Singapore Tourism sets sights on tier II cities

Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has set its sights on tier II cities and towns to drive first time visitor traffic into the country.

In South India, it will focus on cities like Coimbatore, Trichy, Madurai, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Mysore, Vishakhapatnam and Pondicherry and organise a few roadshows to promote tourism in Singapore.

In 2003, the first time visitors figure was around 1,06,288 or about 34 per cent of the total visitor arrival from India. A majority of this figure was from tier II cities.

"In tier II cities, we will develop trade channels, equip travel agents with brochures and other material as travellers depend on travel agents for advice, and create awareness. We started doing this last year," said Bridget Goh, area director, southern India, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Though it has not yet collated the exact number of first time travellers for 2004, STB estimates that visitors from tier II cities would have constituted a significant portion of the total of 4,71,000 visitors from India.

STB is continuing its 'Uniquely Singapore' mass media campaign across TV, print and outdoor to try and attract the global Indian traveller.

After targeting children in the first phase of their advertising campaign, STB has started showcasing its various family destinations and attractions in an effort to lure families as this segment constitutes 34 per cent of its total visitors.

"In 2005, we expect an increase of 25 per cent in the number of visitors. We are confident, and happy with partners, trade channels and airlines. We shall continue to build on brand," added Goh.

STB has set itself a target to move India from the current seventh position to the fifth position in the near future.

Other than its bread and butter leisure and business segments that constitute about 85 per cent of all travellers, STB is also eyeing relatively newer segments like education and healthcare.

It plans to go across six Indian cities to organise roadshows, education fairs and seminars to engage the student and academic community.

For the healthcare segment, it will highlight the specialised treatments available in the country. During the non-peak season, it is targeting highly mobile individuals (married without children) with attractive long break/weekend packages.