SINGAPORE – Virtual and hybrid tourism offerings are here to stay even as borders gradually reopen, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan on Monday (Sept 27).

They will help to complement real-world travel in a Covid-19 world, he added.

Speaking at the Singapore Tourism Accelerator Demo Day, he said: “So why are we still talking about technology? The reason why is that virtual and hybrid worlds are here to stay. They are here to stay because it is just the way that we have now evolved, because of the pandemic.

“The pandemic has also shown that it has thrown many different curveballs so you need to put in all of these technology solutions just in case it goes awry.”

Virtual and hybrid tourism offerings have sprung up as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2020 pivoted to a hybrid format with augmented reality running routes. Participants could create avatars and see themselves competing with fellow runners in real time.

Of the 13,000 runners in the marathon’s grand finale, 37 per cent were from overseas.

Mr Tan said he is glad to see that tourism businesses are building up their technology capabilities.

To help the tourism sector in preparing for the reopening of borders, the Singapore Tourism Accelerator programme will be extended for another two years to 2023.

The programme, which was launched in 2019 and is organised by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), pairs tourism businesses with tech companies to pilot new solutions for the tourism sector.

These solutions can help businesses to enhance their operations, such as by improving visitor experiences, and also drive innovation in the sector.

Citing an example, Mr Tan said Copthorne King’s Hotel, which was in the third batch of the programme, had partnered with United States-based technology firm WooHoo to digitally transform hotel operations.

Using a voice assistant speaker developed by WooHoo, guests at the hotel can use voice commands to play in-room music entertainment, request for toiletries, order in-room dining and adjust their room’s lighting.

Mr Tan said: “This helped to improve in-room guest experiences, while reducing staff calls by 20 per cent. It increased in-room dining by at least 30 per cent, and provided real-time operational insights for the hotel.”

These collaborations also bring benefits to participating technology companies such as WooHoo.

Since the launch of the accelerator, seven overseas-based tech companies have decided to incorporate in Singapore as a result of the business opportunities through the accelerator programme.

The programme has also helped more than six local tech companies here to expand.

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Also speaking at the event, Mr Keith Tan, chief executive of STB, said before he joined STB, he could not see the relationship between tourism and technology.

He said: “Maybe 10 years ago, people would have said that tourism businesses are not very digitally savvy. But now that has changed so much.”

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