Expect long winter for tourism in Singapore as recovery could take 3 to 5 years: STB chief

SINGAPORE - The tourism industry must be prepared for a long winter, as international travel could take three to five years to recover even if a vaccine for the coronavirus is developed soon.

Echoing the bleak outlook, Association of Singapore Attractions chairman Kevin Cheong urged operators that are barely hanging on to cut their losses. "We need to be prepared for travellers who are looking for more exclusive, smaller scale or special experiences that are hard to find elsewhere, because we believe that in the years after Covid-19, people will not be travelling so frequently," he said.

While the pandemic has hastened the adoption of contactless guest touchpoints, it has also led to a surge in demand for soft skills programmes as providing a personal touch will remain key for the hospitality industry, she said.Better in-store service is also needed if retailers are to give shoppers incentive to visit bricks-and-mortar outlets, said Singapore Retailers Association executive director Rose Tong.

"They're given undivided attention, as though they have a personal concierge and then, hopefully, they're also more likely to make a purchase." But the pandemic has also forced operators to relook their business operations, and there is some room for improvement, said Mr Ler.

Only?

With xenophobia protectionist and populist mentality in singapore i can take even longer

Curious how could the STB chief predict economic recovery timeframe when even the world’s best medical firms are not confident of the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine when it is available? As it is, it seems the world is in a perpetual “closed today, open tomorrow” state.

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