Pay $50k to holiday in Singapore? STB targets big spenders - The Straits Times

Big spenders from Russia, the UAE among tourism board’s target groups

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Transfer by private jet, suite bookings at a five-star hotel, reservations at celebrity chef restaurants and a chauffeur at their beck and call.




This is the kind of itinerary – costing up to $50,000 per person for a five-day trip – that inbound travel agency Hong Thai woos its well-heeled customers with.




Such niche offerings have proved a hit with tourists from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Russia – two countries singled out for targeting in a new discussion paper from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).




Hong Thai’s director, Mr Alex Chan, 55, started offering such packages in 2011 and saw the number of tourists from these places increase by 10 per cent in just a year.





Background story




TAKE ‘LASER BEAM’ APPROACH




Don’t offer the broad-stroke standard products. Ask, what do your people want? I will package it for you, I will customise it for you.




- Ngee Ann Polytechnic senior lecturer in tourism Michael Chiam, on what travel agencies should do




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TARGET MARKETS: BY THE NUMBERS




Japan




554,000 Japanese tourists visited Singapore from January to September last year and spent $0.7 billion. This is up 17 per cent and 20 per cent respectively from 2011.




Vietnam




The country accounted for 2.7 per cent (287,000) of the estimated 10.7 million visitors to Singapore from January to September last year.




This is up 11 per cent in the same period in 2011. They also spent 4 per cent more.




The United Arab Emirates




The largely untapped Gulf market accounted for only 62,736 visitors in the whole of 2011. This made up only 0.5 per cent for total tourist arrivals that year.




Russia




Singapore received 59,378 visitors from Russia in 2011. This made up only 0.5 per cent for total tourist arrivals that year.





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Pay $50k to holiday in Singapore? STB targets big spenders - The Straits Times