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SINGAPORE – Singaporeans have been cashing out their $ 100 SingapoRediscovers tourism coupons primarily on hotel stays and tickets to popular attractions since the plan began on December 1.
Booking platforms told The Straits Times that they are seeing healthy uptake across the board, particularly for visitor magnets such as Gardens by the Bay and Universal Studios Singapore.
Certainly, there were plenty of people on Sunday (December 6) to make use of their coupons at Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay Sands SkyPark, and other popular spots on Sentosa Island.
Student Kylie Chia, 22, and her boyfriend visited Gardens by the Bay and only had to “wait a bit” to enter the Flower Dome, which was not crowded.
“I was expecting a large weekend crowd here, but was pleasantly surprised that I still had plenty of room to walk and take photos. I will try to use the rest of my coupons on a weekday in January, however, after school holidays have ended. “said Ms. Chia.
He bought a $ 20 ticket at Klook for Gardens by the Bay, which gave him access to the Flower Dome, Cloud Forest, and Christmas Wonderland.
Engineer Ted Chiang, 39, and his wife Eliza, 36, who runs a small business, went to the GlobalTix booking platform to buy tickets for the SkyPark observation deck at Marina Bay Sands.
“Using the sightseeing vouchers was a great option – tickets came in at $ 20 per head and we still have some cash to spend. Instead of being locked up at home, we decided to go out on a date, spend time together and see the views, “Chiang said.
There were a lot of people on Sentosa Island, where Universal Studios Singapore and the SEA Aquarium are located.
Mr. Lim Yew Li, 52, managed to purchase combo tickets on Trip.com to visit both attractions with his wife and college daughter.
“The package cost us just under $ 100 per person, so it’s actually a free tour of these places. We’ve been planning to visit Universal Studios for years, but until now we haven’t found a good reason to do so,” Lim said. , adding that the package you bought now seemed out of stock.
Ms. Pallavi Bajaj, 33, said getting tickets to visit the SEA Aquarium with her husband Arjun Bajaj, 39, and their two-year-old daughter was a “pleasure.” The couple, who bought $ 35 tickets on GlobalTix, plan to visit the Singapore Zoo next.
“We were a bit nervous about the weekend crowds, and since it’s the school holidays, expect a bit of jostling. But we really can’t complain as we’re practically getting a free aquarium visit,” Bajaj said.
The Singapore Tourism Board said on Tuesday (December 1) that designated booking platforms (Changi Recommends, GlobalTix, Traveloka, Trip.com and Klook) had received more than 11,900 bookings totaling about $ 1.86 million in coupons and payments at 4.30pm that day. , leaving some sold out offers at noon.
“There are many early adopters and the acceptance rate is very encouraging,” said Ms. Carine Chew, director of exit products at Changi Recommends.
Chew said top attractions for the reserves include Gardens by the Bay, Universal Studios Singapore and the Singapore Zoo.
“We have seen healthy demand in all sectors and the exclusive deals are working better,” he added.
Reza Amirul Juniarshah, Traveloka’s head of corporate communications, said traffic on the platform has increased 15-fold over normal periods since the coupons were launched on Dec. 1.
“With families and couples yearning to experience and explore the city, hidden gem attractions and tours have been popular with our clients,” he added.
Klook has also performed “well” from coupon users, said Sarah Wan, marketing director for Southeast Asia.
“We’ve seen a fairly even distribution of bookings across hotels, attractions, and vertical tours. Interestingly, we’ve also seen good traction for smaller tour operators like City Tours, which runs the Captain Explorer DUKW® Tour, and Tribe Tours, which run the Chinatown Murder Games Tour and Singapore’s Missing Trade Tour, “Wan noted.
He added that “there is still a long way to go” to use the vouchers, as the validity period includes school holidays in March and June.
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