Million-plus Indians

Constant engagement with the trade has helped increase Indian arrivals to Singapore, says GB Srithar, Regional Director (IMESA), Singapore Tourism Board.

Nisha Verma

In 2018, Singapore welcomed 1.44 million visitors from India, making it the third largest source market for Singapore, reveals GB Srithar. “By October-end 2019, Singapore had received 1,190,000 visitors from India. This was the fifth year in a row where we welcomed more than a million Indian travellers to Singapore,” he says.

We will increase efforts to entrench Singapore as a must-visit destination among travellers from secondary cities

Claiming that the board’s marketing efforts have evolved over the years in terms of approach and scope, in 2020, apart from fostering deeper travel trade relationships across India, they will seek innovative, high consumer-engagement collaborations. “Apart from key metro cities, we will increase efforts, through trade partners, to entrench Singapore as a must-visit destination among travellers from secondary cities. Cruises have also taken a huge leap, hence, we expect more cruise travellers visiting Singapore in the coming years,” Srithar shares. Singapore Tourism Board (STB) also wants to position the island city-state as an international wedding destination, while also reestablishing its attractiveness in the Overseas School Trips (OST) segment.

Srithar adds that part of STB’s strategy is to spread out its tourism offerings across different parts of Singapore. He says, “We have a number of new projects across different parts of Singapore, the upcoming Mandai eco-tourism hub, and the expansion of integrated resorts Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa and Jurong Lake District.”