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For the past two years, Singapore’s tourism sector has been witness to greater challenges due to fluctuations in the global economy and in key source markets. Singapore also faces strong competition as neighbouring countries aggressively develop and promote tourism. The annual Tourism Industry Conference 2016 that took place earlier this week, highlighted that Singapore’s tourism sector will require both strategies that will allow Singapore to best benefit from long term growth opportunities and tactical measures to deal with volatility and challenges in the short term. The Minister for Trade and Industry, S Iswaran, announced at the event that the tourism sector will get another S$700 million boost over the next five years to improve innovation and growth. This third tranche of Tourism Development Fund money will broadly support three key areas, namely, the developing of products to keep Singapore a destination of choice, leveraging technology to increase productivity and improving manpower skills. Among other things, investments will be channelled towards niche sectors with potential for growth - the cruise industry, for example - as well as supporting the adoption of technology, such as robotics, data analytics or retrofitting of hotel premises. Over this period of five years, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) will continuously strengthen trade engagements and marketing efforts to Singapore’s top five source markets and other fast-developing secondary markets.
HVS APAC HOSPITALITY NEWSLETTER.
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