STB Partners with Visa to Boost Tourism and Lifestyle SMEs
The Singapore tourism board (STB) announced on Thursday that it has entered into a 3-year digital payment cooperation arrangement with the world's king, Visa. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by both parties would discuss the needs of Singapore's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in tourism and lifestyle, and the effect of coronavirus on them.
The collaboration with Visa is the latest in a series of steps taken by the STB to reinvigorate the local tourism market. Under the MoU, Visa and STB will pursue reseach and insights activities as well as marketing collaborations. Established in stages, the agreement involves the scaling up of the relationship into mutual international campaigns, guided by integrated analysis data findings as soon as international travel starts to resume.
Research and Analyses
In the field of research and analysis, the emphasis will be on shifts in domestic and foreign consumer behaviour caused by the pressures resulting from the economic and social climate of coronavirus. The STB and Visa are looking to promote market transition for the latest business environment by discovering emerging developments and untapped markets and relaying them to local SMEs.
A joint study, effect of COVID-19 on Tourism in Singapore and the Road to Recovery and Transformation, naming local brands as the hardest affected by the virus, has already kicked off the analysis process, witnessing double-digit negative growth due in part to the lack of online presence.
The research and analytics partnership will also concentrate on business travel, which is seen as important for one of the world's leading business travel destinations such as Singapore as it represents the country's highest yield market. In addition to strengthening Singapore's strategic advantage as a global business hub, the in-depth report aims to provide recommendations for future marketing strategies.
Marketing Collaborations
The marketing initiative will begin with a domestic marketing campaign aimed at increasing awareness of local SMEs by using cardholder incentives to raise domestic demand, and international initiatives will be launched once international travel resumes.
The STB and Visa will synergize their respective #SingapoRediscovers and #WhereYouShopMatters promotions to inspire Singapore citizens to shop at local stores and thus boost the economy. The initiative initiated in July by the tourism board, in partnership with Enterprise Singapore and Sentosa Development Corporation, a regulatory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, invites local citizens to explore stories and experiences in Singapore.
#WhereYouShopMatters initiative was introduced by Visa in August and aims to promote local SMEs by promoting customer buying on the one hand and making it easier to respond to current market climate requirements on the other.
The second step will concentrate on foreign marketing activities, encouraging shopping, dining, sight-seeing, festivals and entertainment opportunities in Singapore through content creation and tourism rights, and will be introduced in key countries on the basis of their travel readiness.
