The Hindu Business Line : Positioning Singapore as a constantly reinventing destination

Being a city that is home to more than 7,000 MNCs, close to 60 international organisations, and 1,10,000 professional expatriates, it is easy to imagine the kind of networking and employment opportunities that Singapore can offer.

MR KIRAN BHANDARI, AREA DIRECTOR, SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD, CHENNAI.

Singapore is well known as a tourist destination. So, is it still necessary to work towards the promotion of the place?

When posed this question, Mr Kiran Bhandari, Area Director - Southern India, Sri Lanka & Maldives, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Chennai, agrees that Singapore has been enjoying top-of-mind recall as a tourist destination. R 20;However, as a destination, we are constantly reinventing,” he adds, during a recent lunch-hour interaction at Business Line. “We continue to evolve and transform. As such, our role, then, is to bring out the different facets of Singapore as we aim to maintain our top-of-mind awareness amongst our target audience.”

An example of this would be the new ‘Uniquely Singapore Weekends’ campaign that STB rolled out in Chennai last year, mentions Mr Bhandari. “While everyone knows about the great family experiences that Singapore offers, not many are aware of the extensive lifestyle experiences on offer in Singapore: right from high-quality clubbing, to numerous eateries which serve cuisines from across the world,” he explains.

“Add to that the many world-class concerts and shows that come to Singapore. In addition, between Chennai and Singapore there are currently 49 flights a week — which results in greater variety of airfare options between the two cities!” Keeping all this in mind, the ‘Uniquely Singapore Weekends’ campaign was launched to position Singapore as Chennai’s chosen weekend getaway, Mr Bhandari tells us. We take forward the conversation, over e-mail…

Excerpts from the interview:

You are currently focusing on four areas, viz. healthcare, education, leisure and business. Which of these do you foresee as the most promising in the near term? Are there targets set for STB?

Each of these verticals is very important for us since through each vertical we cater to a different target audience. Last year we attracted close to 7.5 lakh visitors from India, making Singapore the most visited tourist destination from India. This figure also placed India as the No. 4 market for Singapore in terms of visitor arrivals registering a growth of about 14 per cent over 2006. Our key aim for the coming years is to continue a double-digit growth and welcome many more Indian travellers.

Is there a wide acceptance in India of Singapore as an education destination, considering that there is no shortage of educational institutions here? What are the unique advantages of a Singapore education?

Singapore’s vast range of educational options provides world-class education at affordable costs. Students have the advantage of being able to study at some of the world’s leading institutions at a fraction of what it would cost in either the US or the UK due to the comparatively lower and affordable cost of living.

Being a city that is home to more than 7,000 multinational companies (MNCs), close to 60 international organisations, and 1,10,000 professional expatriates, it is easy to imagine the kind of networking and employment opportunities that Singapore can offer.

Upon graduation, many Indian students have gone on to build successful careers in the innumerable industries that have chosen Singapore as the centre of their regional activities. In a way, an education in Singapore plugs students right into the forefront of the global economy.

Singapore is only four hours away from India by air. Its location and ease of accessibility make it a preferred choice for parents who do not wish their children to be too far away from home.

In addition, the Indian community in Singapore represents 8.8 per cent of the total population base. Singapore’s cultural similarities and geographical proximity to India ensures that Indian students will find adjusting to Singapore quite a breeze.

Which of the Indian cities and towns are showing the largest growth rates for Singapore tourism?

While the overall growth from India last year was around 14 per cent, we saw more than a 25 per cent growth from Tier 2 cities such as Tiruchi, Kochi, Coimbatore, Madurai and Thiruvananthapuram.

This is a reflection of the increased wealth and spending power of these cities, as well as increased connectivity between these smaller cities and Singapore. All of the above-mentioned cities, except Madurai, now have direct flights to Singapore.

This is a trend that is likely to continue, going forward, and we have already upped our efforts in growing these Tier 2 markets.

How do you work towards attracting a repeat traveller?

As I mentioned earlier, as a destination, Singapore is continuously changing — every visit to Singapore promises many new and unique experiences for the traveller.

In fact, a few weeks ago, another new attraction, the Singapore Flyer, a 165-metre tall Giant Observation Wheel opened to the public, offering breathtaking views of Singapore and its neighbouring countries. In September this year, Singapore will play host to the Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, the first night race in the F1 calendar, and the first street race in Asia.

Among the transformational projects lined up for the years to come are the two integrated resorts — the Marina Bay Sands that is set to open doors in 2009, and Resorts World at Sentosa scheduled to open in 2010. Both will offer a mix of top-of-the-line entertainment options, including world-class shows, great dining, and Southeast Asia’s first and only Universal Studios theme park, amongst many other experiences. Orchard Road is also seeing rejuvenation, with the upgrading of its street infrastructure, as well as the opening of new malls.

These are some of the newer developments in Singapore, which aim to ensure that any first-time visitor to the country will have a unique experience in Singapore, and attract repeat-visitors as well!

What are the key ingredients of the transformation happening in Singapore? How future-proof is the vision? Does the idea of transforming a place militate against the idea of keeping the traditions of the place alive?

The transformation or the continued evolution of Singapore’s tourism landscape is a step taken to further promote the country’s traditions, art and culture, rather than at its expense.

Singapore prides itself as a country with a multi-cultural society, with people from different ethnicities, and practising diverse religions. In fact, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Hari Raya (Eid) and Christmas celebrations in Singapore are conducted with equal pomp and enthusiasm!

Singapore’s arts scene has also received a boost recently with the announcement that the National Heritage Board will transform Singapore’s old City Hall and Supreme Court into a National Gallery of Arts by 2012.

These are examples of Singapore’s continued emphasis on tradition and culture, as it pushes boundaries to stay at the forefront of tourism developments.

What are the shifts in investor preferences towards Singapore tourism’s projects, and the changes in funding over the years? Where is investment coming from? Do you see an increasing interest of Indians in Singapore for investment? Is there also an inbound interest from Singapore?

All the large-scale projects that I mentioned earlier ( Singapore Flyer, Marina Bay Sands, Resorts World at Sentosa, etc) have been funded by private investors from across the world.

An example of this is the Singapore Flyer, which is actually a German investment! It is very heartening to note these international investments, as they reflect not only on investor confidence in Singapore being a safe place to invest, but also affirm global confidence in our tourism industry.

How do you ensure that the motivational levels of people work in Singapore tourism industry are kept high?

The Singapore tourism industry is setting new records every year in terms of visitor arrivals and many more tourists are expected over the next few years owing to the completion of the mega-developments (like Marina Bay Sands, Resorts World at Sentosa, a rejuvenated Orchard Road, etc) and international events (like Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix among others).

We can expect around 50,000 to 60,000 new jobs in the tourism industry over the next three years, with a wide range of service careers from managers and accountants to event organisers, surveillance officers and chefs. The prospects for a career in the tourism-related sectors in Singapore, in fact, have never been brighter!

Are Indian professionals (like doctors, accountants and lawyers) increasingly considering Singapore for locating their practice? Any number? Similarly, are Indian businesses setting up shop there?

Singapore is amongst one of the best places to live in. A notable point here is that Mercer ranked Singapore No.1 for its quality of life in Asia (Mercer Human Resource Consulting, Worldwide Quality of Living Index 2007).

Singapore is a safe, clean and green garden city, which provides an affordable yet high quality of life. With a politically stable environment, multi-cultural society, low crime rate, easily-accessible learning and recreational facilities, and an immense variety of leisure activities, Singapore is a great place to live, work and play.

These attributes make Singapore a very attractive destination for expatriates, and hence it is quite understandable that many Indian professionals choose to live in Singapore.

Bio: Mr Bhandari, a Mechanical Engineering graduate from the University of Pune, holds a Master in Business Administration degree from the National University of Singapore Business School, where he was awarded the Reginald Quahe Memorial Gold Medal for top graduating student 2003-04. Prior to joining STB in Singapore in 2004, Mr Bhandari held positions in product development and planning roles, in an e-Learning solutions start-up in Pune, and a software solutions provider in Mumbai. His current role, since March 2007, includes the undertaking and spearheading of STB's marketing, promotional and developmental efforts in the areas of education, leisure, BTMICE (business travel, meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions), and healthcare in the regions under his coverage. Operating out of Chennai, Mr Bhandari holds overall responsibilities of destination branding and tourism marketing for the region, and works in tandem with in-market industry partners to promote Singapore to its consumers.

D. MURALI

R. S. MURALI

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