Singapore launching digital services for tech-savvy Chinese tourists

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) launched a new suite of digital services for Chinese tourists last week to better service Chinese visitors to the small island nation. STB argues that it is crucial to properly engage with the digitally-savvy Chinese customers and enable them to effectively share their travel experiences in Singapore on social media.

The initiative is a multi-platform endeavour, including an official YourSingapore Wechat account and Baidu Connect, providing services such as real-time location-based services to support Chinese tourists when they are on the ground in Singapore. The services also help highlight interesting sightseeing spots, restaurants, and places for shopping in Singapore.

Other agreements were also entered with Chinese travel services Alitrip and Tuniu, as well as with social review websites Dianping and Mafengwo, where Chinese partners will curate and share information and media related to tourism attractions and other interesting sights in Singapore.

“China is a very important market for Singapore tourism, and over the years we are seeing more and more visitors come from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and more and more of them are coming on free and independent travel or free and easy travel,” STB’s regional director for Greater China Edward Chew told Singaporean news outlet Channel NewsAsia. “And I think to reach out to these consumers, give them the best information, allow them to post about Singapore, navigate Singapore, learn about stories of Singapore, actually we think we need mobile enabled functionality.”

Mr. Chew also describes the growing number of Chinese independent travellers as having different demands and expectations than other groups of Chinese tourists, primarily digital tools that allow this group of visitors to explore their destinations independently rather than to rely on the expertise of tour guides or the like.

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