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Singapore to resume large-scale business, leisure events in tourism sector

Singapore to resume large-scale business, leisure events in tourism sector

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is gearing up for a strong comeback by the tourism sector and will pave the way for large-scale, high-quality business and leisure events to recommence this year, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Low Yen Ling said in Parliament on Friday (March 4).

Speaking during the debate on the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s (MTI) budget, Ms Low said many more events, such as the Global Health Security Conference 2022 and Find Design Fair Asia 2022, as well as the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix and the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon, will be held later in the year.

“We will defend our position as a leading destination for high-quality business and leisure events. We hit a ‘pause’ button on these because of Covid-19,” said Ms Low.

The Singapore Air Show 2022, which took place from Feb 15 to 18, welcomed an estimated 13,000 trade attendees and almost 600 exhibitors from more than 39 countries.

STB has also just launched the Tourism Careers Hub pilot to provide training and skills upgrading for workers and firms in the tourism sector.

The initiative will focus on job matching within the sector and encouraging technology transformation, among other workforce improvement efforts.

The STB will accelerate its SingapoReimagine campaign as international travel resumes, and help tourism companies develop attractive products and experiences.

In addition, the SingapoRediscovers voucher (SRV) scheme was launched in 2020 to drive local spending at hotels, attractions and tours here.

The scheme has since generated nearly $300 million in SRV-related bookings and transactions, and up to $100 million in ancillary spending.

The MTI will also work with the tourism sector to co-create innovative tech and digital solutions.

Over the past three years, STB’s Singapore Tourism Accelerator Programme has supported 34 promising tech start-ups in developing solutions to ready the sector for the future.

“Covid-19 has hit the tourism sector very hard, but despite the challenges, we have continued to quickly adapt and pivot to new propositions to come back stronger,” said Ms Low.

“We will continue to support the tourism sector’s efforts to recover, innovate and come back stronger than before.”