Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has been at the forefront of introducing innovative marketing strategies to reach out to the Indian market. The tourism board in yet another showcase of its out-of-the-box thinking engaged the travel trade in India by organizing a series of virtual FAM trips last month.
What makes STB’s virtual FAM trips unique?
The virtual trips not only showcased travel experiences that Singapore has to offer but also engaged the participating travel agents through quizzes and trivia. The day-long virtual FAM trip also offered travel agents an opportunity to win exciting prizes. Some of the virtual experiences that participants were exposed to included an insight into Singapore river, a trip to Wildlife reserves, and a trip to Brass Lion Distillery. The well-informed guides who were physically present at the various attractions created a sense of a ‘real’ group tour. A large number of travel agents from across the country marked their presence in the virtual fam trips.
Chang Chee Pey, Assistant Chief Executive International Group, STB and G B Srithar, Regional Director, India, Middle East & South Asia who were present at the virtual FAM trips educated participants on the way forward for the tourism board in the Indian market.
“The present scenario demands that all of us stand united. We need to chart our pathways to recover tourism. In 2019, India was the third-largest international source market for Singapore with 1.41 million tourist arrivals. Now, we have to reimagine how to offer a safe environment to travellers and re-energize our approach towards tourism. The last one and half years have passed in limbo and we thought it was high time we engage with our travel partners even if it is through a virtual platform,” said Srithar.
STB has also tied up with streaming service Voot Kids and Green Gold Animation – an Indian animation company, to bring out Chhota Bheem – Adventures in Singapore. Chhota Bheem is a popular Indian cartoon. This mini-series follows the characters around Singapore. There are seven episodes of about three minutes each. Traditionally, Singapore has been immensely popular among Indian families and this outreach through a popular cartoon character is expected to further cement the destination’s appeal in the Indian family travel segment.