CHANGI CONNECTION INCENTIVE SCHEME AND FREE CITY TOURS (Response)

Dr Arthur Beng Kian Lam asked the Minister for Communications and Information what is the response to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore's Changi Connection Incentive Scheme and free city tours for passengers in transit to see the sights of Singapore with a view to attracting them back to Singapore for a longer visit; and whether the CAAS has introduced other promotional programmes.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has a number of different programmes to help with the promotion of Singapore as a tourist destination in order to help our tourist industry. I will list some of them.

In July last year, the CAAS launched what is termed the Changi Connection Incentive Scheme. The idea is to promote Singapore as a destination to passengers transitting or transferring in Singapore. The transit and transfer passengers who do not normally come into Singapore are given special booklets which contain vouchers. These vouchers entitle them to discounts in our hotels, shops and other local tourist attractions, should these passengers come back to Singapore.

Over the last seven months, about half a million such booklets have been issued to the transit and transfer passengers. Of these, 25,000 discount vouchers have been redeemed - 4,200 for hotel accommodation, 18,900 for shopping and 1,900 for sightseeing. In dollar terms, the redemption of vouchers for hotel accommodation alone accounts for a quarter million dollars. This is extra business for our tourist industry. So far, the response to this scheme has been assessed to be very satisfactory.

CAAS expects more vouchers to be redeemed over the coming months because the vouchers are valid for a period of one year.

CAAS also conducts free city tours for transit passengers. This scheme was introduced in April last year. The coach tours take approximately two hours and they are aimed at giving visitors a glimpse of Singapore and getting them excited and eager to come back to visit Singapore again. Daily, there is an average of 33 passengers. In a survey of 246 transit passengers who have joined such tours, 89% of them responded that they would like to return to see Singapore and spend a longer period in Singapore.

Besides these two programmes, CAAS also conducts other activities which give transit passengers a preview of life in Singapore, to give them a flavour of the local culture and what we do best in Singapore. Four times a night, a programme known as the "Singapore Experience", an audio-visual show on Singapore, is screened in a theatrette in the Transit Lounge. Promotional videos on Singapore such as the recent cleaning up of the Singapore River and our changing landscapes are also screened in the in-house theatre with a closed-circuit television system available for passengers to watch it while they are waiting for their planes. Since March last year, CAAS has also started demonstrations and sale of local handicrafts in the Transit Lounge.

Sir, all these and other programmes have been mounted to help sell Singapore to the two million transit and transfer passengers who pass through Singapore each year. We want them to come back and visit us. We want them to come and fill our hotel rooms and buy from our shops. And after having visited Singapore, we want them to revisit Singapore yet again. Some of the results of these efforts can be measured in dollar terms. But much more importantly, we help to create a good, positive and lasting image of Singapore which will benefit all businesses in Singapore in the long run.