Every now and then, I feel an urge to write a letter from Singapore because when you travel a lot, you can sometimes forget what’s happening on hometurf, so couple of things got my attention this week.
One, the announcement by Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong about “Project Jewel”, a redevelopment programme that will turn Changi Terminal 1 into an “iconic mixed-use complex”.
Other than adding to an overall airport facility that can handle up to 85 million passengers a year, Terminal 1 will have gorgeous gardens, leisure facilities, retail and restaurants – everything needed to become a “world class signature lifestyle destination”.
I couldn’t help but smile at the contrast from just two weeks ago when I was in Sydney, attending the CAPA Australian Pacific Aviation Summit, where they are still discussing Sydney’s second airport after 40 years apparently.
And it turned out that Michael Issenberg, chairman and COO of Accor Asia Pacific, had exactly that same thought when he read the news. Catching up with him today for an overview of what’s happening with Accor AP, he recalled the day he landed in Sydney 28 years ago, and “they were talking about the second airport and third runway, which thankfully they built”.
“I am always impressed by the way Singapore plans for the future, they are not talking about 2015 but 2030 – awesome,” said Issenberg (right).
With Accor now the biggest hotel company in Australia (with its acquisition of Mirvac), Issenberg is obviously vested in how Australia will take advantage of the Asian market growth and opportunities.
And he feels that Australia has to improve the whole city experience – “Asians are urban, they don’t go to the beach, yes there is some dispersal but the biggest element is still city visits and it gets its cities right, that will drive repeat business and high frequency visits. So first get the cities right and then look at how to effectively disperse,” he said.
The second piece of news that got my attention was the dip in visitors and sales at the NATAS (National Association of Travel Agents Singapore) Travel Fair, traditionally seen as a barometer of outbound travel demand in Singapore.
According to media reports, the three-day fair drew 62,744 visitors, a drop of nearly 5% from the 65,822 last year. Bookings slipped more than 9% to an estimated $98 million, from last year’s $108 million.
So what do you think that means?
• That consumers are finding new ways to book travel – online with mobile a big driver of change.
A recent survey by Havas Worldwide of 10,219 adults in 31 countries, including Singapore, found that Asian consumers are amongst the leaders in online shopping, especially on mobile devices – 16% of US online consumers have used a mobile device to shop compared to 50% in China, 48% in Singapore and 42% in India.
Specifically to Singapore, it found that on average, more Singaporeans shop online (94%) compared to their global counterparts (88%), using their mobile devices/smart phones (48%) and tablets (26%) almost twice as much as their global counterparts (25% Mobile vs 14% Tablets).
The standout categories for Singaporeans when it comes to online shopping include clothing/shoes/accessories (65% vs 49% globally), travel (56% vs. 40% globally) and technology products/personal electronics (54% vs. 52% globally).
• That people are looking for new destinations and itineraries which many of the mainstream tour operators are not offering. According to NATAS, the five most popular destinations at the fair were Europe, Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan but there was in exotic locations like Peru, Iran and South Africa.
• That people may be travelling in smaller groups and feel the fair may not be the best place to buy those holidays.
So it seems to me that just as the Singapore government is preparing the nation for the future, so too should tour operators prepare for a future when the Singapore traveller will want to shop, buy and experience differently.
Letter from Singapore: Tale of contrasting worlds
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