Faced with closed borders, a lack of travel options, and a dearth of tourists, Singapore set aside SG$320 million to encourage citizens to “rediscover” the country. The government has given every Singaporean SG$100 in electronic vouchers that can be redeemed for attractions tickets, hotel stays, and tours across the island.
Hotels and attractions are teaming up to offer staycations, even when they are not located near each other. For example, Wildlife Reserves Singapore—the operator of the Singapore Zoo, Night Safari, River Safari, and Jurong Bird Park—has connections with hotels in the heart of the shopping district, some 20-40 minutes away, depending on traffic.
Demand for staycations, paid for in full or in part by SingapoRediscovers Vouchers, were so popular initially that some hotels could not cope with the heightened demand. Reports of guests stranded in lobbies for hours during check-in abounded in the local media. Elsewhere, though, at places like Gardens by the Bay, special desks were set up to help visitors access their vouchers online and gain admission to the park.
Vouchers are not the only way Singapore is working to boost the sagging tourism sector. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is collaborating with DBS Bank to leverage DBS’ travel marketplace portal, predictive data analytics, and payment solutions in an effort to promote domestic tourism. This is the STB’s first partnership with a local bank. STB is also teaming up with the augmented reality developer Niantic to integrate the “Pokémon Go” augmented reality game played on smartphones into the SingapoRediscovers campaign.
