TOURISM Northern Territory (NT) is pursuing aggressive growth in the Singapore market by stepping up its marketing in 2013 and appealing to culture- and adventure-loving leisure travellers, as well as corporate incentives.
A Tourism NT delegation comprising CEO, Tony Mayell, and state tourism minister, Matt Conlan, was in Singapore on Tuesday for a roadshow to meet the local media and travel trade.
Mayell said: “We may have painted ourselves into a corner (by selling ourselves as an adventure travel spot). It’s not a bad corner to be in, but we want to re-identify what is unique to the Territory and sets us apart from the rest of Australia, then spread awareness of that.
“As a mature market, Singaporeans are also more interested in art and culture now. So we want to broaden the approach in Singapore by adding another layer, focusing on cultural products such as aboriginal art.”
In 2012, Singaporean visitors to the Territory only numbered 6,000 out of more than 300,000 arrivals to Australia. The goal is to increase arrivals from the market by 30 per cent this year.
Mayell cited the city-state’s 82 per cent repeat visitor rate as one reason for interest in Australia’s sixth-largest source market.
“Awareness is a main obstacle in Singapore. This year, we will continue to educate consumers and the trade about what NT has to offer, as well as taking marketing efforts onto a digital platform,” said Grace Tong, general manager of Pacific Leisure Marketing, Tourism NT’s marketing representative in the country.
“Destination training is an ongoing activity, which we organise at the request of travel consultants, either in house at their offices or in collaboration with the National Association of Travel Agents Singapore,” she said.
This year, Tourism NT will also launch bi-monthly email updates for travel consultants to keep them informed on the latest developments in the Territory. Interested parties may subscribe to it at singapore.tourismnt@nt.gov.au.
As for the MICE market, Mayell said: “We have facilities for small meetings and incentives. We’ve seen groups book out the entire Wildman Wilderness Lodge for three days for such events.”
He also revealed that the state NTO was in the midst of working with SilkAir on a number of MICE campaigns. “We’re into our second year with SilkAir, who has been a fantastic partner. While we and SilkAir are keen to increase (flight) capacity, we have first got to ensure the yield is there.”
Looking ahead, Mayell said Tourism NT was still studying the interests of different regional markets. India and South Korea are on the radar, while there are plans to break into China within 12 months.
