SINGAPORE, Sept 16 — From December, all Singaporeans aged 18 years and above will receive S$100 (RM303.75) worth of vouchers for local hotel stays, attractions tickets and tours, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said today.
This comes as tourist attractions that have received approval to resume operations will be allowed from Friday to apply to STB to increase their operating capacity from 25 per cent up to 50 per cent, and increase the capacity at their outdoor shows. This is subject to approval by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).
The “SingapoRediscovers” vouchers, distributed in denominations of S$10, will be accessible digitally via the SingPass government portal. They will be valid for seven months, until end-June next year.
The vouchers are expected to be redeemed digitally, STB said, but added it would provide support for those with difficulties using digital modes. Details on the redemption mechanisms will be announced in November, it said.
The Government had said in August it would set aside S$320 million for the vouchers, which are named after an ongoing S$45 million marketing campaign by STB to drive domestic spending and prop up the tourism sector hard hit by travel restrictions due to Covid-19.
“To date, over 200 attractive deals and bundled packages have been launched to encourage locals to explore different precincts and aspects of life of Singapore,” STB wrote in a statement.
These vouchers can be redeemed at licensed hotels, tourist attractions and tours approved by the STB to operate or reopen. The tours must also have been granted approval by the MTI.
The Government will also provide a S$10 subsidy for child and youth tickets for attractions and tours throughout the seven months.
“This is not social assistance, this is an economic scheme to help our tourist attractions preserve their capabilities that have been built up over the years, while they consolidate capacity in the interim,” Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing told reporters while on a visit to the Jurong Bird Park today.
Increased capacity at outdoor shows
Aside from being able to take in more visitors, attraction operators can also apply to STB to scale up the capacity at their outdoor shows to a maximum of 250 people from the current maximum of 50.
This will be done by setting up a maximum of five zones, with 50 people in each zone, and are subject to safe measurement measures which include providing at least a one metre distance within the zone between individuals not from the same group.
Zones must also be clearly demarcated with a separation of at least three metres between zones.
The relaxations of rules for attractions were a result of operators demonstrating “good compliance” with safe measurement measures, STB said.
Besides introducing online booking systems, preparing response plans to handle cases of infections, detailed cleaning and sanitisation regimes, they have also been effective at preventing and dispersing crowds and maintaining high standards of cleanliness and hygiene, STB said.
“STB will continue to conduct enforcement checks to ensure that attractions can implement the necessary SMMs (safe measurement measures) effectively even with larger capacity limits,” it wrote. — TODAY
