stb united kingdom market insights · figures from this report are gathered from stb internal...

United Kingdom STB

Market

Insights

2 STB Market Insights – United Kingdom

This publication ‘STB Market Insights’ serves as a reference to the trends of specific inbound

tourism markets to Singapore. All information in this publication is deemed to be correct at time

of publication.

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the data in this report, the Singapore

Tourism Board (STB) shall not be liable for any loss or damage caused by or arising from the use

of the data in this publication. Data derived from surveys cited is subject to sampling error. Users

are advised to exercise discretion when drawing any conclusion or inferences, or taking any

action, based on the data.

STB makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness

of any information contained in this document. Appropriate professional advice should be

obtained before relying on or acting on any of the information contained in this document, and

neither STB nor any of its officers, employees or agents shall be held liable for any loss or

damage, whether direct or indirect, as a result of any improper or incorrect use of the information

in this document.

Consumer Research & Insights

Research Division

[email protected]

©2015 Singapore Tourism Board.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission

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Contents of this report may be reproduced accurately in part in other publications if STB is acknowledged and attributed

as copyright owner.

Month of Publication: April 2015

mailto:[email protected]


Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................... 4

About The Market ....................................................................................................................................... 5

The United Kingdom Traveller ................................................................................................................ 6

Media Consumption Habits ..................................................................................................................... 7

United Kingdom Visitor to Singapore ......................................................................................................... 8

The UK Leisure Traveller ........................................................................................................................... 10

Needs of the UK Leisure Traveller ......................................................................................................... 10

Considerations for Travel ....................................................................................................................... 11

Planning and Booking Trends ................................................................................................................ 12

Information Sources Before/During Travel ............................................................................................ 13

Advocacy ............................................................................................................................................... 13

UK Leisure Visitor in Singapore ................................................................................................................. 14

Reasons for visiting Singapore ............................................................................................................... 13

Leisure Activities in Singapore ............................................................................................................... 14

Barriers to Visiting Singapore ................................................................................................................ 15

UK BTMICE Visitors in Singapore ............................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.16

The UK BTMICE Visitor ......................................................................................................................... 16

Perception of Singapore as a Business and Leisure Destination ................................................................ 16

Information Sources ............................................................................................................................ 17

UK BTMICE Visitors’ Leisure Activities ................................................................................................. 17

Key Findings ............................................................................................................................................. 18

Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................. 21


Executive Summary United Kingdom (UK) ranked 12th in terms of visitor arrivals (VA) and 11th in terms of tourism

receipts (TR) to Singapore in 2013. For the first time since the economic crisis in 2009, there were

encouraging signs of recovery, with growth in VA, TR and per capita expenditure (PCE) observed in

2013. Travelling formed a significant part of the lives of UK travellers. Travelling not only allowed

them to recharge and escape from their daily routine, but also to discover new experiences. The

process of learning about other countries’ culture allowed them to better understand their own

culture and to feel more connected to the world. While they tend to look for immersive experiences

at destinations, hygiene factors such as accessibility, convenience and safety still remained baseline

expectations that should not be compromised.

Singapore is a destination that UK visitors perceived to be safe, easy to travel around, and a good

hub to explore other nearby destinations. Although many UK travellers held a high regard for

Singapore as a business destination, Singapore was often seen to be too sterile and manicured for a

leisure holiday. Being a modern city, Singapore was perceived to be too similar to their home

country and less appealing than neighbouring destinations such as Thailand and Myanmar, which

offered more authentic local cultures. Therefore, the challenge would be to effectively

communicate compelling and differentiated leisure experiences that Singapore has to offer to UK

visitors. Singapore’s distinctive local way-of-life and harmonious mix of various cultures would be

appealing to UK visitors who are interested in discovering new experiences not available back home

and gleaning a deeper side of the destinations.

Methodology of STB Primary Research Sources

Figures from this report are gathered from STB internal research as well as publicly available sources. The STB’s research sources are STB’s Overseas Visitors Survey

(OVS), the Leisure Segmentation Study (SEG), Business Traveller Study (BTS), Brand Health Tracking Study (BHTS) as well as various interviews and focus groups

done.

Overseas Visitors Survey (OVS) – conducted annually at exit points in Singapore, the OVS covers visitors from every nationality. The sample size is usually around

28,000 per year.

Leisure Segmentation Study (SEG) – conducted in 2013 in 4 key markets, SEG sought to understand the needs of different segments of frequent air travellers within

our key markets of United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, and Hong Kong. The sample size was 600 per market, for a total of 2,400.

Business Traveller Study (BTS) – conducted over 2011-2012 in Singapore, BTS covers over 2,000 business travellers from our key business source markets to

understand their pre-trip and during trip considerations, behaviour and touch points. Markets covered include Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea,

Philippines, Thailand, UK, US and Vietnam.

Brand Health Tracking Study (BHTS) - conducted in 2013 across 10 key markets, BHTS sought to understand the perception of Singapore as a leisure travel

destination within our key markets of Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, United Kingdom and Vietnam. The sample size was

1,200 per market, for a total of 12,000.

Leisure Traveller Study (FGD) – conducted in November 2012 in London to gain deeper understanding of UK travellers, including their travel motivations and habits,

as well as attitude and perception towards Singapore.


About The Market

Population (million) (1) 64.1 (2013)

Region – Population (million) (1)

1. South East: 8.79 2. London: 8.42 3. East: 5.96 4. West Midlands: 5.67 5. South West: 5.38

Outbound Travel (million) (2)

2010: 55.6 2011: 56.8 2012: 56.5 2013: 58.5

Top 5 Outbound Travel Destinations in 2013 (million) (2)

1. Spain: 11.74 2. France: 8.85 3. USA: 3.05 4. Irish Republic: 2.85 5. Italy: 2.83

Top 5 Travel Destinations

in Asia in 2013 (‘000) (2)

1. India: 842 2. Thailand: 765 3. China: 654 4. Singapore 461 5. Hong Kong: 324

Type of outbound Trips (2)

Holiday: 64%

Visit Friends & Relatives: 21%

Business: 12%

Seasonality of Outbound Trips (2)

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec


The United Kingdom (UK) Traveller

With the sixth largest economy globally, UK was one of the wealthiest countries in the world. A

relatively high income per capita, coupled with its strong currency, translated into a historically

strong propensity for international travel. However, the global economic downturn in 2009

impacted consumer spending and international travel. As a result, growth in outbound travel

remained modest over 2010 to 2013, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of only 1.7%.(3)

However, promising signs of recovery were observed from 2013 onwards, when around 58.5 million

international trips were made, which corresponded to US$52.6 billion in international tourism

expenditure in 2013. This represented a 4.5% market share of total international tourism

expenditure in 2013, making UK one of the top five spenders on international tourism in the world.(3)

Due to proximity and cultural similarities,

Europe still accounted for majority (78%) of all

outbound trips made by UK travellers in 2013.

Spain and France were the most visited

destinations, due to their proximity and beach

offerings, followed by the United States of

America (USA), Irish Republic and Italy. These

five destinations accounted for about half of the

total UK outbound visits in 2013. (2)

UK travellers were experienced travellers in general. Although short-haul regional trips formed the

majority of their travel experiences, long-haul international trips were an important part of their

travel repertoire. While long-haul international trips were less frequent, expectations were higher,

translating into bigger budgets and longer planning duration. Due to flight time and costs, long-

haul trips for UK travellers typically lasted more than two weeks and involved multiple

destinations.(4)

Long-haul international trips to Asia had been

increasing since 2003 and accounted for over 6% of

all outbound trips made by UK travellers. The five

most popular Asian destinations in 2013 were

Thailand, India, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

New, emerging destinations in Asia were also

gaining popularity amongst UK travellers. For

instance, Myanmar was one of the fastest growing

destinations among UK travellers over 2010 to 2013

(~33,000 VA in 2013), registering a CAGR of 65%. (5)


The peak travel period for leisure usually occurred during the summer months from June to August

each year. Some UK travellers even travelled more than once during this period. Despite the

economic recession, the summer holiday remained sacred to many UK travellers, who tried to make

at least one leisure trip per year. (2) Most of the trips made during the summer period were within

Europe while longer haul international trips tend to be made during the winter months from

January to March.

Media Consumption Habits

In 2013, 8 in 10 adults were Internet users. Although

most consumers still accessed the internet via a

computer (78%), the use of mobile Internet was on the

rise, with close to one-third of page views accessed via

smartphones and tablets. Google was the most popular

search engine in UK, accounting for around 91% of all

searches executed. (6; 7)

Two-third of the online consumers from UK had a profile

on a social networking site and 60% of them visited social

networking sites more than once a day. The most popular

social networking sites in UK were Facebook (31 million

users) and Twitter (15 million users). On average, Twitter

users followed 146 people or organisations, and had 97

followers. (7)

Despite a vibrant and growing selection of new media content, traditional media was still an

integral part of UK media consumption. 96% of them watched TV regularly for about four hours a

day, spread across nine TV channels. About two-third of UK consumers still tuned in to the radio at

least once a week. While the circulation of print media such as newspapers and magazines has

declined, there was an increase in the share of consumers who read stories online on newspapers’

websites. (8)


ther

443 446 461 452

1,215

1,078 1,115

56 55 63

49

20,941 20,372 23,405

16,170

12%

33%

17% 4%

34%

11%

34%

16% 5%

32%

*All visitors are classified by country of residence unless otherwise stated. Visitor arrivals include all visitors arriving by air and sea and non-Malaysian citizens arriving by land. **Sightseeing, entertainment and gaming expenditure has been excluded from tourism receipts in the country breakdown due to commercial sensitivity of information. Other TR Components include expenditure on airfares, port taxes, local transportation, business, medical, education and transit visitors ***Others include those here for education, healthcare, work-related purposes, accompanying passengers and personal events.

United Kingdom Visitors to Singapore

Visitor Arrivals (‘000)*

2011

2012

2013

Tourism Receipts

($mil/%)**

Purpose of Visits (%)

Others***

Stopover

VFR

BT/MICE

Holiday

Others

Transport

F&B

Accom.

Shopping

Tourism Receipts – per

capita ($)

Weekly Flight Statistics

(Flight Freq. /

Seat Capacity)

Top 3 Cities of Origin

$538

$515

42 43 42

16 13 16 12 11 12 23 25 23 6 8 7

London

Surrey

Hants /

Hampshire

11%

33%

15% 4%

36%

$481

Flight Freq

Seat Capacity

2014

2014 full year

data unavailable

at time of print

2014 full year

data unavailable

at time of print

2014 full year

data unavailable

at time of print

London

Surrey

Hants /

Hampshire

London

Surrey

Hants /

Hampshire

1

2

3

London

Surrey

Hants /

Hampshire


United Kingdom (UK) Visitors to Singapore UK ranked 12th in terms of visitor arrivals (VA) to Singapore in 2013. UK received its peak number of

visitors in 2007, whereby VA almost reached 500,000. However, since the economic crisis in 2009,

VA from UK had declined at a CAGR of -1.7% over 2010-2012. 2013 saw encouraging signs of

recovery with VA growing by 3.4%. Despite the relatively flat growth over the past few years, UK

remained as Singapore’s biggest VA source market from Europe. (9)

UK ranked 11th in terms of tourism receipts (TR) in 2013. Similar to the VA trend, TR started to

recover in 2013, growing by 7% over 2012. In 2013, the main expenditure component for UK visitors

in Singapore was accommodation, which accounted for almost 34% of total expenditure. This was

followed by expenditure on shopping and food and beverages, which accounted for 16% and 11% of

total expenditure, respectively. (10)

Most UK visitors travelled to Singapore and other parts of

Asia from January to March to escape from the cold winter in

Europe. (9)

Majority of UK visitors arrived in Singapore as part of a multi-destination trip, accounting for over

60% of all UK visitors in 2013. (10) This observation was consistent with their long-haul travel

behaviour, where they tend to combine a few destinations in a single trip or include a stopover

before reaching their primary destination. Focus group research suggested that stopovers were

typically one to three nights long and were centred on destinations with good air connectivity and

were safe and organised. Stopovers were also usually preferred on the outbound route for the

travellers to relax and recover from jet lag before arriving at their primary destination. (4)


The UK Leisure Traveller

Needs of the UK Leisure Traveller

Travelling was a top of mind activity for most UK consumers. Travel allowed them to recharge and

escape from their daily routine and stress. Focus group research also suggested that these needs

were typically fulfilled by short trips to nearby cities such as Paris or beach destinations to unwind

and relax. (4; 11)

Travelling also allowed UK travellers to feel a sense of achievement when they visited places they

had always wanted to visit. These trips usually involved aspirational and “once-in-a-lifetime”

destinations such as Tibet or Egypt and spanned across a longer duration (typically two to three

weeks). (4; 11)

Travelling was also seen as a way to discover and experience other countries’ culture. The process of

learning about others’ culture allowed UK travellers to better understand their own and to feel more

connected to the world. Hence UK travellers sought immersive experiences to learn more about

local, authentic customs and way of life, values, cuisine and religions, which were unavailable back

home. However, hygiene factors such as good accessibility, convenience and safety still remained

important to UK travellers and these should not be compromised. (4; 11)


Considerations for Travel

The number of days available for the trip and travel

companions were among the top considerations for UK

travellers when planning a trip. Generally, singles and

those married without children were more flexible in

trip timings compared to family travellers who were

constrained by their children’s schooling schedules.

Hence, travellers who were single or married without

children usually travelled throughout the year while

family travellers travelled only during extended public

holidays or school holidays. (4)

Visiting friends and relatives was another top

consideration for UK travellers, accounting for one in

five trips made in 2013. (2)

UK travellers also tend to be value conscious with travel budget and value for money also featuring

among the top-five travel considerations. Hence destinations had to be perceived to be delivering

value, either through opportunities to discover new culture and experiences or fulfilling their desire

to visit places they always wanted to, albeit at a higher cost. (4)


Planning and Booking Trend

As travel formed such an important part of their lives, most UK travellers started thinking about the

upcoming year’s travel plans at the beginning of each year. This was especially true for long haul

trips, where planning duration was longer. Many UK travellers planned and booked their flights at

the beginning of the year, up to six months before travel. (4) Most of them planned and booked their

flights between one and three months prior to the trip. (11)

Flights were usually the first booking that most UK travellers made for their trips. For long haul trips

which required stopovers, decision on the locations of stopovers was also made during this stage.

The choice of airline was an important consideration for UK travellers as flight tickets accounted for

a significant proportion of total travel costs. Besides price, other key considerations for flight

bookings included the total flight duration, number of stops as well as frequent flyer programmes

they subscribed to. Once flight bookings were made, UK travellers typically made accommodation

bookings for the first few and last few nights of their long haul trip to correspond to their flight

bookings. Accommodation bookings for other parts of the trip typically occurred much later or

sometimes even made only during the trip when they arrived at the destination. (11)

Although planning and research

for the trip itinerary typically

started much earlier, bookings

were usually made closer to the

trip unless the activities were

central to the destination plans. It

was common for many UK

travellers to decide on the

activities only after they arrived at

the destination. (11)


Being relatively experienced travellers and heavy users of the Internet, most UK travellers were

comfortable making bookings for flights, accommodation and activities independently through

travel aggregators such as Expedia, or directly through the websites of airlines or accommodations,

without going through a physical travel agent. However, some still chose to book through travel

agents to take advantage of attractive promotions or cost savings offered on flight-accommodation

packages, which were perceived to be offering good value for money.

Information Sources Before and During Travel

Similar to most developed markets, the Internet was the top pre-trip information source for UK

travellers. Most of them looked for online travel reviews on websites such as Trip Advisor, as well as

personal blogs or travel forums. Many UK travellers also turned to websites of airlines, hotel chains

and travel agents such as hotels.com and Expedia to gather information on the destination. (4)

Apart from online sources, traditional sources of information remained key to trip planning. 3 in 10

UK travellers either looked up travel guides such as the Lonely Planet to seek inspiration and

information on where to go or turned to family and friends who had been to the destination for

recommendations. Around 20% of travellers still depended on brochures and advice from travel

agents and tour operators. (11)

When searching for information on activities to do during the trip, such as shopping, dining and

attractions, most UK travellers still preferred to access free WIFI they could find in the destination

via computers or laptops. Many travellers also turned to hotel concierges or family and friends

residing in the destination for recommendations. (11)

Advocacy

When they returned from their trips, 51% of UK travellers talked to a family or friend about the trip

while 36% shared their trip experiences via social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

Past visitors of the destination were key influencers and information sources as many UK travellers

sought recommendations from family and friends who had been to the destination. (11)


UK Leisure Visitor in Singapore

Reasons for Visiting Singapore

UK leisure travellers typically perceived Singapore as a

destination which was safe, easy to travel to and around and a

good hub to explore other nearby destinations. (12) This was

evident as 90% of leisure UK visitors to Singapore were multi-

destination visitors in 2013. (10) As one respondent shared during

focus group discussions (FGDs), “Singapore was a sensible

place to land and be based in.” Singapore appealed to UK

leisure visitors for its good air connectivity when they were

travelling to multiple destinations in South East Asia and

Oceania. They also saw Singapore as a good complement to

their Asian trip by offering the comfort and safety of its developed infrastructure amidst the rustic

experiences of other Asian destinations. While majority of UK visitors came to Singapore as part of

a multi-destination itinerary, some still came on a mono-Singapore trip, driven mostly by

celebrations of special occasions or to visit friends or relatives residing here. (4)

While most UK visitors spent only a limited amount of time in Singapore as a stopover or part of a

multi-destination trip, they constantly sought experiences which allowed them to go beyond the

surface and understand the destination on a deeper level. Off-the-beaten track experiences or

hidden gems which usually involved local elements such as culture, heritage and way of life were

popular among the UK travellers.

Leisure Activities in Singapore

In line with one of their key travel needs to discover other

countries’ culture, exploring local ethnic enclaves was

most popular among UK visitors. This was evident as

Chinatown and Little India were the top 2 places visited

by UK travellers in 2013. Trying local food, shopping for

souvenirs and visiting places of worship or gated

attractions were common activities done by UK visitors

at the ethnic enclaves.

Apart from cultural activities, landmarks or attractions

which were symbolic of our history and heritage also

appealed to the UK visitors. Examples included the Singapore River, Raffles Hotel and Singapore

Botanic Gardens which were also among the top 5 places visited by UK visitors in Singapore. (10)


With an interest in good food and local authenticity, UK

visitors’ top dining choices were local ethnic restaurants

and hawker centres, food courts and coffee shops. As

compared to other regional Asian visitors, more UK

visitors also sought fine dining restaurants to indulge

during a trip. (11)

Barriers to Visiting Singapore

Limited knowledge of Singapore's offerings remained the key barrier for UK travellers to visit

Singapore. There was a misperception, especially amongst non-visitors, that Singapore lacked

vibrancy, character and cultural distinction to make an authentic Asian experience. Being a modern

city, many UK travellers also felt that the experiences in Singapore would be similar to what they

could get back home. As one respondent shared during focus group discussions, “Why go to

Singapore when it is nothing like the rest of Southeast Asia?” Singapore was also perceived to be

much more expensive compared to neighbouring destinations, even though it was part of Asia. As a

result, many UK travellers did not perceive Singapore as a destination which offered value for

money and Asian visitors from UK either bypassed Singapore or only used Singapore as one of their

transit points to other destinations. (11)

In contrast, there was strong interest in neighbouring destinations such as Thailand due to the

variety of urban and rural experiences, availability of beaches and islands, local authentic culture

and Thai cuisine which was well-established and highly regarded in the UK. Thailand also appealed

to UK travellers for its mix of authenticity in its less developed and off-the-beaten track areas, and

comfort in urban cities such as Bangkok. These factors made Thailand a much more attractive

destination vis-à-vis Singapore. (11)

Therefore, the challenge would be to effectively communicate compelling and differentiated leisure

experiences that Singapore has to offer to ensure that it remained within their consideration set as

one of the destinations worth visiting in Asia. Leveraging their desire to discover new culture and

experiences not available back home, Singapore’s distinctive local way-of-life and harmonious mix

of various cultures should be communicated to appeal to UK travellers.


UK BTMICE Visitor in Singapore

The UK BTMICE Visitor

In 2013, UK BTMICE visitors to Singapore spent an average of S$1,922 per trip, higher than the

global average of S$1,531, and almost double that of the expenditure of UK leisure visitors (S$981). (10) Approximately 43% of the expenditure of BTMICE visitors went to accommodation, 21% to

shopping, 14% to entertainment and the rest on food, local transport and other miscellaneous

expenditure. (13) Similar to UK leisure visitors, majority of BTMICE visitors (69%) visited Singapore as

part of their multi-destination business trip. Majority (91%) were repeat visitors, with an average

length of stay of around 5.6 days. (10)

Perception of Singapore as a Business and Leisure Destination

UK BTMICE visitors held a high regard for Singapore as a business destination. Specifically, they

appreciated Singapore’s good infrastructure as well as for being a safe place to conduct business.

These, alongside other factors such as world-class business facilities and infrastructure as well as

the availability of adequate business opportunities, offered the assurance of a stable business

environment. (10; 13)

With regards to leisure experiences in Singapore, most BTMICE visitors were impressed by the

friendly and efficient service. Many also felt that Singapore was an ideal place to mix business and

leisure, a modern and cosmopolitan destination which was easy to get around and enjoy, and a

good hub for them to explore the countries nearby. (13)

28% of BTMICE visitors indicated that they were “likely” or “very likely” to visit Singapore for leisure

within the next two years. Respondents indicated that the main reasons were to visit Singapore

with a different set of companions, return to a place which they have not visited, and to cover the

sites which they did not have enough time to visit when here on a business trip. (13)

28% “Likely” or “Very likely” to

revisit Singapore in the

next 1-2 years for leisure


Information Sources

When planning for the trip, UK BTMICE visitors generally did very little pre-trip research and had

little control over flight and accommodation options, as their companies made the decision most of

the time. During the trip, UK BTMICE visitors relied mainly on their friends, family or colleagues

residing at the destination as their main sources of information. Many of them also enquired about

the destination and activities to do from hotel concierge or staff. (13)

UK BTMICE Visitors’ Leisure Activities

Once they were done with their business activities, which tend to be after 6pm, UK BTMICE visitors

enjoyed spending their after-work hours dining (98%), shopping (50%) and engaging in nightlife

activities (50%). In terms of food preferences, these visitors were keen to try local cuisine (65%),

although it might not be familiar to them. They also looked forward to exploring and learning more

about the destination’s culture through food (47%). UK BTMICE visitors enjoyed alfresco dining

options (31%) and were willing to go out of the way for good food (31%).

When asked what they shopped for, BTMICE visitors liked to buy gifts for their friends and family

(31%), brands or items that were unavailable back home (29%), and items that reflected the local

identity of the destination (28%).

Convenience was a key consideration for those who engaged in nightlife activities as they preferred

bars or clubs that were in close proximity or easy to access from their hotels, offices or meeting

venues (31%). They also liked to spend their time unwinding at a bar or club with live music (35%) or

venues which offered views of the destination (26%). (13)


Findings and Implications As the UK economy gradually recovers from the recession, long haul travel to Asia remains

attractive to UK travellers, offering different experiences from back home. Therefore Singapore

would have to enhance its proposition to remain top priority within the consideration set of UK

travellers, when they make a trip to Asia. Here are the key insights and opportunities we have

identified for the travel and tourism sector.

Finding #1: Trips to Asia typically involved multiple destinations.

To justify the high expenses and long travelling time, most UK travellers would try to make the

most out of their long-haul trip by visiting multiple destinations. The long distance also meant that

stopovers were typically needed to break up the gruelling journey. Singapore’s good air

connectivity with UK and with other popular destinations within Asia should be leveraged to

position Singapore as a convenient hub to explore the region. This, however, has to be coupled with

effective communications on the appeal of Singapore’s leisure offerings to ensure that Singapore

does not become another transit stop but a meaningful and top-of-mind leisure destination that is

worth visiting in Asia.

Tips for the Industry:

Leverage the overall appeal of Asia and rising popularity of emerging Asian destinations to encourage more twinning traffic with Singapore.

Offer flight or accommodation twinning packages between Singapore and up-and-coming destinations such as Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam or popular beach destinations such Bali, Langkawi and Penang, which have fewer or no direct flight connections with UK.

Position Singapore to complement these neighbouring destinations in terms of air connectivity as well as a “break” from the rustic Asian experience through the comfort, safety and local authentic experiences unique to Singapore.


Finding #2: UK travellers perceived Singapore to be lacking in vibrancy, cultural

distinction and authenticity.

Singapore was held in high regard among UK travellers for being a modern cosmopolitan

destination which was safe, well-connected and convenient. However, beyond these hygiene

factors, there was an ingrained perception that Singapore lacked vibrancy, character and cultural

distinction to make an authentic Asian experience.

Riding on the understanding of UK travellers’ need to discover new cultures and seek immersive

experiences, it would be important to highlight relevant experiences that would allow them to gain

a deeper appreciation of the destination. Being relatively sophisticated travellers, it is important for

experiences to go beyond the surface. Hence, developing quality, in-depth content for storytelling

to engage and connect with UK travellers is crucial to satisfying their needs.


Incorporate hidden gems which are strong in local elements such as people, food and culture into marketing communications. UK travellers seek off-the-beaten track experiences. They enjoy unique or quirky aspects of local living such as Singapore’s HDB dwelling culture or bird-singing corners in Tiong Bahru. Hidden gems such as Haji lane or Gillman Barracks as well as rural and quintessentially local experiences which offer a glimpse of Singapore’s yester years (e.g. traditional kelongs, Pulau Ubin Island) are strong representations of Singapore’s identity which would appeal to UK travellers.

To showcase more in-depth content which is delivered in an engaging story-telling manner, attractions and local precincts may want to curate experiences and develop tools that would allow visitors to go behind the scenes to experience the “soul” and stories behind the products or experiences (e.g. wet market tours in HDB heartlands, behind-the-scene tours in museums or attractions or World War II and nature trails).


Finding #3: Despite a vibrant array of digital content, traditional media still

remained important to travel planning.

Despite the onset of digital media, traditional media such as newspapers, TV and magazines still

remained an integral part of the daily lives of UK consumers. Travel guides such as the Lonely

Planet were still commonly referred to for seeking inspiration and information on where to go.

While many UK travellers were comfortable researching and booking online, a significant

proportion of travellers still relied on travel agents and tour operators for information,

recommendations and bookings. This was especially the case for long haul multi-destination trips,

whereby direct online booking tend to be more complex and time-consuming and did not always

yield as much cost savings compared to booking through travel agents. Thus there are

opportunities for the industry to explore tying up with UK tour operators to form part of the travel

booking value chain.

STB has also been tapping on this trend through media partnerships with national newspapers such

as the Guardian, as well as marketing efforts with Thomas Cook and the Stylist (a free weekly

magazine distributed in London), to generate higher awareness of Singapore. The industry can tap

on this and ride on the wave of awareness of Singapore and its offerings in the UK for conversions.


Complement the digital strategy with a presence in traditional media to optimise marketing investments, particularly in channels which can influence destination choice.

Keep UK tour operators and travel agents up-to-date of new experiences and hidden gems that would appeal to the UK travellers so that they can help to push Singapore’s offerings.

Tie up with UK travel trade who are in partnership with STB to tap on their marketing and promotions for conversion of packages to Singapore.

Access to information post-arrival is crucial for UK visitors who tend to do last minute itinerary planning and booking, especially for multi-destination trips. Hence, do ensure that critical post-arrival touch points such as hotel concierges are updated on experiences which would appeal to UK travellers and encourage them to recommend off-the-beaten track experiences such as WWII or nature trails beyond the usual ones to meet the needs of UK travellers.


Bibliography

1. Office of National Satistics. Annual Mid-year Population Estimates, 2013.

2. Office of National Statistics. Travel Trends, 2013.

3. United Nations World Tourism Organisation. UNWTO Tourism Highlights. 2014.

4. Singapore Tourism Board. Leisure Traveller Study (FGD). 2012.

5. Pacific Asia Travel Association. PATAmPower.

6. comScore. Digital Future in Focus Series. 2013.

7. Ofcom. Adults' media use and attitudes report. 2014.

8. Deloitte. Media Consumer Survey. 2014.

9. Singapore Tourism Board. Disembarkation/Embarkation Card. 2010-2014.

10. —. Overseas Visitors Survey. 2010-2013.

11. —. Leisure Segmentation Study. 2013.

12. —. Brand Health Tracking Study. Singapore : Singapore Tourism Board, 2013.

13. —. Business Traveller Study. 2012.

stb united kingdom market insights · figures from this report are gathered from stb internal...

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