Singapore Tourism Board has signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with financial services company Visa to address the needs of Singapore’s tourism and lifestyle businesses impacted by COVID-19.
The STB-Visa collaboration will focus on two strategic areas to revive the local tourism industry – joint research and analytics and marketing partnerships.
The measures are aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), STB said in a press statement.
STB and Visa will work together to derive insights on how COVID-19 has changed domestic and international consumer behaviour, and identify new trends and untapped opportunities. These insights will be shared with local SMEs to help them develop campaigns and initiatives that are in tune with the new environment.
To kickstart the data and research collaboration, STB and Visa have produced a report to provide insights for local SMEs. Titled Impact of COVID-19 on Tourism in Singapore and the Road to Recovery and Transformation, the report found that local brands are worst hit by the pandemic, experiencing double-digit negative growth.
The lack of an online presence has also left local brands more vulnerable to the economic impact of the pandemic – in particular, those located in tourism precincts.
In the next phase of their data and research collaboration, STB and Visa will focus on the impact of COVID-19 on business travel.
STB and Visa will also develop a domestic marketing campaign to raise awareness of local SMEs, while driving domestic consumption through Visa cardholder promotions. This will be done through encouraging Singaporeans to shop at local retailers and support the domestic economy.
In the coming months, STB and Visa will introduce joint promotions and offers to encourage locals to rediscover Singapore and support local SMEs.
“Through our partnership with Visa, we aim to give local businesses a much-needed boost through domestic spending,” said STB Chief Executive Keith Tan.
Commenting on the partnership, Visa Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei, Kunal Chatterjee, said, "Our partnership with STB has enabled us to derive analysis and insights on how local businesses can recover in Singapore, and what we can do to support their recovery."
He added, "In addition, we will work with STB to revive inbound tourism when borders reopen, and more travellers start entering Singapore for business and leisure."