"Singapore Stories" shows how tourism industry can begin recovery

SCMP’s Johnny Ng breaks down an example of how the tourism industry can begin its recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. (This is an excerpt from a longer Opinion piece. Click "View more" to read the full article.)

For tourism to restart and recover, a big push is needed by the tourism boards to revive the travel industry. With travel suspended, much of these campaigns were geared towards domestic tourism and targeting local residents - but the same stories can also serve as an inspiration for the future when travel returns.

The Singapore Tourism Board produced ‘Singapore Stories’, a collaboration that funded content creators around the world to tell amazing stories of Singapore as a destination, a home that’s loved, and as a place where passions shine through.

A video series called “Persevering Preservations” put a spotlight on fighting for traditions rooted in Singapore’s culture and show how COVID-19 has spurred how Singapore was working hard together to preserve them. One video featured a rattan chair maker, another about the owners of a mama shop (family-run neighbourhood provision shops), and a group of Singapore foodies that saved the hawkers — all stories that demonstrated how strength and resilience, solidarity and unity led Singapore through adversity.

The series saw an exponential increase (between 16% to 160%) in video views as we released each episode, suggesting that our audience was lapping up the inspirational, narrative-driven stories.