Ravi Chandran
DBS and STB forge three-year partnership to stimulate tourism demand and digitalise local businesses to ensure future-readiness
DBS and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) today announced a three-year Memorandum of Understanding to stimulate domestic tourism demand in the immediate term, as well as drive cross-border demand and catalyse tourism industry development in the mid- to longterm. They also hope to stimulate local businesses to digitalise.
The partnership, a first-of-its-kind collaboration between STB and a local bank, will leverage DBS’ ecosystem of services such as its travel marketplace portal, digital payments collection solutions, predictive analytics and everyday app DBS PayLah! to help the tourism industry seize new opportunities. In addition, DBS and STB will help local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accelerate their digital transformation.
Stimulating domestic tourism demand
In the coming months, DBS and STB will invest in domestic marketing campaigns to encourage locals to rediscover homegrown tourism products and experiences, as well as stimulate local demand to complement the SingapoRediscovers campaign. Launched in July 2020, SingapoRediscovers is a local tourism campaign led by STB, Enterprise Singapore and Sentosa Development Corporation. The campaign encourages locals to support homegrown lifestyle and tourism businesses, through the discovery of hidden gems, stories and experiences in Singapore.
Both organisations will curate attractive promotional bundles for attractions, tours and hotel stays. DBS will also tap on its predictive analytics and Intelligent Banking capabilities and work with STB to provide personalised itineraries and dynamic destination content to encourage locals to explore different precincts and learn about the myriad homegrown brands and experiences in Singapore.
DBS and STB will also collaborate on content creation and distribution to increase awareness, consideration and consumption of local tourism experiences and brands. These will be amplified across DBS platforms which include the DBS Travel Marketplace, DBS’ social media communities such as The Burrow, and marketing channels. Examples of content include co-development of contests and events, as well as the use of new media such as augmented reality, virtual reality and livestreaming tools to showcase interesting local experiences. The collaboration aims to help local businesses cut through the clutter, to tell compelling and engaging stories of their brands, products and experiences.
Driving cross-border demand
The next phase of the partnership will target inbound leisure and business visitors through international marketing campaigns as Singapore progressively opens its borders. Like the collaboration for the domestic market, DBS and STB will customise content and introduce promotions and products for international visitors, such as flight and accommodation bundles, business events, and relevant travel insurance plans.
Enabling local businesses to digitalise and be future-ready
Beyond stimulating domestic and international demand, a key thrust of the partnership is to catalyse the development of the tourism industry. As more locals shift their everyday payment and banking needs to their mobile phones and online platforms, DBS and STB will help homegrown tourism businesses digitally transform so they can easily reach out to customers and boost customer engagement, and better thrive in the new COVID-19 environment. For example, both DBS and STB will partner local businesses to pilot smart experiences such as a seamless and contactless digital payment experience at various precincts. As a start, both organisations will launch a campaign to grow demand and encourage the use of DBS PayLah! at the Bugis precinct by the end of the year.
Shee Tse Koon, DBS Singapore Country Head, said: “As the Development Bank of Singapore which helped the nation industrialise, we at DBS remain invested in charting a path of recovery for Singapore. We believe this partnership can make a real difference and help our tourism industry get back on its feet. By combining STB’s tourism expertise with DBS’ extensive tech and ecosystem network, we are confident that we can encourage more Singaporeans to come out, explore and rediscover Singapore. In addition, we look forward to supporting our local SMEs by leveraging our consumer base, data insights and technology to help them build up their resilience and unlock more business opportunities.”
Keith Tan, STB Chief Executive, said: “DBS is an established homegrown bank, with a strong presence in Singapore and overseas. Through this strategic partnership, we will be able to reach a large community of local and international consumers, and encourage them to discover, explore and support local tourism businesses. We look forward to working with DBS on precinct-specific projects such as helping smaller businesses to digitalise and implement smarter tools to engage their customers. These efforts will ensure that Singapore remains a safe, trusted and preferred destination for all our visitors.”
Mr Simon Wong Co-founder, SingaporeSidecars, said: “With the DBS-STB partnership, we are able to tap on a wealth of interesting insights and data capabilities that will enable us to create and tailor brand new products and continually evolve products for local audiences, which are very important to us. It will also help give us access to the multiple touchpoints for our customers with quick access payment method like PayLah! across different locations around town.”
Mr Roger Wong Managing Director, Eighteen Chefs, said: “We look forward to be part of the upcoming smart experiences pilot, helmed by DBS and the Singapore Tourism Board at the Bugis precinct. A seamless and contactless digital payment experience will bring greater convenience to our customers and offer them peace of mind during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are already seeing the benefits of digitising our payment collections like quicker over-the-counter sales transactions and more efficient business operations. To further improve our business, we hope to be able to promote the use of cashless payments through PayLah!, incentivising our customers with cashback rewards.”
