Interview extension of the existing Passion Made Possible campaign – “ although a bit more focused on what business events is ,” explains Chi Chuan .
STB is also celebrating its 60th anniversary this year and its CVB ’ s 50th anniversary . “ We believe that the half a century of efforts have allowed us to better appreciate what business events can do ,” says Chi Chuan .
Legacy , sustainability and technology Legacy is another corner pillar of STB ’ s new marketing strategy , and they are putting their money where their mouths are in this respect .
The STB team is working on a legacy toolkit to enable event organisers to see how they can create positive impacts in their events in Singapore .
The funding formula available to oragnisers in Singapore is simple and transparent , Chi Chuan adds . The task being to give ideas to them on how any funding can be utilised . And it is not just about covering costs and venue hire , but includes a whole range of initiatives .
“ While Singapore was at the forefront of offering many hybrid solutions and technology to enable meetings to go ahead online during the pandemic , today technology is all about allowing us to collect data , and data doesn ’ t lie ,” says Chi Chuan .
“ It ’ s not just about putting people together , but ahout using the data to get clear insights . How you then monetise those insights is something we ’ re really interested to look into and technology can be a great enabler here .
“ Technology also helps us to track decisions made in the sustainability area ,” Chi Chuan says . “ For example , checking the results of switching menu choices , and how much carbon saving is actually made and how much food waste is generated .
“ Using data smartly has to be something that ’ s woven into the event planning and technology allows us to do that .”
Accreditation & recruitment STB is working closely with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council ( GSTC ) on accreditation and has the entire destination certified .
Organisers and contractors have also worked with local associations and industry association SACEOS to come up with an accreditation framework and road map to help their members become more sustainable . Here again , STB can help point to grants in place to help with that process .
Speaking of challenges , Chi Chuan says Singapore is trying to position itself as a choice career pathway for young people in business events to combat the problem of recruitment . He says STB is working with the polytechnics , the Institute of
Technical Education and vocational training institutions on introducing young people into the sector .
Visitor numbers In terms of statistics on vistation , Chi Chuan shares that March saw Singapore achieve 1.48 million arrivals , or about 95 % of the pre- Covid numbers .
He says the China market is a little slow to come back compared to the rest of the world , but notes that Singapore has now achieved visafree status with China .
Singapore sits in the middle of the three of the world ’ s largest countries , Indonesia , India and China itself , and all are within a short flight distance , he notes .
“ Spend is up the the arrivals are coming back ,” Chi Chuan concludes , adding : “ We are looking for a very good year in 2024 , 2025 and going forward .” EW
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