The Singapore Tourism Board has launched a new version of the In Singapore Incentives & Rewards (INSPIRE), an incentive program to attract more visitors from the growing Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) sector.
In partnership with 29 local Singapore businesses, Global INSPIRE offers a selection of over 60 complimentary experiences that qualified MICE groups visiting Singapore can enjoy.
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Building on the success of previous INSPIRE editions INSPIRE was a collaboration between STB and tourism experience providers in Singapore to develop and showcase specially-customized Singapore experiences to meetings and incentive groups. Through INSPIRE, groups that qualify for support could pre-select tourism experiences to be included in their itineraries, which in turn enabled STB to influence their decisions when choosing destinations. Such experiences included visits to Sentosa, Mount Faber, Gardens by the Bay, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, the Singapore Flyer, as well as unique experiences such as dragon boat team-building.
The new Global INSPIRE incentive program serves up a wider range of specially designed experiences for MICE groups, catering to small and mid-size groups from all parts of the world. Specially created by passionate experts and mavens in various fields, these experiences are designed to delight and thrill visitors to Singapore. Global INSPIRE offers 63 unique experiences under four broad categories, namely: Singapore’s dining, entertainment and nightlife, thematic tours and learning experiences, tailored attraction-based experiences and distinctive teambuilding activities.
“India is one of Singapore’s key source markets for MICE groups. The previous INSPIRE program worked well in India as a marketing tool to convince corporates and travel agents to choose Singapore for their incentive trips. We continue to be creative and keep abreast of the needs of MICE groups in order to stay competitive. The new Global INSPIRE has a diverse selection of group experiences tailored to the MICE visitors’ profile in mind. We are confident that this enhanced program will enable us to further secure a good pipeline of incentive groups from India,” said Mr. GB Srithar, STB’s Regional Director for India, Middle East, and South Asia. The previous INSPIRE program, which ran between 2014 and 2018, had supported close to 50 groups from India, involving about 7,000 participants.
India was Singapore’s third-largest source market of visitors in 2018. The city-state received 1.4 million visitor arrivals (13% year-on-year growth) from India. India was also Singapore’s top cruise market in 2018, bringing in 160,000 passengers, marking a 27% increase from 2017.
“Responding to the popular demand for incentive trips on-board cruises, the Global INSPIRE program will benefit groups who have a stayover program in Singapore before or after their cruising itinerary. This new feature of the INSPIRE programme will help to sharpen our marketing efforts. With the support of our travel trade partners, we seek to reach out to a wider corporate audience and help entice their incentive group travels to Singapore,” added Mr. Srithar.
Examples of experiences and activities supported under the improved INSPIRE
Some specific examples include visitors getting to create bespoke cocktails using herbs and spices found in Singapore, right in the heart of a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Botanic Gardens. Or groups keen on discovering Singapore’s Silicon Valley can get to enjoy an insider’s tour of the One North vicinity, with exclusive fireside sharing sessions by founders and start-ups of successful businesses. And for those visitors who wish to immerse themselves in Singapore’s famed greenery, there is a private after-hours Garden Rhapsody show at Gardens by the Bay, complete with unrivalled city night views from the OCBC Skyway.
Singapore’s BTMICE performance continues to shine
The global launch of INSPIRE comes on the back of a strong performance of BTMICE visitors to Singapore. In 2018, Singapore welcomed over 2.9 million BTMICE visitors, a growth of 12.1 percent from 2017. Tourism receipts rose 7.2% to reach S$4.68 billion in 2018, compared to the same period in 2017.
Singapore’s BTMICE landscape continues to grow from strength to strength, with the city-state set to host notable events and meetings such as Vidcon Asia, Home Delivery Asia, Deloitte All Hands Meeting and Bentley Systems Year in Infrastructure Conference in 2019.
