Singapore: STB will continue to engage the industry to give further support. Credit: Getty images
SINGAPORE - Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will launch the second phase of its Marketing Partnership Programme to include the rest of the MICE sector in early May. Under this $20 million (US$14.02 million) programme, STB will support part of the marketing costs, and award additional funding to companies that work with other tourism stakeholders to create value-added experiences to visitors.
Phase 1 of the programme was launched for hotels on 1 April 2020. STB will be increasing support from 50-70% of qualified marketing costs, and will extend the programme to attractions, inbound travel agents, and the MICE sector in Phase 2. Applications for Phase 2 will open in early May.
STB executive director, Conventions, Meetings & Incentive Travel, Dr Edward Koh, said: "The MICE sector remains a strategic pillar of our tourism industry, and these measures aim to help MICE businesses retain their local employees, stabilise their operations, manage their cashflow and deepen their manpower capabilities. STB will continue to engage the industry and work with our partner agencies to give further support if necessary."
The board has also launched a S$2 million SG Stories Content Fund to encourage local and international content creators to develop compelling stories of "strength, resilience, solidarity and unity in Singapore".
It has also launched digital transformation tools under a three-step framework: Learn, Test and Build. These will comprise a Tourism Transformation Index (TXI) in the second quarter of 2020. This is a self-diagnostic tool for companies to assess their strengths and identify areas in their digital transformation journey.
Under the Test framework, STB will open the ThreeHouse, a dedicated space in its premises for companies to collaborate and test new ideas.
A suite a smart services will allow businesses to tap data and content such as the Singapore Tourism Analytics Network (STAN) under the Build framework.
Online training support will come from STB Marketing College. It has partnered key digital players such as Facebook, Google and LinkedIn to develop web-based training for the tourism industry.
Facebook Singapore has produced a webinar series for the travel, hospitality, retail, and BTMICE sectors where experts will share business insights and best practices to engage customers and help businesses adapt. The first episode will be streamed on 30 April 2020. For more info visit https://digitalupskillingsg.splashthat.com/.
STB is also supporting Google and UOB in their redesign of the SME Leadership Academy programme for SMEs in retail and tourism. The online programme will cover topics including digital marketing, online collaboration tools to support remote working and overseas market expansion efforts. For more information, visit https://leadershipacademy.withgoogle.com/.