It has been announced that Singaporeans who are aged 18 and above this year will each receive S$100 in digital vouchers to spend on staycations, tickets to leisure attractions, and local tours in order to help stimulate the local tourist industry.
The SingapoRediscovers Vouchers will be accessible via SingPass from December and can be used to offset ticket purchases and hotel stays until the end of June next year. Permanent residents will not be eligible for the vouchers.
Adult Singaporeans will also be able to purchase up to six subsidised tickets for attractions and tours. These tickets will be discounted by up to S$10 for those under 18 from December to the end of June 2021.
Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said the duration of the voucher programme is timed to coincide with the March, June and December holidays and to spread out demand in between.
Rather than being a social assistance scheme, this initiative is instead an effort by the government to help stimulate growth within the local tourism industry which has suffered immensely under the strain put on it as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is an economic scheme to help our tourist attractions preserve their capabilities that have been built up over their years while they consolidate the capacity in the interim,” Mr Chan told reporters during a visit to the Jurong Bird Park.
The vouchers, which will come in denominations of $10, can be used at all licensed hotels, leisure attractions and for local tours by operators that have received approval from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to reopen or resume.
Up to 214 hotels, 40 attractions, and 438 tour itineraries have been given the green light to resume their operations with COVID-19 safety measures in place. These include many of Singapore’s well-known and famous locales, such as its four wildlife parks, and Sentosa island attractions.
The vouchers complement the S$45 million SingapoRediscovers marketing campaign, launched in July to encourage locals to holiday at home and support local businesses.
While the F&B retail industry are also a part of the marketing campaign, the main beneficiaries of the vouchers is intended to be hotels, attractions, and tours, which depend on tourists for at least 70 to 80 percent of their revenue.
