STB and airasia draw travellers to SG via joint marketing and content initiatives

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and airasia are collaborating to promote Singapore through marketing campaigns and content partnerships. Additionally, travellers can also access a wide range of travel deals to Singapore on the airasia Super App, as well as book tourism experiences in Singapore, such as flight and hotel packages, meals and other experiences. These have been added to the Super App platform as part of the partnership. 

Both parties will also work together to pilot digital solutions to enhance the visitor experience in Singapore, as well as exchange knowledge and insights that will deepen their understanding of travellers from Southeast Asia markets – for example, traveller spending patterns.

Keith Tan, STB's chief executive, explained during a virtual press conference that it chose to work with airasia because of its strong brand presence, network, and the level of recognition in key markets including Indonesia and Malaysia. Tan added that airasia is also a key player in bringing travel to Singapore and around the region. 

As of 15 February at 12 pm, the country saw more than 19,000 new infections, and over the last 28 days, Singapore has witnessed 191,882 COVID-19 infections. While the partnership might have been launched in the midst of an Omicron spike, Tan explained that it is "time-bound". "The Omicron spike will peak and eventually go away, so it's important for us to start building demand for travel now. We can't wait for Omicron to die down before we start making plans for recovery," he added.

Meanwhile, Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A, said Singapore is a key market for the company and is confident that airasia is able to maximise this partnership and drive traffic across Southeast Asia into Singapore together with STB. 

"The main goal is to bring more people to Singapore as a tourist destination. The secondary goal is to alert the world that apart from buying airasia inventory, you can now buy inventory of other airlines, hotels, and other tourist attractions," he added. 

Amanda Woo, CEO of airasia Super App said as international borders gradually reopen, it is important for all industry stakeholders to collaborate and drive the travel industry forward. "The airasia Super App is ready to facilitate travel across the region, as we now have a holistic travel platform with an enhanced user experience when making travel plans. This partnership with STB is strategic and timely, and we look forward towards promoting Singapore to all of our app users across Southeast Asia," she said.

Last year, Singapore launched vaccinated travel lanes to the US, UK, and South Korea, among other countries. It now has VTL lanes with more than 20 countries including Canada, France, Australia, Spain, Maldives, and Thailand. The VTLs have no doubt encouraged the gradual return of international travellers

Singapore's international visitor arrivals and tourism receipts hit 330,000 and an estimated SG$1.9 billion respectively last year. The number of visitor arrivals saw an approximate 87% drop from the 2.7 million back in 2020. Meanwhile, Singapore recorded SG$4.8 billion in tourism receipts for 2020.

While these numbers represent only a fraction of Singapore’s tourism performance prior to the pandemic, STB said there have been encouraging signs of recovery in the tourism sector, with year-on-year growth in the last three quarters of 2021. Meanwhile, STB also said last month that domestic consumption has also been strong, as the tourism sector pivoted to develop new and innovative experiences for locals, STB said.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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