GB Srithar of Singapore Tourism Board : “There is potential to grow the Mauritian market”

In an interview to Le Défi Media Group, GB Srithar, Regional Director, South Asia & Middle East at Singapore Tourism Board, states that Mauritians enjoy the variety of shopping experiences in Singapore and the family friendly attraction.

What does Singapore Tourism Board expect from the Mauritian market?
Arising from the Mauritius-Singapore Air Corridor initiative, we have been working closely together to provide seamless gateway services between Africa and Asia. Air Mauritius is now operating three times weekly to Singapore and is due for a frequency increase to four times weekly soon.

This fourth flight will increase air connectivity, isn’t it?
The development in the air connectivity is important to sustain the flows of tourism. While the Visitor Arrivals numbers from Mauritius is modest at the moment, there is potential to grow the market. We will continue our engagements with the market, both the travel trade and consumers to enhance their knowledge on destination Singapore and drive more visits in the coming years.

What are the main attractions in Singapore?
Singapore remains an attractive leisure destination. Our range of experiences continues to diversify and evolve, with a good range of attractions and events. Our rich cultural and heritage precincts and festivals remain a draw. Tourists from Mauritius enjoy the variety of shopping experiences in Singapore and the family friendly attractions that are found across the island. They tend to stay in hotels in the city, in the heart of the shopping belt and do enjoy a good night out, sampling Singapore’s tantalising cuisine in a wide range of dining options.  Concerning shopping, we have observed a changing profile in visitors coming from major cities who are spending more in categories such as Gifts/Souvenirs, Confectionery and Fashion/Accessories.

What about accommodation and Food & Beverage expenditures?
Growth in Accommodation expenditure was led by the overall growth in visitor arrivals in 2016 (+7.7% yoy). In addition, more visitors opted to stay in paid accommodation compared to the previous year, particularly in mid-tier hotels. Spending in Food & Beverage (F&B) has grown, together with the overall volume growth in visitor arrivals and change in visitor profiles. We observed higher F&B expenditure from markets such as Indonesia, India, and Australia.

What explains this growth’s increase?
The good growth for F&B is also the culmination of industry development efforts over the years carried out through initiatives such as Asia’s Best 50 and the Hotels & Restaurants Guide, and most recently the launch of the Michelin Guide Singapore.

Competition is fierce in this part of the world to attract tourists. What are the strategies of STB to outclass competitors?
Singapore offers a unique value proposition that is not easily replicated elsewhere.  While there is increasing global competition, the positive growth in Asia Pacific outbound travel and inbound arrivals to Asia will benefit countries in this region and should continue to do so for the rest of 2017.

We are seeing signs of quality growth in line with our Quality Tourism strategy, with Tourism Receipts outpacing Visitor Arrivals in terms of growth. We are also observing a changing profile with more visitors coming from major cities in India, Australia and Indonesia, who are also spending more. Another example is the increase in mono-SIN travellers (+11%) from China. Quality tourism is a long-term journey and results will take time to be realised. We will continue our journey to achieve meaningful growth over the medium term.

With more international cruise brands such as Dream Cruises and TUI choosing to homeport here, Singapore continues to strengthen its appeal as a cruise destination. On the business events front, our strong pipeline of business events throughout the year will cater to the diverse interests of our international business visitors.

STB and the industry are intensifying marketing efforts to attract more visitors through strategic marketing partnerships and expansion of our digital footprint. We will also work on developing more experiences that showcase our authenticity and hidden gems. We believe these efforts will help maintain Singapore’s destination appeal and drive tourism growth in the long run.

What is the STB’s forecast for 2017 and what is the target set for the coming years?
We are heartened to have outperformed our forecasts for 2016, especially with Tourism Receipts growing faster than Visitor Arrivals.  Our marketing efforts in collaboration with industry partners in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities of these markets have also done better than expected. When we forecasted 2016 tourism performance, we balanced opportunities from the projected positive growth in Asia-Pacific with the challenges and headwinds anticipated for 2016.  For 2017, we are forecasting a 0-2 per cent growth in Visitor Arrivals and a 1 to 4 per cent growth in Tourism Receipts.