Master of Business Administration

Assignment in Marketing Management

Singapore Tourism Marketing Strategy

Evaluation

Dimitri Blttler
Malcolm Ferguson
Sascha Gartenbach
Shama Rahman

8th August 2011

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Document information
Title:

Singapore Tourism Marketing Strategy Evaluation

Topic:

Marketing Management

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Table of Contents
1.

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 6

2.

Situational Analysis.................................................................................................................. 7

3.

2.1.

Market Summary .......................................................................................................... 7

2.1.1.
Target Markets Evaluation.............................................................................. 7
2.1.2.
Target Visitor Evaluation ................................................................................ 9
2.1.3.
Market Needs ............................................................................................... 10
2.1.4.
Market Trends .............................................................................................. 11
2.1.5.
Profit from tourism in Asian countries ........................................................... 12
2.1.6.
Market Growth.............................................................................................. 13

2.2.

SWOT......................................................................................................................... 13
2.2.1.
Strengths...................................................................................................... 13
2.2.2.
Weaknesses ................................................................................................ 14
2.2.3.
Opportunities ................................................................................................ 14
2.2.4.
Threats ......................................................................................................... 15

2.3.

PEST(LE) ................................................................................................................... 15
2.3.1.
Political......................................................................................................... 15
2.3.2.
Economical .................................................................................................. 15
2.3.3.
Social ........................................................................................................... 16
2.3.4.
Technological ............................................................................................... 16

2.4.

Competition ................................................................................................................ 16

2.5.

Product Offering.......................................................................................................... 17

2.6.

Key to Success ........................................................................................................... 17

2.7.

Critical Issues ............................................................................................................. 17

Marketing Strategy................................................................................................................. 19
3.1.

Mission ....................................................................................................................... 19

3.2.

Target Markets............................................................................................................ 19

3.3.

Marketing Objectives .................................................................................................. 19

3.4.

Positioning .................................................................................................................. 20

3.5.

Select the right Channels ............................................................................................ 21

3.5.1.
Direct Sales Channels .................................................................................. 21
3.5.2.
Direct Channels............................................................................................ 21
3.5.3.
Indirect Channels ......................................................................................... 22

3.6.

Financial Objectives .................................................................................................... 23

3.7.

Strategies ................................................................................................................... 24
3.7.1.
eService ....................................................................................................... 24
3.7.2.
Social Media ................................................................................................ 26

3.8.

Marketing Mix ............................................................................................................. 26

3.9.

Marketing Research .................................................................................................... 27

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4.

Implementation ...................................................................................................................... 28

5.

References ............................................................................................................................ 29

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1.

Executive Summary
Tourism, in particular travel in Asia is a booming activity due to increasing wealth within
major Asian countries such as China, India and Malaysia. Traditional countries e.g. Australia also have a very strong economy which creates higher percentage of wealth within
their population1. This provides an extraordinary opportunity for Singapore to position itself as a travel destination within this region.
Singapore is already known as a cosmopolitan, multi-cultural destination in Asia which is
worth visiting either for business or holiday reasons e.g. on a cross-over to another final
destination in Asia. Singapore already provides a broad range of tourist products and
services.
Singapore differs from neighbouring countries, since there is a lack of space and natural
resources, which gives neighbouring destinations an advantage. Singapore has therefore
dedicated itself to being a hub for everything that is ASIA (Yose Hemana)2. To have this
goal, Singapore has invested heavily in building up its infrastructure. Singapores lack of
natural resources has caused them to market their tourism differently by focusing on their
human resources in the service industry. Singapore has built up an East meets West
culture of multiracial people, promoting a mixture of Chinese, Malaysian, Middle Eastern,
Indian and Western cuisine. Singapore cuisine is presented at the annual Singapore
Food Festival. This is accentuated with little India, Chinatown, and with the western modernisation, e.g. Shopping, Zoos, gardens, and its clean and green environment. Along
with this, a tax-free facility encourages tourists to spend more.
The challenge for Singapore is to attract visitors to visit Singapore on a frequent base by
offering services, which are worth experiencing more than just once. It is important to
create a relationship with the tourists in order to create, maintain and further develop services that have a true market demand.

Gary B, (2011), Asia Pacifics Tourist Boom, business travel connexion

Yose Hemana, (2007) Singapore Tourism Industry: a Contribution to the economy

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2.

Situational Analysis
Singapore is currently in a growth and maturity state. People are aware of Singapore as a
tourist destination and the city is known as a busy cosmopolitan city that offers a superior
class living environment surrounded by high-rise buildings and gardens.
An interesting facet about Singapore is the ubiquitous collage of cultures where people of
different ethnicities and beliefs coexist peacefully.
The goals of the Singapore Tourism Board for 2015 are:
To become a Leading Convention & Exhibition City in Asia
To to enrich visitor experience that is Uniquely Singapore
To establish Singapore as the Services Centre of Asia
With a S$2 billion fund, they want to improve four areas:

Infrastructure Development

Capability Development

Anchoring Iconic/Major Events

Product Development
The Uniquely Singapore slogan and programme which has been criticised as not being
supported by the Singaporean population and not having a clear distinctive message to
outside tourists (F. Woo Yee3) has been changed into Your Singapore with a higher focus on visitor-centricity and local residents.

2.1. Market Summary

Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has very detailed statistics about their visitors. This information provides details such as per capita spent per visitor, sophisticated demographics and geographic analysis, and it is used to develop a better strategy for tourism marketing and budgeting.
2.1.1.

Target Markets Evaluation

Education
Due to the globalisation and evolution of a knowledge-based economy, to have a competitive advantage, Singapore have reformed their education infrastructure which originally only
followed UK standard level to include a more decentralized education system, Mok et al4.
Local sport and global sport events
Singapore as an island city state offers many different possibilities of sports like golf, tennis, and all possible water sports.
In terms of advertisement and marketing, Singapore has been investing significant
amount of money and effort to booster its sports industry in recent years. The Singapore

F.Woo Yee,Nation Branding: A case study of Singapore, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Ka-ho Mok, Decentralisation and marketization of education in Singapore: A case study of the school excellence model, Journal of
Educational Administration Vol.41, Iss. 4. p.348-366, 2003

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Economic Development Board sees a considerable yet unused potential in the sports industry of US$25.4 billion in products and US$20.7 billion in services by 2013.
Singapore has hosted a number of internationally
popular sporting events such as the Formula 1
SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, the Youth Olympic
Games and had Asias first night circuit Formula
One race initiated. It also advertises the multimillion project of the new Singapore Sports Hub
(planed opening in 2014) as an opportunity for
branding, marketing and broadcasting events for
international investors, sports clubs and sports related companies. (Singapore Economic
Development Board, 7.11.2011)
As a result of its international advertisement and development of sports, Singapore was nominated second
best ultimate sports city in the Sport City Award at the
International Sports Event Management Awards 2010
Gala Dinner in London. Singapore also got the award
for the best government support.
Singapore also advertises sports actively in its own city
state. The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) was promoting sports to improve the attitude towards and participation in sports of Singaporeans under the slogan Lets
Play and contributed to the marketing initiative of Unique
Singapore by giving the Singaporeans a feeling of
uniqueness and common identity which will help tourism
in the long haul. The Singaporeans already are very keen
on spectator sports and thus give tourists a positive and truthful feeling about Singapore
as a sports city.
Entertainment & Leisure
Singapore offers many attractions and entertainment centres for having fun as well as being a business hub. Tourist attractions such as Singapores National Museum, Singapore
Science Centre and Singapore Zoological Gardens etc. offer interactive fun while learning
at the same time. Theatres, cinemas, night clubs, pubs and cocktail lounges offer a wide
range of night life options. Amusement centres and parks provide more opportunities to
enjoy the city life. A wide range of clubs are active in the city with activities ranging from
swimming, sailing, gymnastics and sports to cultural clubs for many of the communities
represented.
Food
Singapore is known as a multi place for nations, religion, languages and cultures. Singapore attracted lots of different people from all over the world to live there. This multinational, cultural and religious development is also reflected in their food style which
fuses primarily Chinese, Indian, Malay, and other cultures. Although this very interesting
mixture food alone doesnt create a unique value to visit Singapore e.g. Malaysia offers a
similar food.
Food and Shopping is in regard to Ruetsche (2006) only a secondary element of tourism.
Although it still plays a very important part to tourism industry since visitors still need to
eat during their vacation time and also want to buy souvenirs for family and friends.
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Accommodation and wellness

Singapore wants to promote and strengthen its city as a destination for meetings, conventions and exhibitions and incentives but also for holidays with families. This trend can
be underpinned by openings of two integrated resorts5 in 2010 which also provides conventions and exhibition facilities. Focusing on this integrated resorts are expected to
boost tourist figures exponentially. The concept of integrated resorts was actually introduced by Singapore in 2005 with the intention to broaden premium leisure and entertainment options. This concept is (with a different naming) very successful implemented in
Las Vegas and Bahamas e.g. Wynn/Encore resort in Las Vegas.
Another aspect is to increase medical tourism. Over time Singapore attracted high educated people to settle. As a result Singapore offers high end quality services in various
areas e.g. healthcare and education services. The increase of especially medical tourism
also creates a need for hospitality services around this special customer segment. Being
able to spot this target customer segment might be a chance to create a unique value.
We havent found any detailed information which would highlight such a segment but
would be worth a research.
Another aspect that will be of interest is the number of female visitors rising over last 10
years by 57% to 5.131M which is about the half of all visitors. The main age groups are
between 25 and 64. Adjusting hospitality services towards these trends can potentially
build a unique value offered.

MICE (Meeting, Incentives, Conference, Events)

Singapore is one of the leading destinations in the world for MICE. Its target is to promote
and strengthen its city as a destination for MICE (meetings, conventions and exhibitions
and incentives). Up to 6000 business events are held in Singapore each year. In 2008
alone, Singapore accounted for one-fourth of all the business events that were held in
Asia and welcomed close to three million business travellers.6

2.1.2.

Target Visitor Evaluation

The typical profile for a visitor in Singapore consists of the following geographic, demographic and behavioural factors:
Geographical Analysis
Visitors within this segment are visiting from South East Asia and North Asia summing up to 61% of all visitors, followed by Europe. Oceania and South Asia, each at
10% 7.
The top 10 markets are Indonesia, China, Australia, Malaysia, India, Japan, UK,
Thailand and USA.

Integrated Resorts is a combination of conventions and exhibition facilities, themed attractions, entertainment venues, recreation facilities, and hotel and retail mix.
PRLog Press release distribution (2010) Its a rosy picture for Singapores business tourism sector with the rebound of Singapores
MICE industry.
Source: Singapore Tourist Board Statistics, (2011), Annual Report on Tourism Statistics 2009

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Demographics (as of 2010)

Majority ages between 25 and 64, which makes 84% of all visitors.
There is almost an equal gender ratio between female and male.
Per Capita expenditure in total is S$ 951 (~480)
Behaviour Factors
The majority of average length of stay is between <1 day and 3 days.
Their overall stay to 61% in a hotel and for 22% in a residence of friends or relatives.
Main purpose for visits is holiday and business/MICE.
Major expenditure are for shopping, accommodations, food & beverages, medical,
local transportation, and sightseeing services.

Figure 1 Expenditure Statistics for Shopping

2.1.3.

Market Needs
There is a market need for education to be of international standard, with Asian cultural
experience and human development. Singapore has addressed this need by decentralizing their initially UK standard education system, to be more internationally focused.
Singapore with its multi-national, cultural and religious background and reflects this in
their food style, which fuses primarily Chinese, Indian, Malay, and other cultures. But,
one has to be aware that this mixture food alone doesnt create a unique value to visit
Singapore as e.g. Malaysia offers similar food. Food and Shopping is in regard to Ruetsche (2006) only a secondary element of tourism.
Visitors have the need to eat to pass their vacation time in a clean and safe environment
where they can enjoy their food and buy souvenirs.

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In times of individualisation, participating and visiting unique and globally watched events
such as sports events become more important to visitors.
Sightseeing
Singapore offers a wide variety of sightseeing tours, including some unique experiences
such as the night safari in a tram, wild tour of the Zoo and enjoy breakfast with the
Orangutans or an afternoon trip to the Sentosa Island resort. A rickshaw night tour of
Chinatown or a harbour cruise can be rounded off with a view of the city as from the
unique 165 meter high wheel the Singapore Flyer. Hop-on Hop-off bus tours allow visitors to visit the many attractions at their own pace.

2.1.4.

Market Trends
People in Asia, especially China and India, become wealthier and hence have more
money to spend on tourism. The global debt crisis has let to decline in value of western
currencies such as Euro and Dollar. This will reduce spending power of potential visitors
from these regions.
Education: the table below depicts the number of students going for Higher Education.
Table 18 below shows comparison between Hong Kong and Singapore. The table depicts
the number of students going for Higher Education:
Number of Students in
Higher education

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Hong Kong, China

85.7

83.3

84.8

85.9

84.3

82.6

Singapore

59.4

62.9

65.7

69

72.7

75.1

Figure 2 Education Table

100
Hong Kong,
China

50

Singapore
0
2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

Figure 3 - Education Graph

Holidays become an important part of Singapores tourism strategy. This trend can be
underpinned by openings of two integrated resorts9 in 2010, which also provides conventions and exhibition facilities. Focusing on this integrated resorts are expected to boost
tourist figures exponentially. The concept of integrated resorts was actually introduced by

8
9

Euromonitor International (2011) Higher Education Statistics

Note: Integrated Resorts is a combination of conventions and exhibition facilities, themed attractions, entertainment venues, recreation
facilities, and hotel and retail mix.

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Singapore in 2005 with the intention to broaden premium leisure and entertainment options.
Food. Although Singapore does not have abundant natural resources to develop more
diverse tourism experiences, it does have a diverse food and culture background, and
with the combination of tourism and creativity, it can forge a culinary tourism which is innovative, diverse, and attracts peoples attention10.
Sport. There is a clear trend of sports related tourism (e.g. World Football Championships) and Singapore has a reputation in the ASEAN countries to be one of the best developed sports hosting cities. Other countries try to follow that trend but have not yet
reached the same status as Singapore.
Entertainment and Leisure. A wide range of innovative offerings provide as large an offering as any other location in Asia. These are constantly being expanded to reflect the
cultures present in the city.

2.1.5.

Profit from tourism in Asian countries

Table 2.11 Shows the trend of visitors in Singapore over the years and its competitors:
Profit from
Tourism/Year

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Hong Kong,
China

2,340

2,497

2,745

3,333

4,161

5,741

Japan

-8,969

-7,576

-5,511

-5,276

-8,628

-8,947

Malaysia

3,519

4,121

5,355

6,503

7,954

8,850

Singapore

2,000

2,245

2,539

3,210

2,449

3,844

Thailand

3,993

5,679

6,595

7,109

7,770

8,716

Figure 4 - Profit from tourism across major Asian tourist destinations

10 Tsai C., Horng J., (2005) Exploring marketing strategy of culinary tourism development in Hong Kong and Singapore: A resourcebased theory
11

Euromonitor International (2011) Tourism Profit Revenue Statistics

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10000.00
8000.00
6000.00
4000.00

Hong Kong, China

2000.00

Japan

0.00
-2000.00

Malaysia
2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Singapore
Thailand

-4000.00
-6000.00
-8000.00
-10000.00

Figure 5 Tourism Profit graph

2.1.6.

Market Growth
With a growing wealth in Asian countries we see a growing potential within in following
sectors:

Medical & Wellness

Gambling

Leisure and Events

and MICE
Above areas have a steady growth based in various statistics. Neighbouring countries to
Singapore such as Thailand recognize this trend too and thus, a growing competition is
challenging Singapore.

2.2.

SWOT

2.2.1.

Strengths
Tourism is already well established in Singapore with high annual visitor arrivals.
There is political awareness of tourism in Singapore as demonstrated by ministerial
meetings with other ASEAN countries
Singapore seen to be safe and welcoming
The developed business sector in Singapore is being complemented by new entries
to the market e.g. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
The entertainment sector is already well developed in the areas of shopping and
nightlife
Singapore already well known by external tourism channels

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Air travel not required by tourism from Malaysia

Singapore Changi is a world-class airport
Wide range of tourism resources from wildlife, culture, sports, and health and wellness.
Multiple country tours available for ASEAN countries
Widespread English language spoken

2.2.2.

Weaknesses
Market maturity of new sectors not well developed
Competing strategy with neighbouring countries to be a strategic hub
Progress slow due to extra levels of government policy making.
Lack of collaboration with Singapore Airlines
Many marketing campaigns do not show an overall integrated and consistent message.
Unique Singapore has failed to convey its message. Your Singapore is not used at
its full possibilities
Website is confusing. Facebook site lacks design. YouTube video is outdated.
Lack of cooperation with trading companies
Visas are required for travellers from outside the region (e.g. China and India)
Similar image to neighbouring tourist destinations e.g. beaches and cultural assets.
Lack of tourism marketing offices in some major countries
Some target visitor countries such as India and China are not well understood
Some ASEAN tourists are not interested in visiting neighbouring countries

2.2.3.

Opportunities
Close to growing markets such as China and India. Shorter distances to highexpenditure markets such as the Japan, Middle East and Korea.
Tourist packages should include more variety with medical and gambling
Simplifying visa requirements would help
Leveraging family tourism with business visitors from India, Japan, China and Australia
Expand facilities for the MICE market.
Attract tourists using Singapore Airport as hub for travel
Attract and leverage special international events such as Formula 1 race
Develop Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) tourism

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2.2.4.

Threats
Regional threats such as the tsunami crises discourage tourism.
Currency fluctuation in light of the current financial credit crisis is a risk.
Ongoing ethnic and religious conflicts are potentially problematic.
Budget for the national Singapore tourism organization may be reduced if global
economic activity reduces.
Integrated campaigns may not be supported by all sectors.
Other regional countries may offer competing strategies

2.3.

PEST(LE)12

2.3.1.

Political
Singapore is noted as having a stable government which generously funds various
initiatives e.g. Finance Sector, Education Sector, Tourism sector
Ministry of Trade and Industry have stated that their vision is to make Singapore a
leading global city of talent, enterprise and innovation. This is to promote economy
by providing higher standard of living and creation of jobs.
Ministry of Finance has mentioned their aim is to develop rather than control. Development would be in working with industry experts to make Singapore a world class
financial and business hub.
To promote transparency, the government has setup a Government E-Business Portal where all public sector announcements are posted and an e-procurement for
government.
Low corruption rate and Enforcement units are known to be very efficient and keeping low crime rate.
The government has deregulated several markets and liberalized it so that now it is
able to reduce costs of e.g. Electricity and has allowed for competition.
Non Government Organisation (NGO) helps to promote tourism. To promote tourism
Casino has been introduced.

2.3.2.

Economical
Singapore is an example of a Vibrant free market economy
Government has invested significantly in diversifying economy leading to growth of
tourism industry.
Singapore has been very productive in past but due to Financial crisis in 2008 they
have taken a hit in sales

12

Hoon L., (2009) PEST Singapore Business Environment, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI M
ALAYSIA CITY

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Has a strong currency which means residents are leaving country for holiday; however, Singapore buys petrol from Malaysia cheaply.
Singapore government uses tax to reinvest into the city and attract foreign investors
which they are reliant on
Is said to currently be in surplus in its economy due to its careful expenditure
Singapore has no foreign debt

2.3.3.

Social
Strong cultural, traditional family values with latest generation adopting western culture
Hard working and as a result has increased nations productiveness in the business
sectors, however this has led to some sacrifice on family and social values
Population is mix of Chinese, Malays and Indians
Singaporeans do not like blue collar work and as a result there is foreign hiring of
workers to perform these tasks
Singapore has invested heavily in education and made it a law for all children to be
educated. English being primary language

2.3.4.

Technological
One of the strongest IT infrastructure
Progressively moving to electronic services area
Due to lack of water resources, Singapore is recycling and desalinating water. Singapore is said to have the best technology in recycling water, and its been mentioned that neighbouring countries are looking to adopt this technology.

2.4.

Competition13
Competition varies in the context of tourism sector. From an educational perspective Singapore faces global competition from Western countries such as USA and UK but also
Hong Kong. Another indirect competition is faced by online universities. In a context of
leisure, entertainment, sport & sport events and food we see competition in neighbouring
countries.
Some of the competitions are an indirect competition as they only compete in a single
discipline e.g. within holidays but on a long term, countries and cities in this region develop and increase and complete their offering across other sectors (MICE, education,
leisure & entertainment, sport & sport events, food, etc) and will become a direct competition for Singapore.
A big competition is faced as other countries try to replace Singapore as an aviation hub
in the Asia and Pacific region.

13

Rewtrakunphaiboon W, (2007) ASEAN IMAGE POSITIONING: THE CASE STUDY OF SINGAPORE

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2.5.

Product Offering14
Singapore is famous for being a clean spot, which uniquely incorporates multi cultural
and multinational attitudes which is reflected in many areas such as food or attractions.
Visitors can experience this exotic mix across several offerings in Singapore:

2.6.

Shopping & food paradise of ASIA

MICE centre of the world
Health care service hub of ASIA
Short break holiday
Fusion and cosmopolitan destination
Education hub of ASIA
City of major events
Aviation hub

Key to Success
The key to success for Singapore is to design combinations of products that meet market
demands and create a unique brand positioning such as Matterhorn, watches, the famous Swiss army knife, and chocolate for Switzerland.

2.7.

Critical Issues
For Singapore to maintain its unique quality is challenging, as neighbouring countries
provide more natural resources and soul. Singapore can focus on its far superior infrastructure and support of human resources in its tourism marketing. In this way Singapore
has managed to maintain their success as a destination for tourism. However, the lack of
space is a challenge that Singapore has to contend with.
As mentioned previously, Singapores main destination competitors are Hong Kong and
Malaysia. F. Woo Yee15 states that Singapores previous branding of uniquely Singapore although successful in presenting Singapores assets was in all still weak in terms
of what message the brand was trying to convey about Singapore. He mentioned that after analysis from various questionnaire responses from consumers, what unique quality
there was about Singapore was very ambiguous. Singapores portrayal of East meets
West and cultural melting pot although is attractive to consumers, does not quite differentiate itself from e.g. Abu Dhabi or even UK.
To differentiate Singapore from other countries, it has to strengthen its brand positioning
by presenting itself as the hospitable tourist destination as it is one of its main strengths
for being a multicultural, clean and safe Asian city. As they already are mature in terms of
tourism, to have a controlled growth of tourism and increase and maintain visitor satisfaction, constant monitoring of customer satisfaction and needs is a critical issue.

14

Keng K. A., (2005) Developing Singapore as an Educational Hub in Asia: Opportunities and Challenge, Dept of Marketing & IB, Ling-

nan University
15

Yee, W.F., (2009) Nation Branding: A case study of Singapore, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

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3.

Marketing Strategy

3.1.

Mission
As the Singapore Tourism Board states:
The mission of the Board is to develop and champion tourism, so as to build the sector
into a key driver of economic growth for Singapore. The STB aims to differentiate and
market Singapore as a must-visit destination offering enriching experiences through the
Uniquely Singapore brand.
We would recommend The Singapore Tourism Board to enhance its mission statement
that it aims its differentiation to give the visitor an individualised experience and use its
new brand Your Singapore.
Marketings role is to move Singapore from a stage of product awareness to product
preferences and create a brand people like to visit on a frequent base.

3.2.

Target Markets
It is important to understand what type of people visiting Singapore but also being aware
of trends. We will highlight the predominant visitors market segment. To define visitors
market we were using demographic and geographic data as well as information across
sets that have been explored in chapter 2.1.2.
The main focus should be on attracting higher net-value tourists in order to increase
revenue without having to increase the number of tourists. The target sector is middleclass families looking for active vacations with activities for all the family.
The predominant visitors profiles are families (with 1 kid), couples and business associates from Asian countries. Their trip purposes are mainly for holiday and business. The
majority of visitors stays between under 1 day and 3 days on average and fit a gender
group between 25 and 50. 61% like to choose hotels as accommodations whereby the
rest prefers other places or stay with their friends or relatives. Using available statistics
and other additional external sources, Singapore is able to create specific segments that
they can target. It is very important to understand how segments think as this will create a
competitive advantage16.

3.3.

Marketing Objectives
The impression left by the tourist literature, website and travel agent information was that
Singapore offers all things to all people. From budget family holidays to exclusive wellness breaks the information is presented in a manner that leaves no lasting impression of
the uniqueness of Singapore. A strong brand positioning with a clear message is required
to differentiate Singapore from its neighbouring competitors. Singapore should be posi-

16 McDonald M., Smith B.D., Ward K., Marketing Due Intelligence Reconnecting Strategy to Share Price, 2007

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tioned as a safe, quality, welcoming and open location for exciting high end family vacations.
The recent economic boom in China created a new wealthy class including families,
young couple and business men and women. This group should be directly targeted by
marketing activities, working closely with airlines, travel agents, cultural and business organizations.
The existence of multiple cultures living peacefully together in Singapore should be exploited to promote an open, friendly population willing to welcome the tourist. Tourist literature and website should emphasise this.

3.4.

Positioning
After reviewing Singapore Tourism Boards Marketing Strategy in spite of having good
marketing mix, the positioning of Singapore Tourism is very weak. The Brand name Your
Singapore and related website, does not clarify how Singapore has positioned itself
uniquely in comparison to other neighbouring countries, e.g. Malaysia and Hong Kong.
In terms of culture Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines have stronger cultures and in terms
of modernity and progressive society, Hong Kong can boast this as well.
One of the Singapores many strengths is its stable government, low crime17 rate and its
clean and green environment, Singapores Point of Parity. This is unique to Singapore,
which other neighbouring countries have yet to boast about. In combination with this, the
multi culture city, with foods from across the world, consumers are able to experience
Asian culture, from mix of Chinese, Malaysian and Indian, combined with the freedom
and modernity of the western nations, in a safe, clean and secure environment all in one
location.
YourSingapore the brand name itself in association with the website seems to say Come
to Singapore, and make your own experience. It would be stronger to leave an impression on consumers mind of Come to Singapore, city of modernity, peace, culture and
stability. In this way Singapore could be made to have a stronger brand positioning compared to other neighbouring cities. Your Singapore brand name can be kept but the
meaning behind it can be changed and strengthened to provide more focused and distinguished identity.
The Point of Difference would be Singapores offering of richness of Asian culture with
safety, cleanliness and stability economically with western modernity.
Internet presence gets more and more important over all other type of media. A well designed website which can be easily found over Google or bing (e.g.) can help strengthen
brand identity, informs visitors and leaves a first impression on them whether to the user
is aware of it or not.

17

Singh, J (2000), Crime Prevention The Singapore Approach

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3.5.

Select the right Channels

3.5.1.

Direct Sales Channels

Since the target population for tourism is widely geographically dispersed, a direct sales
force is uneconomic. Specialised travel agents act as direct sales partners by advising
the customers and booking the travel arrangements directly.
We recommend an integrated sales campaign with specific travel agents in the target
markets. Once the target markets are defined (China and ASEAN countries), marketing
materials are prepared in the local language. Based on their knowledge, travel agents are
chosen who are willing to promote the new Singapore campaign. This includes sponsoring a travel agent employee who will act as local agent and centre of competence. Promotional events are organized by the Singapore tourist board together with the local partner with individual invitations to selected customers. The local partner will be invited to
Singapore for a week training and information. During this time details of the local marketing campaign in his area can be adjusted and adapted to local conditions. The local partner will use his knowledge how to select and reach the target population. An incentive
program will be offered the agent based on holiday bookings.

3.5.2.

Direct Channels
We would recommend Singapore Tourism to keep on investing into direct channels. First
and foremost as stated above improve the website to enhance usability and therefore
user experience. Also, new YouTube promotion clips with the new Your Singapore logo,
each focusing on a different audience would add to the brand positioning. At the moment
one can only find the Uniquely Singapore clip
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va9awWNjInE) which shows Singapore as a business city with many attractions for the business traveller.
Like the airline Qatar which had an incredible rise is now number three airline of the world
(http://www.worldairlineawards.com/main/2010Awards.htm), an advertisement in CNN
and BBC would help improve Singapores publicity and brand positioning.
As Singapore wants to improve its publicity in the sector of sports, the further promotion
of mega events such as Formula 1 racing or Golf competitions can help on positioning
Singapore as a very interesting tourism destination in the long term.
Social media and networking is an increasing and very powerful force of driving travel
planning today and is a very valuable and important channel for tourism marketing. By
PhocusWright Travel research (2010) it is expected that travellers referred to a hotel or
tourism booking site by Facebook18 are also more likely to book travel than those who are
referred via search engines like Google. The same is true for TripAdvisor which has become the #1 most popular travel website; with 35,382,000 unique monthly visitors it surpasses Expedia by over 2 million visits (ComScore tourism research 2010). Social media
provide a very efficient and economically attractive way of customer acquisition and retention. Although, it is important to forget about old marketing approaches as they are not
valid within social media and follow few new rules such as active and passive referral
marketing19.
Singapore already engages in social media at a discovery and sharing stage such as
Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Tripadvisor. Facebook for example is primarily used as

18
19

Facebook with more than 700M user is the third biggest population after China and India.
Gibs J., Bruich S., (2010) Understanding the Value of a Social Media Impression, Nielsen Report, Nielsen Company

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a platform to have their visitors share their experiences in Singapore. There is higher
value within social networks at engagement stages where the tourist board will share,
participate and co-create at the highest level. Advanced stages of sharing and participating require community building and community management. An example for co-create is
to conduct events within social networks.
In any case, the YourSingapore logo, YourSingapore slogan should come up and be
used in a way, that the message is clearly understood (e.g. showing an example of how it
is possible to the tourist to individualize his stay. And it should focus on the targeted audience as stated earlier.

3.5.3.

Indirect Channels
The need to integrate different state-level organization into tourism marketing, in particular nation branding, is widely accepted. Dinnie, Melewar, Seidenfuss and Musa examined
the extent for which the key organizations engage in a context of nation branding activities. In particular export promotion organization (EPO), investment agencies (IA). National
tourism organizations (NTO) and embassies coordinate their efforts to the principle of coordination that characterizes an integrated marketing communications e.g. at some
events Singapore can promote their trade, tourism and investment in an occasion where
they collaborate with each other or simply help to create a positive image of Singapore.
Another key player is private sector organization and companies, which should be taken
into consideration to coordinate activities e.g. Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of
industries, and other. An example to coordinate an activity with a private held company
can be promoting Tiger Beer and Singapore as a destination to travel to in other countries; coordinated activity between Malayan Breweries Limited and Singapores Tourist
Board (STB). It is important to find overlaps between organization, which is important in
order to develop and create potential value that can be delivered to targets (for the Singapore Tourist Board potential visitors or attract people to re-visit). For the given example
of Tiger Beer it could be an associated image of an exotic waterfront and a certain life
style the brewery wants to deliver when people see, drink, and experience their beer. On
the other hand the STB will co-sponsor such a campaign and uses this campaign to attract people to visit Singapore and experience this exotic waterfront and this life style for
real. Similar campaigns had proven success e.g. with Heineken or
A big advantage for Singapore is the size of the country compared to neighbouring countries and very developed and structured organizations. This should imply a high efficiency
in coordinating activities between various organizations and definitely can be seen as a
competitive advantage e.g. when being invited to a host country Singapores EPO, IA,
NTO and embassies must engage not only with local organization but organization from
(other) host countries. That helps to build strong networks and relationship that embed a
countrys nation branding activities in the host country. It definitely help to define clear
guidelines and policies for EPO, IA, NTOS and embassies and whether possible also for
private sector. For the private sector it might be recommended to select exclusive or selective partner that Singapore thinks of cooperating with and getting the best value and
define restrictions to avoid any exploitation of a established brand as it happens for example with Switzerland when there was a Swiss cross on everything as a symbol for reliability.

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3.6.

Financial Objectives
The tourism balance of payments reached S$8.2 billion in 2010, with total incoming tourist receipts far exceeding outgoing tourist expenditure.
Year

Receipts (S$ million)

2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010

12027.4
12986.3
14575.9
15325.9
12414.0
15517.5

Expenditure (S$ million)

5974.3
6424.4
6919.5
6979.3
6859.5
7339.6

Balance (S$ million)

6053.1
6561.9
7656.5
8346.7
5554.5
8177.9

A series of natural catastrophes reduced the figures for 2009 (Iceland volcanic dust
cloud, Australian floods, Pacific tsunami). 20 However, the latest detailed figures are
available for 2009 as follows21. 2010 figures are estimated based in 2010 total and percentage from 2009.
Major items

Accommodation
Food & Beverage
Shopping
Local Transport
Sightseeing / Entertainment
Medical
Major Countries
Indonesia
China
Australia
Malaysia
Philippines
USA

2009 Receipts
(S$ million)

% of Total Receipts

2838
1411
3281
591
248

23%
11%
26%
5%
2%

Assignment
Estimate 2010
(S$ million)
3569
1707
4034
776
310

732

6%

931

2009 Receipts
(S$ million)

% of Total
Receipts

1599
1052
617
513
485
431

13%
8%
5%
4%
4%
3%

Estimate
Assignment
Revenue
2010 Forecast 2012
Increase
(S$ million)
(S$ million) (S$ million)
2017
2118
101
1241
1502
261
776
815
39
621
643
22
621
652
31
466
466
0

By targeting visitors from China in the high-end market segment, we forecast an increase
of 10% in the number of visitors. Each visitor we forecast will spend 10% more than before because of the change in visitor type resulting in an increase of 21% in revenue. For
the other Asian countries we forecast an increase in 5% due to the changed visitor type.
The total revenue increase we forecast to be 454 S$ million.
The budget values provided are estimates to target the Asian markets in particular China.
On a prudence concept we assume:
20
21

Euromonitor International (2011) Travel and Tourism Singapore -Tourism Review

Euromonitor International (2011) Annual Report on Tourism Statistics 2009

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Cost of Capital of 10%

Inflation negligible
Results of investment measurable 12 months after new marketing campaign

The Net Present Value in 2011 of the revenue increase in 2012 is 454 S$ million / 1.1 =
413 S$ million.
Assuming a minimum return investment of 20%, then the maximum expenditure for this
project should be 413 / 1.2 = 344 S$ million.
With a budget of 344 S$ million, the marketing project costs are allocated as follows:

Indirect marketing with Travel Agents, training, campaigns, visits to Singapore

(ASEAN countries)
100S$ million

Sales Promotion: Direct marketing campaigns, Mailings, Internet (ASEAN countries)

100S$ million

Promotional Events in major Chinese cities with local partners

10S$ million

Advertising: Cooperative campaigns with Singapore Airlines & Tiger Beer

10S$ million

Public Relations & Publicity: Various materials, brochures, sponsoring, participation in travel fairs
124S$ million
The whole project should be managed based on the Integrated Marketing Communications Process (IMC). This plan will be used to evaluate the strategic roles of the marketing
channels and combines them to produce an integrated message.

3.7.

Strategies
Strengthen the branding positioning by focusing on the target audience and establish and
enhance communication channels.
A Second strategy is for a horizontal alliance with Singapore Airlines in developing Singapore cultural awareness.

3.7.1.

eService
Assessing the e-service quality of Singapores website www.yoursingapore.com, which
incorporates the YourSingapore brand name of Singapore Tourism Board, gives us some
knowledge about their service quality as a tourism board, brand positioning and the 11
dimensions of the possibly perceived e-service quality of a visitor of the website (Kottler,
Keller, 2010, p. 256).

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Figure 6 YourSingapore entry page of website

The first impression of the website is similar to one of a nightlife promoting website; many
information and many moving and very disordered pictures. The first picture that catches
the eye is a caprice-like sandwich with rice not entirely the food youd expect from an
Asiatic multicultural business city.
Using the 11 dimensions by Zeithaml, Parasuraman and Malhotra, we can criticise following points:
Reliability/Fulfilment:
The website does not represent how Singapore tourism board promotes YourSingapore. As they describe it: The focus is visitor-centricity, meaning the experiences are
made wholesome and personal, drawing their allure from the breadth and richness of attractions [...] Travellers will be enabled to design their own journeys [...] A multitude of

stories told through the eyes of travellers from all over the world [...].

The Website does not give the impression of a personal appeal that allows some individuality and the visitor-centricity cannot be seen. Also, the stories that are promoted
cannot be found at first sight and are not personalised.
The website does provide all the information a traveller needs. It also takes heed of the
different needs of different target audiences and structured the information correspondingly. It also has all the needed new-social-media links younger people use.

Website Design
The entry page is too wild and needs a clear and focused picture, which encourages
users to want to stay. A picture of the city with people in front preferably some multicultural and well-dressed family would help build up a brand of the city to be multicultural,
prosperous, young and welcome to families and couples.
Also, the choice of colour is questionable. Although red is said to be more memorable,
together with the black background it is addressing young and teen people more then
others. It is hard to read grey font on black background. To address the main target audiences (family, couples and business travellers) a different choice of colour set would be
more appropriate.
The use of the YourSingapore guide allows putting a personal travel plan together which
is a unique and very forward thinking tool. The use of the tool is easy, but you have to
browse the website to add items to it, which makes the use again cumbersome.

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The personalisation of the site is accurate as it gives basic information and provides different possibilities for personalisation, such as the travel plan, use of iPhone apps, links
to Facebook, twitter, Tripadvisor and a mailing list.
The available selection of the website is very encompassing.
Security/Privacy
Security and privacy are not a major concern of a information site as no personal information except a email address is asked for if you want to sign up for the mailing list.
The flight booking redirects the user to a common booking system.
Customer Service
Although hard to find, the site gives email addresses, phone numbers and addresses for
tourist information, visitor centres and enquiries.
Also, the website is very concerned about the wellbeing of the traveller, stating this many
times and giving helpful information for flights, arrivals, laws and regulations and other
useful information.
Concluding, Singapores web presence has to be improved as it does not address the
most important audience and does not add to brand positioning. Also, it does not build on
the fame it has to be one of the most secure and clean countries in the world.
3.7.2.

Social Media
An engagement within social media has two major aspects in a marketing context, which
is of interest for Singapore tourist board: customer acquisition and customer retention.

Getting valuable insights how visitors think of Singapore. These insights help to
understand wants and needs as well spot trends and feedbacks. This information can also used for further segmentations.

Promoting Singapore as a brand and raise brand awareness within these channels to reach out to past visitors and attract them to re-visit and potentially new
visitors. A perfect example was given by KLM22
Social media and networks provide a very good capability to position Singapore as a destination. It is Important for Singapore to raise awareness and pay serious attention when
engaging in social media. Hence another logical step is to integrate existing marketing
systems with social media not just to include social media as fixed component of a communication strategy but also link Singapores marketing strategy with social media.

3.8.

Marketing Mix
Marketing mix should be considered by using the 4 Ps (Products, Price, Promotion, and
Placements). The services are recognized to be individual, integrated, and a unique experience to the visitor. The pricing is attractive and appropriate for the target segments. It
is important to incorporate direct and indirect channels to promote the valuable brand
Your Singapore. For distribution if we choose various manly selective and intensive
channels mainly in Asia and selected wealthy Western countries.

22

Note: KLM launched a campaign based on social network Twitter. Further details can be gathered on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh-JRoY7_LU

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3.9.

Marketing Research
Additional information provided by various data providers supply more detail on demographics, socioeconomics and preferences on targeted segments which will not or is difficult to be captured by Singapore itself e.g. relevant segmentation on categories that can
be associated to above this particular visitor segment is provided by e.g. Tapestry, Nielsen, and specialized data provider in Asia. For Singapore it is important to fully make use
of their statistics to profile visitor better and choice sub-system to enrich visitors. This will
help much better define and create value.

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4.

Implementation
With the various Marketing mix elements that are used in Singapores Tourism marketing
campaign,23managing the communication is an important task.
To use the example of British Gas24, an assembly of people responsible for the different
marketing mix, is held regularly, to review the Integrated Marketing communications
Strategy. This collaboration of members of different marketing communications ensures
the continuance of the objective of the marketing strategy and also being aware of the different communication tools used to maximise marketing promotional activities.
Using the 4Ps analysis is part of the review process. Performing SWOT analysis on the
Marketing strategy also aids in keeping up the progressive nature of consumers.
The goal of the integrated communications strategy is to create and keep consistent goal
objective across the media platforms. By repeatedly analysing and reviewing the communications strategy, the tourism board will be able to assess the correct budget required for
marketing and also justify the need for having the communication mix.
Looking at past marketing strategy, advertising was by far the most effective marketing
communication reaching mass market and achieving great awareness. However, marketing communication has also developed to become more sophisticated. Where advertising
used to be the predominant marketing communication tool, this is now replaced by internet. Consumers are more sophisticated in keeping current with latest offerings, and with a
few clicks are able to garner all the information they require. In future, the marketing
communication can develop towards more customised personal approach to consumers
without being invasive. It becomes imperative for Marketers to review and analyse their
current marketing strategy effectiveness, to keep up with progressive society.

23
24

Tourism New Zealand, official website of the New Zealand Tourism Board
Kotler P., Keller K.L., Marketing Management, Selected Chapters for use by the University of Strathclyde, Edition 13, 2010 p. 359

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5.

References

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kracht J. and Wang Y., Examining the tourism distribution channel: evolution and transformation, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Vol. 22 No. 5,
2010
Dinnie K. Melewar T. C., Seidenfuss K. U., Musa G., Nation branding and integrated marketing communications: an ASEAN perspective, International Marketing Review, Vol. 27,
No. 4, 2010, pp. 388-403
Lucarelli A., Berg P.O., City branding: a state-of-the-art review of the research domain,
Journal of Place Management and Development, Vol. 4 No. 1, 2011, page 9-27
Ryan, J. Silvanto S., A brand for all nations, The development of the World Heritage
Brand in emerging markets, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, Vol. 29, No. 3, 2011,
page 305-318
Tourism New Zealand, official website of the New Zealand Tourism Board
Kotler P., Keller K.L., Marketing Management, Selected Chapters for use by the University of Strathclyde, Edition 13, 2010
Gibs J., Bruich S., (2010) Understanding the Value of a Social Media Impression, Nielsen
Report, Nielsen Company
McDonald M., Smith B.D., Ward K., Marketing Due Intelligence Reconnecting Strategy
to Share Price, 2007
Yee, W.F., (2009) Nation Branding: A case study of Singapore, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Seth G., Purple Cow Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable, Penguin Books
Balakrishnan M. S., Nekhili R., Lewis C., Destination brand components, International
Journal of Culture, Tourism, and Hospitality Research, Vol.5 No 1, 2011, page 4-25
Hoon L., (2009) PEST Singapore Business Environment, International Business School
University Tekenologi Malaysia City
Rewtrakunphaiboon W, (2007) ASEAN IMAGE POSITIONING: THE CASE STUDY OF
SINGAPORE
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Singapore Sports Council, Sports Participation [Web Page] URL

http://www.ssc.gov.sg/publish/Corporate/en/participation/participation.html
Focus Singapore, A Complete Guide for Business, Education and Travel Information
[Web Page] URL http://www.focussingapore.com/information-singapore/cost-ofliving/singapore-working-hours.html

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ASEAN Basketball League, branding and marketing [Web Page] URL

www.aseanbasketballleague.com
Singapore Economic Development Board, [Web Page] URL
http://www.edb.gov.sg/edb/sg/en_uk/index.html
Sportsbusiness, 2010 Ultimate Sports Cities Awards [Web Page] URL
http://www.sportbusiness.com/awards/usc/2010
Red Sports (Thursday, November 4th, 2010), singporean online sport news [Web Page]
URL http://redsports.sg/sports-calendar/
Singapore Sports Council, Sports In Singapore [Web Page] URL
http://www.ssc.gov.sg/publish/Corporate/en/about/Sporting_Singapore_An_Overview.htm
l
Singapore Economic Development Board, Year 2010 In Review [Web Page] URL
http://www.edb.gov.sg/edb/sg/en_uk/index/news/articles/edb_year_2010_in_review.html
Singapore Tourism Board, Tourism 2015 [Web Page] URL
https://app.stb.gov.sg/asp/abo/abo08.asp
YouTube, Kuoni advertising sports in Singapore [Web Page] URL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-HiAPs_dzE
YouTube, YourSingapore promotes Festivals and Events [Web Page] URL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66CH1lHegvg

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