will leverage online media and viral marketing channels such as Facebook to launch attention-grabbing promotions under the “2009 Reasons to enjoy Singapore” campaign. “Fly on US” is the first major online promotion, and offers S$500,000 worth of free air tickets to Singapore, as well as S$10,000 cash to be won monthly. The campaign will be launched on 19 February 2009 and last till end-May 2009.

BOOST will also call on local residents to become “tourism ambassadors” to encourage more friends and family overseas to visit Singapore and get out and enjoy Singapore’s tourism offerings. For a start, during the weekends in February, 2009 free tickets to selected Singapore attractions are up for grabs, and Singapore residents will be able to benefit from 7% GST savings at participating retailers. These promotions will be launched in local media on 12 February, with more to be revealed throughout the year.

Commenting on the tough times ahead, Ms Aw Kah Peng, STB’s Chief Executive, said, “Singapore’s advantage is that we are entering this difficult period from a position of strength. Our past efforts have entrenched Singapore as a premier business city and one of Asia’s lifestyle and entertainment capitals, and our healthcare and education services sector is highly reputable. Building on this strong foundation, the Singapore Tourism Board is committed to working with tourism businesses to weather the economic downturn and ensure that the sector emerges from it stronger.”

STB will be organising a series of seminars to create greater awareness of the Government wide schemes and initiatives available, and how industry members can have access to them. More information will be announced once details are finalised.

For more details on the BOOST and other Government-wide measures, please refer to the BOOST booklet available on www.stb.gov.sg/tic.