Singapore Tourism Board
Encyclopedia
The Singapore Tourism Board (Abbreviation
: STB; ) is a statutory board
under the Ministry of Trade and Industry
of Singapore
, tasked to promote the country's tourism
industry.
The board was first established in 1964 and was called the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (Abbreviation
: STPB; ). In that year, there were 91,000 visitors. The primary task of STPB was to coordinate the efforts of hotels, airlines and travel agents to develop the fledging tourism industry of the country.
Later, STPB began to initiate new marketing ideas to promote Singapore's image aboard. The board created the Merlion
, a symbol based on a Singapore mythical legend, that became an icon of the Singapore destination. The board also has been providing travel agent licensing and tourist guide training.
STPB actively promotes the development of infrastructure, including the building of hotels and tourist attractions such as the Jurong Bird Park and Sentosa
which now becomes a popular resort island for both tourists and local visitors. The board also market the city as a convention venue and organised events to attract visitors.
In the 1980s, several historic and cultural significant areas such as the Chinatown
, Little India
and Arab Street
were earmarked for preservation. These places express Singapore's cultural diversity and became popular tourist destinations. The Singapore River
underwent a major cleanup program and the areas along the river were developed for restaurants and other tourists amenities.
The board was renamed as Singapore Tourism Board in 1997.
In March 2010, the STB projected a 20-30% increase in visitor arrivals for the year. 2010 will see the much awaited opening of both the Marina Bay Sands and the Resorts World Sentosa. This will coincide with other key events such as the Singtel Singapore Formula One Grand Prix and the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. These offerings are expected to enhance Singapore’s status as a dynamic global city and increase visitor arrivals. However, the changes in Singapore's landscape will continue beyond 2010. New developments such as the International Cruise Terminal, Gardens by the Bay and Changi Motor Sports Hub are expected to be unveiled in the coming years.
. YourSingapore is centered on the concentration of experiences available in Singapore and seeks to enable travellers to personalize their visit according to their preferences. The YourSingapore website is an "innovative and intelligent platform" that invites visitors to make their virtual experience in Singapore a reality. The user-friendly website allows users to easily conceptualize and plan their individual itineraries.
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
: STB; ) is a statutory board
Statutory boards of the Singapore Government
The statutory boards of the Singapore Government are organisations that have been given autonomy to perform an operational function. They usually report to one specific ministry.*Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority...
under the Ministry of Trade and Industry
Ministry of Trade and Industry (Singapore)
The Ministry Of Trade and Industry is a ministry of the Government of Singapore that directs the formulation of policies related to the development of trade and industry in Singapore.-Mission:...
of Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, tasked to promote the country's tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
industry.
History
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. Usually, but not always, it consists of a letter or group of letters taken from the word or phrase...
: STPB; ). In that year, there were 91,000 visitors. The primary task of STPB was to coordinate the efforts of hotels, airlines and travel agents to develop the fledging tourism industry of the country.
Later, STPB began to initiate new marketing ideas to promote Singapore's image aboard. The board created the Merlion
Merlion
The Merlion is a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish, used as a mascot of Singapore. Its name combines "mer" meaning the sea and "lion". The fish body represents Singapore's origin as a fishing village when it was called Temasek, which means "sea town" in Javanese...
, a symbol based on a Singapore mythical legend, that became an icon of the Singapore destination. The board also has been providing travel agent licensing and tourist guide training.
STPB actively promotes the development of infrastructure, including the building of hotels and tourist attractions such as the Jurong Bird Park and Sentosa
Sentosa
Sentosa, which translates to peace and tranquility in Malay , is a popular island resort in Singapore, visited by some five million people a year...
which now becomes a popular resort island for both tourists and local visitors. The board also market the city as a convention venue and organised events to attract visitors.
In the 1980s, several historic and cultural significant areas such as the Chinatown
Chinatown, Singapore
Singapore's Chinatown is an ethnic neighbourhood featuring distinctly Chinese cultural elements and a historically concentrated ethnic Chinese population. Chinatown is located within the larger district of Outram....
, Little India
Little India, Singapore
Little India is an ethnic neighbourhood found in Singapore that has Tamil cultural elements. Little India lies to east of the Singapore River—across from Chinatown, located west of the river—and north of Kampong Glam. Both areas are part of the urban planning area of Rochor...
and Arab Street
Arab Street
Arab Street is the name of a road and neighbourhood in Singapore. There are two explanations behind the name. The first one is that the area was owned by an Arab merchant, Syed Ali bin Mohamed Al Junied and that it was the site of an Arab kampong, hence the name Arab Street...
were earmarked for preservation. These places express Singapore's cultural diversity and became popular tourist destinations. The Singapore River
Singapore River
The Singapore River is a river in Singapore with great historical importance. The Singapore River flows from the Central Area, which lies in the Central Region in the southern part of Singapore before emptying into the ocean...
underwent a major cleanup program and the areas along the river were developed for restaurants and other tourists amenities.
The board was renamed as Singapore Tourism Board in 1997.
Mission
The board now oversees all aspects of tourism, including resource allocation and long-term strategic planning. It establishes offices around the globe to actively market the Singapore destination.Growth
Singapore tourism industry has grown rapidly since STPB was set up. In 2004, there were 8 million visitors. On 11 January 2005, Minister for Trade and Industry unveiled the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) bold targets to doubling visitor arrivals to 17 million by 2015, see details here Tourism 2015.In March 2010, the STB projected a 20-30% increase in visitor arrivals for the year. 2010 will see the much awaited opening of both the Marina Bay Sands and the Resorts World Sentosa. This will coincide with other key events such as the Singtel Singapore Formula One Grand Prix and the inaugural Youth Olympic Games. These offerings are expected to enhance Singapore’s status as a dynamic global city and increase visitor arrivals. However, the changes in Singapore's landscape will continue beyond 2010. New developments such as the International Cruise Terminal, Gardens by the Bay and Changi Motor Sports Hub are expected to be unveiled in the coming years.
Branding
The STB also announced that it will be adopting a new destination branding strategy. In line with the emphasis on redesigning the tourism experience, the STB launched the evolved destination brand, YourSingaporeYourSingapore
YourSingapore is the destination brand of Singapore, launched on 5 March 2010 at the Singapore Tourism Board Tourism Industry Conference 2010. YourSingapore is an evolution of , which remained Singapore's destination brand from 2004 to 2009....
. YourSingapore is centered on the concentration of experiences available in Singapore and seeks to enable travellers to personalize their visit according to their preferences. The YourSingapore website is an "innovative and intelligent platform" that invites visitors to make their virtual experience in Singapore a reality. The user-friendly website allows users to easily conceptualize and plan their individual itineraries.
External links
- YourSingapore.com - Official Tourist Guide by STB
- Singapore Tourism Guide
- ComeSingapore.com - Unofficial Travel Guide to Singapore