Tourism 2025: The future of tourism and hospitality for a tiny city-state

THE establishment of new Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) between Singapore and over 10 countries is an important milestone for Singapore. While recovery is expected to be gradual as travellers from the 11 VTL countries make up only less than 20 per cent of total visitor arrivals in 2019, this long-awaited news has brought about some form of hope for the hospitality industry. Among locals, there is a rush to travel once again. But, for inbound travellers to Singapore, the demand is yet to be seen.

As more countries reopen for leisure tourism, the critical question that Singapore's tourism industry needs to address is: How to grow from here?

There is a need to re-evaluate what Singapore tourism has to offer.

For inbound leisure travel and tourism to grow meaningfully, the "me too" approach that Singapore's tourism industry has adopted must transform.

Offering "different" or "better" museums, shopping malls, food streets, convention centres or automated services that other destinations also offer will only yield marginal utility. It will not be sustainable as other destinations pursue the same tourist dollar more cost-effectively.

Singapore must evolve into a "uniquely me" tourism proposition. The decision to remake Orchard Road, develop the Greater Southern Waterfront and Mandai is a tremendous step in the right direction.

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The next question that the tourism industry will then need to ask is: How do we compete with global metropolises?

The concept of travel - a brief, long weekend trip, lounging by the pool with cocktail in hand - will be replaced with quality tourism; where experience-driven travellers make deliberate sustainable choices and embrace digitalisation, without neglecting health and hygiene concerns.

A theme to explore is for Singapore to present itself as a true city of the future, where cutting-edge technology advancements running on sustainable energy makes life better.

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Physical comforts must be paired with the more esoteric appeals like preserving our past while leveraging our home-grown art and culture. Feelings of being safe and secure will also become compelling reasons, rather than just hygiene factors. A sense of uniqueness in terms of higher quality experiences will be the draw.

Singapore will also need to develop unique concepts to compete with cities such as Paris, New York, or Tokyo for the same dollar. To do this, we need a highly-evolved and dynamic creative cadre; the artists, innovators, entrepreneurs, musicians, chefs, et cetera.

Singapore will need to incubate our local creative talent base. Just as we did in the 1970s, when we attracted multinational corporations to Singapore to impart expertise and management skills, we must draw the best in the creative, entertainment, technology, design, art, and music industries to take residence in Singapore and groom local talents.

Firstly, there needs to be greater customisation to psychographic niches. This means more human interaction for personalisation, and more ingenuity.

Next, attracting and cultivating world-class talent is not just about getting the best professionals, but the best professionals aligned to our culture and working in a concerted way along with what the Singapore brand is known for - efficiency, transparency, and being progressive.

Lastly, there needs to be a redefinition of luxury - more about narratives and experiences and less about furnishing and gimmicky services.

Hotels must leverage the trend - that boutique hotels are rising, and consumers are shunning mass-market brands. Unique experiences trump mere consistency. The old adage "the best surprise is no surprise" is no longer valid. The savvy traveller today has raised the bar in terms of expectations. And, as Singapore continues to outgrow most countries in wealth and affluence, we need to attract First World markets. We need to win over travellers who are willing to pay First World rates to enjoy First World experiences.

• The writer is chief executive officer of Far East Hospitality.