Singapore Tourism Board has launched a big marketing push in what is one of the most important years for tourism in the short history of the city-state.
Facing falling visitor tourist arrivals for the first two quarters of the year, Singapore Tourism Board is ramping up its locally targeted campaigns in key markets, and has launched a $20 million global push around Singapore’s fiftieth birthday with SG50 campaign.
The new global campaign is to launch on 9th June, with $20 million over and above current marketing spend slated go on advertising around the SG50 celebrations. A microsite for the campaign is now live, and an above-the-line push is to scheduled to run in a fortnight.
The campaign will centre around five key pillars – fly, stay, shop, eat and play – and a series of promotions around key events such as the Great Singapore Sale and Pedestrian Night. Children are to get free access to attractions such as Gardens by the Bay, Mint Museum and Singapore Flyer to boost in-market spend.
Singapore Tourism Board is placing a lot of emphasis on forging trade partnerships with hotels, tour operators and airlines, and is encouraging local and international stakeholders to work with the tourism body on co-marketing opportunities.
One major digital push is a partnership with online travel website TripAdvisor. The microsite ‘Live like a local’ aims to ‘Unlock all the hidden gems Singapore has to offer’.
Tourism numbers were down five per cent in the first quarter of this year. While tourists arrivals were up in Hong Kong, Vietnam and South Korea, they fell in Singapore Tourism Board’s biggest four source markets – China, Australia, Malaysia and Indonesia.
However, a high proportion of visitors to Singapore stayed longer and spent more.
Singapore Tourism Board’s key agencies are J Walter Thompson for creative, Mirum for digital, M&C Saatchi for MICE activity, MEC for media and Edelman for public relations.
