SPEECH BY MR S ISWARAN
MINISTER OF STATE FOR TRADE AND INDUSTRY
AT THE SINGAPORE TOURISM BOARD INDUSTRY NIGHT 2008
31 JANUARY 2008, 7.30PM, ST REGIS HOTEL

Distinguished guests, Ladies and Gentlemen

Good evening,

Introduction

I am pleased to join you this evening to celebrate the past year’s achievements in Singapore’s tourism industry. Over the past 12 months, we have built up an exciting calendar of events, and introduced new and refreshing dining and entertainment concepts, to engage and entice the streams of visitors to Singapore. These and other developments in the pipeline will keep us on track to achieve our goal of $30 billion in tourism receipts and 17 million in visitor arrivals by 2015.

Looking Back – An Exciting 2007

Mega Events Coming to Singapore

2007 was certainly an eventful year for the industry.Soon after announcing the successful bidders for the two IRs in 2006, last year we clinched the rights to host the FORMULA ONE race.It is expected to generate much buzz and draw more than 80,000 spectators, a good many of whom will be from overseas.

In keeping with the sporting theme - in November, we secured another world class sporting event, the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR).Singapore will be the first Southeast Asian city to welcome the teams and their super yachts, sponsors as well as their corporate clients and guests in January next year.Apart from OneDegree 15 Marina Club in Sentosa, which is the stopover port, there will be fringe activities in several other parts of Singapore.

New Players in the MICE Industry

Besides attracting international sporting and leisure activities, we have also strengthened our lead as a major venue for MICE events.In the latest rankings by the Union of International Associations’ (UIA), Singapore rose from 4th to 1st place as Asia’s Top Country for Meetings and retained its title as Asia’s Top City for Meetings - a position we have held for the past 23 years. This evening, I am pleased to announce that another three major MICE players – Kellen Company, Leipziger Messe and Kenes International - have chosen to set up base in Singapore. The decisions of these companies to anchor themselves here reflect the positive sentiments of the robust MICE market in Singapore and the region. More importantly, their presence will create greater opportunities for local industry players to acquire new capabilities, diversify the channels to reach the international market, and raise the professionalism of Singapore’s MICE industry.

Developing Our Manpower and Infrastructure to Sustain Growth

Enhancing our Tourism Manpower Needs

To spur the growth of our tourism industry, we need both the manpower and the infrastructure to ensure an excellent visitor experience.On manpower, the issue is not just quantity but also quality – there is a pressing need for more people who are well-trained and have a service mindset.To this end, STB and the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) launched the Tourism Talent (TOTAL) Plan in October last year.The Government has committed S$360 million over three years to train 74,000 tourism industry workers. There is already some progress. 4,300 tourism workforce-related enrolments have been received so far, under WDA’s Singapore Workforce Skills Qualifications education and training system.STB and WDA will intensify their recruitment efforts by creating greater awareness of the exciting and rewarding opportunities in tourism careers. These include next month’s Careers 2008 fair and a series of roadshows in Singapore’s heartlands, starting with Toa Payoh in March.It is important that industry players closely engage our government agencies in these and other efforts to ensure that we proactively address this manpower challenge.

More Hotels to Open

On infrastructure, the need to meet the anticipated increase in demand for hotel rooms is self-evident. Last year, the average hotel room rate in Singapore grew by 23.1 per cent, and the occupancy rate averaged 87 per cent. Hotel developers have capitalized on the opportunity presented by our strong tourism performance to invest here. In 2007, about 1,000 hotel rooms were added to our inventory, including tonight’s venue, St Regis. In the next three to four years, there will be a further increase of about 12,000 hotel rooms, as new hotels open.These include The Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World at Sentosa integrated resorts, and Capella Singapore on Sentosa.And in the first half of this year, 12 more sites for hotel development will be made available for sale under the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme. This will widen the range of accommodation options and ease the squeeze on the hotel industry.

Looking Ahead – 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen, as you heard from Simon Israel, 2007 was a banner year for the tourism industry - we not only met but surpassed an ambitious set of targets. It is a fitting tribute to the perseverance and commitment of the Singapore Tourism Board and industry partners like you.For this year, we have, as you might expect, set our sights even higher – to achieve $15.5 billion in tourism receipts and 10.8 million in visitor arrivals.It is a year-on-year increase of 12.2% in tourism receipts and 5.4% in visitor arrivals.It will be challenging, not least because of the less certain economic environment.But we can achieve these targets, if we vigorously pursue the opportunities ahead and galvanise our efforts to transform Singapore into a vibrant and exciting destination.

A New Way of Travel – Low Cost Carriers

One factor working in our favour is the emergence of more low cost carriers.Their low fares will further stimulate demand for regional travel, which accounted for about 80 per cent of our visitor arrivals last year.The Singapore-Kuala Lumpur air route will be opened to more airlines from tomorrow, and already, AirAsia, Jetstar Asia and Tiger Airways have been quick to seize this opportunity with aggressive promotions.

Capitalising on the Cruise Industry

Another new growth opportunity for us is the cruise industry. With an expected 1.5 million cruise passenger throughput for the Asia-Pacific region by 2010[1], more international cruise companies are strengthening their presence in the region by offering Asian itineraries. Many of them also see the potential for Singapore to serve as their gateway into the region. Royal Caribbean Cruises and Silversea Cruises have set up office in Singapore. Together with Star Cruises and Costa Cruises, there are now four international cruises companies using Singapore as a home port for their ships on Asian deployments.We are also making inroads into China and India – two of our biggest markets – to explore how we could work closer together to offer cruises as a lifestyle product.

For Singapore to successfully leverage the global and Asian market growth and become a major cruise hub, we must ensure that we have the facilities to attract the new generation of larger cruise ships currently in service. The Government will therefore develop a new International Cruise Terminal at Marina South. The new terminal will address the current constraints and have features such as larger berths and a larger turning basin. It will also ensure smoother and seamless accessibility for both passengers and cruise ships. The terminal is expected to be completed in 2010.STB will give more details in March.

Continuing the Momentum and Excitement

We have good reasons to be optimistic that the momentum and excitement within the tourism industry will be sustained in 2008 and beyond.Our latest tourism attraction – the Singapore Flyer - will open next month. Plans announced in November last year, to develop Mandai into a unique nature destination embracing the precinct’s rich biodiversity and natural attributes, are also well underway.Another important milestone will be crossed when the world will watch Singapore host its inaugural FORMULA ONE Grand Prix in September. Apart from the race itself, we must ensure a total visitor experience for the thousands who will visit Singapore. I am, therefore, happy to announce that in conjunction with the FORMULA ONE race, a lifestyle season is being planned to be held during and around the event. The Singapore GP Season will span three weekends in September and will host a line-up of special events and festivities for race-goers, visitors and residents alike. While details are still being finalised, some of the key events that we can look forward to include the inaugural Singapore River Festival; the Singapore Biennale with installations within the race circuit; and the ever-popular Singapore Motorshow, which will have a FORMULA ONE slant this year.For the first time ever, Singapore will also play host to the much acclaimed “FORMULA ONE – The Great Design Race”exhibition from London. STB is working closely with industry stakeholders to ensure that September will be a memorable month for all.

Conclusion

Ladies and Gentlemen.2008 looks set to be yet another energetic and energising year for the tourism industry.I am confident that with your commitment and support, we will build on the growth momentum of the past few years. I would like to thank you all for your efforts and contribution. Let us continue to work together to make Singapore a vibrant and exciting tourism destination.

[1]World Cruise Shipping Industry to 2020 report by Ocean Shipping Consultants.