Channel NewsAsia 12 Mar 09;
SINGAPORE: Singapore has been ranked top in Asia and 10th out of 133 countries globally for the attractiveness of their environments in developing the travel and tourism industry.
This is according to the World Economic Forum's latest Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009.
Improving six places from its overall ranking last year in the 2008 report, Singapore was placed first for its policy environment, indicating that its rules and regulations are highly conducive to the development of its travel and tourism industry.
Such policies include those that facilitate foreign ownership and Foreign Direct Investment, well-protected property rights, few visa restrictions and transparency of policy making.
Singapore also came in first in human resources, scoring high in the quality of its education system, extent of staff training, ease of hiring foreign labour, as well as hiring and firing practices.
According to the report, an excellent educational system, top-notch training facilities, healthy workforce, and flexible labour market are key factors contributing to Singapore's good performance in this area.
In terms of overall prioritisation of travel and tourism, Singapore was ranked second, improving by three places against last year's ranking. Citing indicators such as government expenditure on the sector, strong destination-marketing campaigns, and country-level presence at key international tourism fairs, the report said that these factors signalled the importance of the travel and tourism sector to the overall economy.
Singapore also benefited from its excellent transport infrastructure, with ground transport infrastructure, air transport infrastructure and air networks being ranked highly. Its Info-Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure has also seen a measurable improvement since last year.
The STB recently rolled out a S$90 million initiative – Building On Opportunities to Strengthen Tourism (BOOST) – for the tourism sector.
BOOST includes measures such as "2009 Reasons to enjoy Singapore", the STB's global marketing campaign that aims to drive demand for travel to Singapore, as well as enhanced funding support for tourism businesses and training schemes to raise the skills and service excellence of tourism workers in Singapore.
STB's director of strategic planning, Mr John Gregory Conceicao, said the ranking "is an indication of Singapore's strengths in its tourism management and infrastructure. It will in turn strengthen our efforts to ride out the current downturn and position ourselves for future growth."
- CNA/ir
Singapore among top 10 in tourism rankings
Improvements in areas like infocomms, infrastructure help it rise six places in WEF report
Lim Wei Chean, Straits Times 13 Mar 09;
NEVER mind that Singapore has no natural or cultural resources.
Its travel and tourism sector is the 10th most competitive, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report on 133 countries and regions.
Ranked 16th last year, Singapore pipped Britain to the last slot in the top 10.
It was also top in Asia.
The annual report's scoring system gave the Republic top marks for the quality of its workers and for its rules and regulations being 'extremely conducive' to the growth of travel and tourism.
Other plus points were the quality of its port infrastructure and the transparency of its Government's policymaking.
The report by the non-profit WEF appraised 133 countries and regions in 14 areas, ranging from infrastructure for air and ground transportation to safety and security, policy rules and regulations.
The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, as the ranking is called, was developed four years ago to measure how regulatory and business-
related issues shape the efficiency of a country's travel and tourism sector.
In this year's ranking, countries like Switzerland, Austria and Germany continued tohog the top spots as they had done for the last two years.
Singapore's leapfrog into the top 10 came from improvements made in the building of tourism infrastructure, such as hotel rooms, and having teller machines that accept Visa cards, among other things.
It also made strides in information communication technology, measured by the number of subscribers to broadband Internet and mobile phones, and the extent of Internet-use among businesses.
Ms Ng Lee Li, a section head at the Tourism Academy@Sentosa, said Singapore's small size was an advantage as it 'certainly gives us more control over what we want to achieve and by when'.
The ranking also suggests Singapore has become more attractive to tourism-related businesses looking to invest here, which should help it ride out the current downturn, said Mr John Gregory Conceicao, the Singapore Tourism Board's director of strategic planning.
But although the improved ranking gives Singapore 'more visibility', it is not about to turn this island into an instant tourist magnet, said Professor John Davis, who teaches marketing at the Singapore Management University (SMU).
Noting that these rankings are geared more towards governments and businesses, he added: 'Most people do not decide to travel somewhere based on these ranking charts, but rather on whether they have any interest in going there.'
Still, the ranking is a measure of how attractive Singapore is as a place to do business in this sector, said Mr Aaron Hung, who teaches world travel and tourism at SMU.
For example, he said, many companies base their regional headquarters here, not because Singapore receives many tourists, but because 'it has the talent and excellent policy environment for businesses to thrive'.
1. Switzerland (1)
2. Austria (2)
3. Germany (3)
4. France (10)
5. Canada (9)
6. Spain (5)
7. Sweden (8)
8. The United States (7)
9. Australia (4)
10. Singapore (16)
Figures in brackets indicate last year's rankings
Singapore is top Asian nation in travel and tourism
Business Times 13 Mar 09;
SINGAPORE has emerged as the highest-ranked country in Asia - and the only Asian country in the world's top 10 - in the third annual Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report.
Switzerland is ranked No 1 overall, followed by Austria and Germany in the latest report from the World Economic Forum. Singapore is ranked 10th among 133 countries, up from 16th last year.
The rankings are based on the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, which measures regulatory and business-related issues that are seen as levers for improving travel and tourism competitiveness.
Areas in which Singapore scored well are policy rules and regulations, ground transport infrastructure, prioritisation of travel and tourism, and human resources.
The survey also identified areas for improvement. Singapore is perceived to be at a competitive disadvantage in environmental sustainability, price competitiveness, cultural resources and natural resources.
According to 2008 estimates in the report, Singapore's travel and tourism industry contributed 2.3 per cent of GDP, while the 2009-2018 annual growth forecast is 1.6 per cent. 2008 estimates put tourism employment here at 64,000.
'This is an indication of Singapore's strengths in its tourism management and infrastructure,' said John Gregory Conceicao, director of strategic planning for the Singapore Tourism Board. 'It strengthens our efforts to ride out the current downturn and position ourselves for future growth.'
Geoffrey Lipman, assistant secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization, said: 'This index will help governments and the industry identify areas where supporting the sector can show big gains in the response to both the recession and climate change. Tourism competitiveness is a major element to be included in economic stimulation packages.'
