THE Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is taking steps to help inbound agencies focus on attracting quality tourists, one of which is sharing consumer insights gleaned by its regional offices, which the trade can use to devise more ‘bespoke’ and tailor-made itineraries.
Another measure is to help identify and develop more training programmes to upgrade the skills of agency staff, in conjunction with national bodies such as the Workforce Development Agency (WDA). The new NATAS accreditation scheme (TTG Asia e-Daily, February 22, 2013) is one such programme.
STB’s CEO, Lionel Yeo, told TTG Asia e-Daily about these measures when asked what STB’s plans were to help agencies shift from competing on price to competing on expertise.
On the sharing of market intelligence, Yeo said: “We’ve been developing capability around market intelligence…We’re not just sharing, say, an understanding of the China market, but breaking down to markets such as Shanghai and Chengdu and what our focused studies show. This will help them to be more strategic in using these market insights to develop programmes.”
STB is also reviewing the Travel Agents Act Regulations and Tourist Guides Regulations to ensure a pro-business regulatory framework that enables the industry to better cater to discerning travellers.
“We think there are players out there who may have innovative ideas – how do we help them do so without having to cross a lot of regulatory hurdles or a high entry bar?
“Tour guides have given us the feedback they have to work through travel agencies. In a sense, that’s a barrier to someone who wants to operate as a freelancer in doing his own walking tours, for example. So how do we make it easier for some of the more enterprising tour guides to do so?”
The review is still under way with no definitive conclusions as yet.
– View from the Top with Lionel Yeo, TTG Asia, June 14, 2013
STB takes steps to help agencies focus on quality
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét