Senior officials of STB at Zomaland event in New Delhi
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is going to focus on the Indian destination wedding market as part of its plans for 2020. Presently, even though Singapore is popular for celebrations, not many Indian weddings are taking place in the destination.
“The India wedding market is one of the key focus areas for STB in 2020. We understand that this segment has immense potential. Singapore is not known for very large-scale venues so our aim is to attract small wedding groups of 100-300 pax. Singapore has the advantage of being at a short-haul flight away from India. We want guests coming for weddings to also experience our products like Singapore Zoo and Gardens by the Bay,” Lim Si Ting, Area Director, India & South Asia (Mumbai), STB.
STB in order to create awareness about its offerings for the wedding segment plans to organize FAM trip for wedding planners and participate in the key wedding trade shows. The tourism board will also educate the market about its uniqueness as a wedding destination through a series of video content.
STB’s plans to tap the Indian destination market come at a time when the slowdown in the Indian market is pushing international tourism boards to aggressively promote their products and tap new segments. Presently, Singapore receives more than one million tourists from India.
“We have partnered with WedMeGood in the past. As part of that partnership, we hosted a bachelorette party and later a wedding group of 300 pax. We may also consider an advertising campaign to promote Singapore as a wedding destination in India,” said Ting.
On the other hand, STB partnered with Zomato for Zomaland Season 2, a multicity food and entertainment carnival across ten cities in two formats – Zomaland in Pune, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai; and Zomaland Picnics in Jaipur, Chandigarh, Kolkata, Chennai, and Ahmedabad. This association is an integral part of STB’s efforts to engage with foodies in India through the showcasing of Singapore food and experiences through a designated “Singapore Experience Zone” at Zomaland.
Over the three days (13th to 15th December), attendees to Zomaland Delhi got to enjoy food from the world’s first Michelin Star hawker, Liao Fan Hawker Chan’s famous Soya Sauce Chicken Rice at the “Singapore Experience Zone”. In addition to this, visitors also savored signature dishes like Kaya toast, Char Kway Teow (Stir-fried Rice Noodles), Chicken Satay and Ice Milo by Nasi and Mee, a popular restaurant chain in India serving Singaporean dishes.
The Singapore Experience Zone featured fun and interactive games, photo-ops against iconic visuals of Singapore like Gardens by the Bay, Sentosa Wildlife Reserves Singapore and Jewel Changi Airport. Singapore’s Merlion mascot ‘Merli’ was also there to greet the guests and pose for selfies.