singapore tourism board interview

Interview: Singapore Tourism Board CEO on Reinventing a Destination

Greg Oates, Skift

March 25th, 2015 at 8:00 AM EDT

Singapore is attracting high-end leisure travelers with a wealth of new infrastrucutre, savvy integrated digital marketing, and a growing focus on local culture and character.

Editor’s Note: Skift is publishing a series of interviews with CEOs of destination marketing organizations where we discuss the future of their organizations and the evolving strategies for attracting visitors. Read all the interviews as they come out here .

This continues our series of CEO interviews that began with online travel CEOs in  Future of Travel Booking  (now an e-book ), and continued with hotel CEOs in the  Future of the Guest Experience  series (which is also an e-book ).

In less than a decade, the Singapore Tourism Board has helped engineer an impressive turnaround of the destination’s brand in the eyes of global travelers, from what was once considered primarily a financial business hub into one of the most glamorous gateways in Southeast Asia.

The opening of the Marina Bay Sands hotel in 2010 was a turning point, with its rooftop infinity pool cantilevered 215 feet out into thin air 55 stories above the ground. Also new within the last few years, the Gardens by the Bay tropical theme park, cruise ship terminal, Formula One car race, Singapore Flyer ferris wheel, and other new luxury hotels like The Fullerton Bay Hotel and Capella Sentosa have modernized the city dramatically.

However, there’s also growing consumer interest in the more casual, local Singapore travel experience in this city presently ranked by The Economist as the world’s most expensive. Visiting chefs and travel media have drawn global attention to the amazing street food in Chinatown’s “hawker centers” and some edgy local restaurants like Open Door Policy in the emerging Tiong Bahru neighborhood. For 2015, Lonely Planet named Singapore its #1 top place to travel.

Aware of this demand for more culturally immersive travel, as well as peer-to-peer online sharing of content across all age and economic demographics, the Singapore Tourism Board launched a new website last year with a strong focus on editorial travel content and social media. The homepage at YourSingapore.com presently shows the Lonely Planet story, ten special events in March, ten things to do with kids, nine parks, some cool places to go for local food, and hundreds of web posts throughout the site.

In celebration of the city-state’s 50 years of independence this year, the tourism board also helped develop the Singapore: Inside Out  global art tour. A wide range of local artists and designers are showing examples of their work in Beijing in April, London in June and New York in September to drive continued global awareness around Singapore’s evolving cultural scene.

We spoke with Lionel Yeo, CEO of Singapore Tourism Board, to dive into his strategies to grow leisure tourism arrivals and shape the Singapore brand moving into the mobile-first future.

Skift:  Travelers today are relying more on their mobile phones and researching heavily before a trip. How is Singapore Tourism Board evolving to adapt to those trends?

Lionel Yeo:  At the Singapore Tourism Board, we’ve definitely evolved our approach to accommodate those trends. First, when we revamped our official consumer website YourSingapore.com last year, we designed the site for mobile devices first, so it is now optimized for all screens. The desktop and mobile websites now both make use of GPS to help users navigate to the places of interest that they may wish to go to. We have also invested in mobile search, since we know that’s separate and different from desktop search, so we really are catering to travelers that are relying more and more on their mobile phones.

If you go to YourSingapore.com, you will find that our editorial approach is radically different from what it was previously, so it’s no longer the Singapore Tourism Board telling you about the destination. There’s now a very strong traveler voice. There’s a very strong third party voice that produces content, which we then feature on our site, which was one of the major parts of the revamp of the website.

On our social media channels, such as Facebook where we have almost one million fans, we are creating conversations about Singapore and encouraging people to post their travel experiences in our city, which inspires other people to post their own images and content to share with others around the world.

Skift: Do you partner with, or provide any guidance to your destination partners about digital marketing?

Yeo: Yes, I think like many other destinations we use hashtags in social media and the website as a way of extending the conversation with our partners and visitors, and we also work with our industry partners and event organizers to use the same hashtags in a consistent manner.

We take an active role to help our tourism sector companies adapt to these trends and bring them up to speed so that they can take advantage of that. For example, we’re working with TripAdvisor to conduct industry sessions where our local businesses understand how they get listed, understand how they respond to comments, and things like that to benefit their businesses.

We have a very close relationship with the industry, so we are constantly updating and briefing the hotel concierges and the people in the travel trade who have that direct relationship with consumers. We want to make sure that they are in the best position to be the trusted source of advice for visitors once they arrive in Singapore.

Skift: Is your consumer profile evolving in any way?

Yeo: Yes, I would say it’s changing and evolving constantly. Essentially, where they’re coming from, the way in which they are traveling, and the way in which they’re consuming media, these are pretty big things that we watch.

In terms of where they’re coming from, we welcomed more than 15 million visitors throughout 2014. More than 75% of that 15 million come from the Asian region, and that’s quite different if you compare to the ’80s and ’90s when we generally had a higher percentage of long-haul traffic. So that’s a function, I suppose, of the growth of Asia, a function of the fact that in Asian economies there are vast numbers of people entering the middle classes and therefore able to travel internationally. And when Asians start to travel, Singapore is at the top of their list.

Obviously the way people are traveling is changing as well. I would attribute that in a large part to the rise of low cost carriers in our part of the world. Travel is really a lot more affordable and people see international destinations as much more within reach, and they can travel more frequently. Someone who lives in Jakarta or Surabaya can imagine visiting Singapore not just once a year or once in two years, but several times a year because of low cost carriers.

Skift:  Are you developing your marketing strategies and platforms facing the North American market in any new ways?

Yeo:  Yes, in some circles, people call it native advertising. We’re finding that it’s actually really important for us to be on platforms where our target audience are spending their time, whether it’s a magazine or a particular section of a newspaper. Then we create strong content with content partners that will not look out of date on those platforms, and that will be able to reach out to our target audience and resonate with them. So if we’re working with titles like Conde Nast Traveler in North America for example, it is about creating content that belongs and looks entirely natural in those platforms.

At the same time, I think the internet is the top source of information for travelers. Digital is very much a priority for us, but we always look at it in an integrative fashion. And while we continue to use traditional channels such as print, we make sure that those campaigns are integrated with online and social media platforms.

Skift:  How is the Singapore travel brand evolving, in general, that drives some of those editorial marketing decisions?

Yeo: We have been thinking about how we need to add more depth and layers to the global perception of Singapore as a city. I think we are quite well known as a business destination. We are quite well known as a financial services hub. We’ve got a great airport. We’re also quite well known for having a number of large scale attractions and events.

One of the ways in which we are looking to complement that brand perception is to make sure that the local and authentic character of the city comes up as well, when we present Singapore to an international audience. This is not just a global city. We are a global city with very strong local characteristics and a very strong local character. There are creative people in Singapore doing very interesting things, and we’re trying to see how we can bring them up more in our international promotion efforts.

Skift: There is a lot of consumer interest in that, especially regarding Singapore. How else are you getting that across to Western markets?

Yeo:  On a number of levels. For example when we engage with members of the media and they have a chance to visit Singapore, we make it a point to show them both the global part of the city, but as well, the authentic and the more local parts. We find that has become more and more of interest in the past one or two years in the media, like The New York Times talking about a traditional coffee shop in Singapore.

I suppose they do that because it’s something that readers find interesting, and so they write about some of these more local parts. When food magazines write about the culinary scene in Singapore, they not only talk about the high-end, world class restaurants that are available here, but they also talk about the street food, which is of very high quality and very affordable. We are seeing increasing interest in profiling both aspects of Singapore, the global and the local.

Skift:  Was the new Singapore: Inside Out project also designed to help spread awareness of Singaporean culture?

Yeo: Yes, absolutely. Singapore: Inside Out is a true showcase of our creative talents in fields as diverse as digital arts, dance, music, textiles, graphic design and literature, and some of the work that they have produced. I think it’s really well designed to show a more, if you like, creative side of Singapore, and that’s a project that will be coming to a place near you in New York this fall.

You see this new spark of creativity in many different areas. You see that in music for example. There are a lot of talented Singaporeans showing a lot of potential and promise in music. We see some very interesting fashion designers creating beautiful clothes for Singapore, as well as international markets. We’re seeing the graphic designers and visual artists doing very well in art shows around the world.

So yes, I think there’s a sense that there is this wave of creative energy that’s sweeping over Singapore. I should mention, on the film side, we were very proud to have one of our filmmakers, Anthony Chen, win a very prestigious award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013. We are very thrilled at that. There’s a whole generation of new filmmakers here that I think you’ll be hearing more of soon.

Skift:  Besides marketing the destination brand, how do you see the role of destination marketing organizations (DMOs) evolving in the next five to ten years?

Yeo:  The role of the Singapore Tourism Board actually goes quite far beyond that of a traditional destination marketing organization. We have a very clear mandate to also champion industry development, as well as product development and events.

When we hold the Women’s Tennis Association Final, which is the season finale for women’s tennis, that’s something that we are heavily involved in, in terms of the execution of the event once we have won the bid. Likewise for the Formula One race, the Singapore Tourism Board is intimately involved in that mega-event.

We are not just the marketer for the destination. We are very much involved in product development, in industry development, and as well in local engagement, and making sure that local people are proud of what we’re doing in terms of tourism development.

Skift: Are you concerned about the growing number of travelers booking sharing accommodations such as Airbnb, especially because they’re not paying taxes?

Yeo: I think in our context, unlike some DMOs, we do not rely on taxes that travelers pay for our revenue. We’re not funded by taxes from hotels for example. Our situation is a little bit different. I think in Singapore the whole sharing economy in relation to tourism and travel touches really more on the regulatory issue around the use of residential properties, as is the case in many cities around the world.

Skift: So your DMO is funded entirely by the government?

Yeo: Yes, almost entirely. I would say 95% of our operating revenue is from the government. I think the Singapore government takes a very strategic view of tourism, not only to really look at the direct economic benefits that come with tourism development, we are also quite aware of the indirect benefits for the city in terms of the vibrancy, in terms of the attractiveness of the city.

Just now we were talking about bringing big events, like big sporting events or other kinds of leisure events into the city, so I think these are indirect benefits because the people who live here benefit as well. At the same time, by ensuring that we continue to keep Singapore an attractive city, we are helping other economic agencies do their job, because we’re helping Singapore attract stronger investment for talent and for business.

Oftentimes when our colleagues in the economic development board go around the world to make their pitch for capital and businesses to come to Singapore, we like to think that we make their job easier when we help create a livable and vibrant city, which people want to come to and possibly even reside.

Skift: If the government gave you ten times more funding, what would you do with those funds?

Yeo: It would allow me, from a marketing point of view, to cover more markets than we already do. There are some markets that we would love to explore a little bit more. Even within some of our primary markets like Indonesia and China, there are secondary or even third-tier cities that we could go into. And in a region like Europe, for example, there are Scandinavian countries that I think offer interesting emerging markets for Singapore.

I think the other area is more investment in industry capabilities. We see it as very much our role to make sure that the private sector in Singapore continues to innovate, continues to develop capabilities that allow them to be more productive, more efficient, and more creative in terms of the experience that they can create for visitors.

So we would really like to invest more in our industry capabilities. I think finally, a larger budget would allow us to look at more investments in business tourism, whether it’s infrastructure or in terms of getting more major business events to come to Singapore.

Greg Oates covers hospitality and tourism development. Email him at [email protected] .

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Photo credit: Lionel Yeo, CEO of Singapore Tourism Board, is stewarding the city-state through the digital era. Singapore Tourism Board

Singapore Tourism Board: Passion Made Possible

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 is working to shape a dynamic Singapore tourism landscape. In this interview, Melissa ow talks about the tourism sector’s digitalization journey, as well as the attractions of ASEAN that can be reached via Singapore.

How would you appraise ASEAN’s tourism potential?

As a region, ASEAN holds tremendous potential for tourism development. Apart from it being historically rich, the cultural aspects and the heritage aspects of the region are probably second to none in terms of diversity. It’s staggering to see the sheer number UNESCO World Heritage sites in our immediate neighborhood. We have one UNESCO World Heritage site in the Singapore Botanical Gardens and within the region, there are the likes of Borobudur in Indonesia and Angkor in Cambodia. Complementing the UNESCO World Heritage sites, it’s the whole complement of natural attractions from the pristine beaches in Thailand, to culturally-rich towns and settlements in in Da Nang in Vietnam for example. That makes up a very complex yet exciting composition of experiences that form Southeast Asia.

Last year alone, the region attracted about 125 million international visitors – a figure that has actually grown some 7% in the last decade – and generated over $93 billion in tourism revenue. If you look at what that means in terms of tourism and how that translates into tourism outcomes, you can see that it is one of the fastest-growing tourism regions in the world. Over the next ten years, what you would see is that this pace is likely to continue given all the interest that the region attracts. It is estimated in a World Travel and Tourism Council report that tourism in Southeast Asia will grow significantly to more than two hundred million visitors who generate about $250 billion by 2028. That is a phenomenal growth for a collection of ten nation states.

Considering its small size, Singapore has achieved remarkable success. It is also facilitating tourism as it is an aviation hub for the rest of the region. Where do you see Singapore fitting within the ASEAN ecosystem in terms of tourism?

As much as we’re a collection and a coalition of nation states in ASEAN, each member state represents a unique destination. Of course, for Singapore, we are special in the sense that we are a city state nation. That in itself is something unusual. But of course, what we have to offer – apart from our status as a hub within the region – is that we are the ASEAN chair this year, and thus also play a role in deepening tourism cooperation among ASEAN member states and facilitating the development of the tourism trade within ASEAN, so as to enhance the growth of travel and tourism itself.

How important is the US tourism market for Singapore?

The US is currently the ninth-highest tourism source market for Singapore, with a phenomenal year in 2017.We received a record 565,000 visitors from the USA who contributed S$569 million in tourism receipts – a figure that experienced a 22% year-on-year growth, which was astounding.

What accounted for that growth is partly down to the US economy doing well, which has given optimism to companies who were thinking about growing their businesses, looking towards Asia.

The outlook continues to be bright, as ties between the Singapore and the US remain strong.

In Singapore, disruption is present for all the sectors whether it is real estate, ICT or tourism. What does digitalization mean for the tourism sector?

There is a clarion call of government for Singapore to be a smart nation, and the travel and tourism industry must respond similarly.

That is where TIH and STAN come into play.TIH stands for the Tourism Information and shift up Services Hub. It is a platform which enables our industry stakeholders and partners to share information about their products and services offerings for fellow travel-related services around the world to use when they develop and customize Singapore travel and tourism products in their respective markets. At the same time, it also provides a gateway for these companies to come together, understand each other’s products and services and potentially strike up partnerships that would benefit potential visitors.

Meanwhile, STAN – which stands for the Singapore Tourism Analytics Network – is quite different. It is a platform that aggregates data from the various sources that we tap as a national tourism organization. These data would offer us more well-rounded insights into our target audience, and more importantly who is our  customer and more importantly, how they spend their time or what delights them. What is the visitor journey when they’re in Singapore? What do they spend on? The real-time data gives us a sense of their preferences and their behavior when they are in Singapore, allowing businesses to make decisions around how we can better reach out to new visitors, and continue engaging repeat tourists with the various quantum of resources that we have.

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Singapore will need to build on strengths to keep up with tourism competition in region: PM Wong

SINGAPORE – Other countries are stepping up their game in the competition for tourists and, to keep up, Singapore will need to play to its strengths and be more imaginative, all while keeping the human touch, said Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.

Speaking at the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) annual Singapore Tourism Awards on June 28 at the Raffles City Convention Centre, PM Wong noted that the country has come a long way in developing tourism, but travellers today have many options and Singapore cannot be complacent.

“We know that we have many options in different places, and it’s really not that simple or easy for Singapore to compete,” he said.

“In our immediate region alone, there are so many interesting things... If you want to go for nice beaches, there are so many options to explore, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines – nothing that we can match.

“If you are interested in history, there are also many well-known heritage places to visit around the region... So, what is Singapore to do, how do we compete?”

One strategy is to build on Singapore’s strengths, including its history, its position as a business hub and its connectivity, PM Wong said.

“We can’t be all things to all people... We should focus on our Singapore Story – how people from diverse backgrounds have come together as one, and how we have worked together to transform this place from mudflats to metropolis,” he said.

He gave the example of how the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Singapore City Gallery was not set up for tourism, but has nevertheless become a popular tourist draw.

Singapore is also one of the world’s most popular destinations for business meetings and Mice (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) events, he added.

“We can build on this and do more to encourage business travellers to come, and then to stay on and do some sightseeing after their work is done – visit our attractions or enjoy dining experiences across our wide range of F&B (food and beverage) options, from Michelin-starred restaurants to hawker centres,” he said.

And Singapore’s connectivity means that visitors can use Singapore as a launch pad for short visits to other countries in the region, he said.

Among the other ways Singapore can bolster its appeal is to develop more “imaginative projects”, said PM Wong, citing several already in the pipeline. These include a new 15,000-seat entertainment arena that is part of Marina Bay Sands’ expansion plans, as well as new attractions at Mandai Wildlife Reserve, such as a new eco resort and Rainforest Wild .

“We are looking at major sports events, to attract and bring in some of them... We are certainly bringing more concerts and festivals... but the key is to be able to synergise and pull it all together,” said PM Wong, giving the example of the Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix.

“It was not just a car race, but an entire weekend with many supporting activities around it, such as international conferences and concerts and so on,” he said.

“We should adopt this same approach in staging other new events, so that they are not just done in isolation, but are curated as part of a vibrant year-round calendar of unforgettable experiences,” he said, adding that STB will have to work closely with other government agencies as well as industry partners to “maximise our overall efforts”.

Noting that “tourism at its core is a people business”, PM Wong said that the Ministry of Trade and Industry and STB have plans to better equip tour guides and nurture tourism-sector leaders.

“We have to continue to invest in our people to maintain our competitive advantage,” he said.

The Singapore Tourism Awards recognise individuals and organisations that deliver outstanding experiences and show enterprise excellence.

Among the 27 winners was tourism sector pioneer Pamelia Lee, an STB veteran who was instrumental in preserving Singapore’s cultural precincts like Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Gelam, as well as the conservation of heritage buildings like Chijmes and Raffles Hotel.

“Her leadership and vision played a key role in shaping Singapore’s tourism sector,” said PM Wong of Mrs Lee, 82 , who was awarded the Lifetime Achievement for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism at the award ceremony for contributions over her illustrious 26-year career.

Mrs Lee, speaking to ST on the sidelines of the awards ceremony, said:

“I could see that we were losing our heritage and uniqueness… and I kept asking, ‘What are we going to do about all these places?’

“I’m proud that (we kept) the original character of each of these areas... We did not try to clone them or make them all the same and that is very important.”

Several top awards were given out at the event.

Clinching the Outstanding Tourism Entrepreneur award was Mr Ron Tan, executive chairman and group chief executive of Neon Group. Mr Tan worked with big-name international studios such as Disney, Marvel and Warner Bros to bring in immersive experiences, including Avatar: The Experience at Gardens by the Bay, as well as the upcoming Impressions of Monet, also at Gardens by the Bay, and Harry Potter: Visions of Magic at Resorts World Sentosa.

Stem (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics) advocate Lynette Tan, chief executive and chairwoman of Space Faculty Asia, was awarded Best Business Event Champion for winning the bid to hold a global robotics competition, the World Robot Olympiad International Finals, in Singapore in 2025.

Four special recognition awards were also given out. Among them, Changi Airport Group was lauded for playing a pivotal role in facilitating the strong rebound in tourist arrivals post-Covid-19, while a champion of Singaporean cuisine, chef Damian D’Silva, was recognised for his involvement in various productions and projects that showcase the country’s rich culinary heritage. 

This year’s awards had 83 finalists in three broad categories – customer service excellence, experience excellence and enterprise excellence – out of which 20 individuals and organisations were awarded.

Noteworthy recipients include trade show and exhibition organiser Constellar Exhibitions, which received the Outstanding Event Organiser award for the third year in a row for its contributions to the Mice industry and bringing in quality events.

Xiu Nature Connections took home the Outstanding Wellness Experience award for the second year running, but this time for its forest bathing experience in Bird Paradise, where participants connect with nature and practise relaxation amid birds and trees.

The Sundowner Nature Experience Centre in Siglap was named Outstanding Tour Experience for its rooftop farm experience tour, which features organic gardening, close encounters with honeybees as well as curated honey tastings and cocktails.

Finalists for the awards were selected by STB from nominations submitted by businesses and stakeholders, based on their achievements in 2023. Recipients were then selected through rigorous assessments, including evaluations by a panel of judges, mystery audits and behavioural interviews.

STB is also celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2024. 

Its chief executive Melissa Ow echoed PM Wong’s call to work together to strengthen Singapore’s appeal, and give visitors compelling reasons to visit the Republic.

“With growing sophistication amongst travellers, delivering on quality experiences will become a competitive edge for our businesses and put Singapore ahead as a destination,” she said.

“To achieve this, every effort counts, regardless of whether you interact directly with customers or work ‘behind the scenes’, or manage or own businesses that serve visitors.”

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Singapore Tourism Awards 2024 celebrates 27 recipients for contributions to tourism excellence

The Singapore Tourism Awards 2024 was bestowed upon 27 individuals and organisations for delivering exceptional experiences and enterprise excellence in the tourism sector. Organised by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the ceremony was held at Raffles City Convention Centre on June 28. Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong attended the event.

Highlighting Singapore’s growth in the world of tourism, PM Wong said it didn’t happen by chance. “We invested in key infrastructure like Changi Airport. We revamped and improved our attractions—the Zoo and Bird Park are now part of a cluster of nature-themed attractions in Mandai. We strengthened our art and cultural offerings through the Esplanade, our museums,” he said.

“We brought in world-class amenities and facilities, including the Integrated Resorts. We curated a more vibrant calendar of lifestyle events throughout the year. Importantly, we worked together to make sure that the entire visitors experience is a good one – from smooth immigration clearance at the airport to having clean, green, and safe streets where visitors can enjoy themselves,” the Prime Minister added.

We've come a long way in developing Singapore as a tourist destination. It took decades of hard work and careful planning to build what we have today. Thank you to our Singapore Tourism Board officers and pioneers, as well as partners in the tourism industry. pic.twitter.com/OBvf7cVPz6 — Lawrence Wong (@LawrenceWongST) June 28, 2024

STB honoured seven recipients for the Top Awards, while 20 recipients were selected from 83 finalists nominated for the categories of Experience Excellence (Leisure/MICE), Enterprise Excellence and Customer Service Excellence. “The Awards aim to raise the sector’s competitiveness by motivating individuals and organisations to create compelling experiences and adopt best practices, so as to deliver exceptional experience and service to visitors,” an official news release stated.

Congratulating the recipients and finalists, STB Chief Executive Melissa Ow said, “Their contributions and dedication to tourism are an inspiration to others. 2024 marks Singapore Tourism Board’s 60th anniversary, and their achievements exemplify the remarkable passion and commitment of our people who have shaped Singapore’s dynamic tourism sector over the past six decades. Their success inspires new benchmarks for excellence.”

7 recipients for Top Awards

Five individuals and two organisations were honoured under the Top Awards categories.

Pamelia Lee, a pioneering figure in Singapore’s tourism scene since 1978, was conferred the Awards’ highest accolade, Lifetime Achievement for Outstanding Contribution to Tourism, in recognition of her enduring legacy. Throughout her illustrious career, spanning several decades, Lee demonstrated unparalleled vision and ambition in shaping Singapore’s tourism landscape.

During her tenure with STB, she spearheaded the development of groundbreaking projects, including the first tourism masterplan in the 1980s – ranging from the conservation of key heritage buildings like CHIJMES and Raffles Hotel, the historic Civic District and cultural precincts such as Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Gelam, to the relocation of the iconic Merlion, leaving an indelible mark on retaining Singapore’s heritage.

Ron Tan, Executive Chairman & Group Chief Executive Officer of NEON Group, was awarded Outstanding Tourism Entrepreneur for his leadership in pioneering immersive experiences through successful partnerships with renowned international studios such as Disney, Marvel, and Warner Bros.

His visionary leadership not only enhanced Singapore’s global brand positioning but also introduced a series of world-class leisure events to our tourism offerings – including Avatar: The Experience, the upcoming Impressions of Monet, and Harry Potter: Visions of Magic – further strengthening Singapore’s appeal as an attractive destination for our visitors.

Lynette Tan, CEO and Chairwoman of Space Faculty Asia, was awarded the Best Business Event Champion for her advocacy of Asia’s deep-tech sector. Her passion for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and vision for building future global leaders, led to partnerships unlocking access to top business congresses, and her successful bid for the World Robot Olympiad International Finals 2025, put Singapore on the world stage. As a member of STB’s Conference Ambassador Programme, Tan actively promotes Singapore’s strengths internationally through her extensive network.

Additionally, four recipients were each honoured with the Special Recognition award for their outstanding creativity, innovative best practices, and significant contributions to the tourism sector.

Kung Teong Wah, General Manager of PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering, Singapore, is a dedicated advocate for digital transformation within the hospitality industry. He actively seeks out and pilots new technologies, securing hotel owners’ buy-in to implement personalised, data-driven initiatives aimed at enhancing guest experiences. He has also spearheaded collaborations with start-ups to explore AI marketing initiatives and improve guest navigation within and around the hotel.

Widely recognised as the “grandfather of Singapore’s heritage cuisine”, Damian D’Silva, chef and owner of Rempapa, is a passionate advocate for Singapore’s food heritage, tradition, and culture. In addition to serving on the judging panel of the reality competition show MasterChef Singapore since 2018, Chef Damian has contributed to various productions and projects that showcase Singapore’s rich culinary heritage.

Changi Airport Group (CAG) played a pivotal role in facilitating the strong rebound in tourist arrivals. CAG swiftly resumed operations in all its four terminals in 2022 to accommodate the surge in travel demand. It rapidly restored its links and flight capacity to other cities, while launching a Global Recovery Campaign with STB and Singapore Airlines. In addition, CAG has consistently demonstrated excellence and dedication in innovation, service, operational efficiency and infrastructure development, including the revamp of Terminal 2, to introduce new experiences for passengers and visitors, enhancing the destination attractiveness of Singapore.

The Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group, including SIA, Scoot, Pelago and Kris+, is recognised for its exceptional contributions to Singapore’s strong tourism recovery. The SIA Group was among the first to resume services and ramp up capacity, capturing pent-up demand as air travel returned. It also worked closely with the tourism sector to raise awareness of Singapore as an attractive destination and drive exploration of all it has to offer. Additionally, the SIA Group has consistently exemplified mastery and commitment in innovation, cabin products development, service and operational efficiency, raising the profile of Singapore globally.

Recognising the best in tourism

20 individuals and organisations were also honoured for their outstanding achievements and dedication across the Experience Excellence (Leisure/MICE), Enterprise Excellence and Customer Service Excellence categories.

The Sundowner Nature Experience Centre’s flagship tour, the Rooftop Farm Experience, was named Outstanding Tour Experience for its refreshing “farm-to-table” concept. A hidden gem nestled in the eclectic Siglap neighbourhood, the tour seamlessly integrates organic gardening, close encounters with honeybees and critters, curated honey tastings, and heartfelt conversations over handpicked herb drinks.

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XIU Nature Connections received the Outstanding Wellness Experience award for the second consecutive year, this time for its Morning Forest Bathing experience in Bird Paradise – an innovative partnership that contributes to Singapore’s vision as a leading urban wellness haven. The unique wellness journey allowed participants to connect with nature through an immersive session, concluding with a signature forest tea sharing amidst birds and trees.

Constellar Exhibitions Pte Ltd received the Outstanding Event Organiser (MICE) award for its orchestration of the Agri-Food Tech Expo Asia (AFTEA) and the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) in 2023. Its innovative initiatives and focus on local produce provided distinctive experiences for delegates, leading to significant growth for AFTEA and record participation at SFF. A strong supporter of the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) industry in Singapore’s post-pandemic recovery, Constellar reinforces our position as the ‘World’s Best MICE City’ with the quality events they brought in. It has also been conferred the Exceptional Achievement award for achieving the Outstanding Event Organiser three years in a row (2022, 2023, 2024).

Mandai Wildlife Group’s ‘Take Off to Paradise’ campaign was recognised with Outstanding Marketing Idea, for showcasing excellence from conceptualisation to execution. The campaign effectively established the newly opened Bird Paradise as a must-visit attraction for both locals and visitors through innovative and diverse use of media channels, delivering increased visitor attendance and high net promoter scores.