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The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Airbnb vacation rental market have teamed up to drive “authentic” travel experiences in Singapore and encourage tourism industry players to shift towards hybrid business models.
Under a two-year memorandum of understanding signed Thursday, both sides will promote and develop a variety of online and in-person experiences, such as virtual tours, cooking classes, meditation workshops and nature walks, hosted by locals.
STB and Airbnb will also market Singapore as a travel destination for global audiences, as well as facilitating data and knowledge sharing to enable effective recovery.
To kick off the partnership, the two organizations launched Singapore Virtual Trips, a collection of online experiences that is featured on a dedicated landing page on the Airbnb platform.
This page will also provide Singapore destination content, for international travelers to “virtually explore the country” while border restrictions are still in place due to the coronavirus pandemic.
For starters, Singapore virtual tours include a sustainability-themed tour at Gardens by the Bay’s Cloud Forest; a visit to the Peranakan house museum, The Intan; an interactive bingo tour of the one-north tech precinct; and a walk through Old Kallang Airport.
STB and Airbnb said they expect more industry partners to join the initiative, which is aimed at encouraging Singaporean tourism businesses to take their products online and adopt innovative and hybrid business models.
Moving forward, the two parties will also incorporate Airbnb in-person experiences in categories such as food, nature, wellness, and the arts.
“With the aim of the long-term development of Singapore’s experiences sector, both parties will work with partners in the local tourism industry to continually offer new and differentiated experiences to travelers,” they said in a joint statement. The alliance aims to help local entrepreneurs reap the economic benefits of experience-driven travel.
For the marketing aspect of the partnership, the tourism board and Airbnb will co-produce a line of co-branded content featuring Destination Singapore and Airbnb experiences.
Such content will also be available to travel industry partners through the STB Tourism Information and Service Center.
“These efforts are especially critical to driving an effective recovery as international travel restrictions are eased,” said Airbnb and STB.
They will also offer destination information, tools and benefits to Airbnb Experiences guests. These include exclusive offers that guests can unlock by signing up for the VisitSingapore app.
In terms of data and knowledge sharing, both parties will share ideas and best practices to increase the supply of experiences in Singapore and help the industry recover.
To further this, Airbnb Experiences has invited STB to access its data exchange platform, City Portal. The platform was created for governments and tourism organizations, to equip them with travel information and other relevant resources.
Sharing such data and knowledge will allow both parties to gain a deeper understanding of the evolving traveler profile, so that they can incorporate more Singapore-specific experiences and refine tourism products and services in this new environment.
STB CEO Keith Tan said: “As travel gradually resumes, we want to focus on strengthening Singapore’s brand image in the minds of audiences around the world and ensuring that our destination remains a priority”.
He added that the initiative will provide passionate Singapore hosts with a platform to reach travelers from around the world, while helping these hosts innovate and explore new business models.
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