Key insights at Singapore Tourism Board’s first virtual Sri Lankan travel trade engagement session

Singapore Tourism Board Regional Director for India, Middle East and South Asia G.B. Srithar

Singapore Airlines General Manager for Sri Lanka Hu Hongyao

Travel Agents’ Association of Sri Lanka former President Trevor Rajaratnam

Singapore Tourism Board (STB), in association with TravTalk, successfully concluded its exclusive webinar for the Sri Lankan travel trade on 17 March.

This first-ever webinar by STB for the Sri Lanka market in 2021 saw close to 200 participants. Themed ‘Charting the Pathways to Tourism Recovery’, the session was an invitation to the trade partner-friends to come together, share and exchange ideas and jointly configure the tourism recovery journey. It was a rallying call to prepare and be ready, whenever the tourism re-start between Singapore and Sri Lanka comes.

STB shared updates on how Singapore has progressed in its gradual, calibrated return to normalcy, new and refreshed tourism offerings, as well as platforms and resources by STB for travel trade to get important updates and upskill themselves. The city-state has already entered the third stage of a three-phased ‘Safe Singapore Transition’ program. Singapore has largely reopened its economy with safety management measures in place and the government is in the midst of rolling out a vaccination program for Singaporeans and long-term residents.

The webinar featured a panel moderated by TravTalk Director SanJeet, with panellists such as STB Regional Director for India, Middle East and South Asia G.B. Srithar, Singapore Airlines General Manager for Sri Lanka Hu Hongyao, and Travel Agents’ Association of Sri Lanka former President Trevor Rajaratnam as speakers.

Addressing the audience, Srithar shared that Singapore has adopted a deliberate and cautious reopening of its borders for international travel to protect visitors and urged the trade to continue being resolute in facing the unexpected challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He said: “Sri Lanka remains an important market to Singapore. This year, STB hopes to deepen trade engagement with our Sri Lankan travel trade partners on how we can reimagine the future of travel and what can we do to welcome Sri Lankan travellers to Singapore when travel eventually resumes. In order to stay relevant and meaningful to the emerging consumer expectations, we will need to make necessary adjustments to the way we work, engage our audiences and enable their travel experiences.”

Hongyao added, “Singapore Airlines has served the Sri Lanka market for over 50 years. When flights were cancelled due to the pandemic, SIA ensured that all refunds in Sri Lanka were promptly completed as that’s the most important aspect for our partners and customers. We see this as a strong sign of our commitment to the market. We continue to work with our Sri Lankan travel trade partners to support them on the road to recovery.” 

Providing an insight on what makes Singapore an attractive destination to travel to from Sri Lanka, Rajaratnam concluded, “There is a yearning among Sri Lankans to travel and fly again, and there is also strong consumer confidence that Singapore has managed COVID-19 well. I believe Singapore will score quicker than most other destinations when travel resumes.” 

Participants heard that STB does not expect a quick rebound in visitor arrivals to Singapore, as it will take a while for positive global travel sentiments to return. It is prepared for recovery to be a slow, deliberate and cautious process.  And so far, while Singapore has made good progress in resuming tourism and business events for domestic audiences, the country is some time away from larger international leisure, MICE and cruise movements. 

Among the travel trade, there was a general sense of cautious optimism to restart travel in 2021. Travel stakeholders are realistic that travellers will be concerned about safety, health check protocols and end-to-end travel arrangements.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is the lead development agency for tourism, one of Singapore’s key economic sectors. Together with industry partners and the community, it shapes a dynamic Singapore tourism landscape. It brings the Passion Made Possible brand to life by differentiating Singapore as a vibrant destination that inspires people to share and deepen their passions.