Singapore Tourist Promotion Board
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The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is a statutory board under the
Ministry of Trade and Industry A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...
of the
Government of Singapore The government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore, Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to consist of the President of Singapore, President and the Executive. Executive authority of Singapore is vested in the Presi ...
, tasked to promote the country's
tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
industry.


History

The board was first established on 1 January 1964 and was called the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board (
Abbreviation An abbreviation () is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method including shortening (linguistics), shortening, contraction (grammar), contraction, initialism (which includes acronym), or crasis. An abbreviation may be a shortened for ...
: STPB). In that year, there were 91,000 visitors. The primary task of STPB was to coordinate the efforts of hotels, airlines and travel agents to develop the fledgling tourism industry of the country. Later, STPB began to initiate new marketing ideas to promote Singapore's image abroad. The board created the
Merlion The Merlion () is the official mascot of Singapore. It is depicted as a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. Being of prominent symbolic nature to Singapore and Singaporeans in general, it is widely used to represen ...
, a symbol based on a Singapore mythical legend, that became an icon of the Singapore destination. The board has also been providing travel agent licensing and tourist guide training. STPB actively promoted the development of infrastructure, including the building of hotels and tourist attractions such as the
Jurong Bird Park Jurong Bird Park was an aviary and tourist attraction in Jurong, Singapore between 1971 and 2023. The largest such bird park in Asia, it covered an area of on the western slope of Jurong Hill, the highest point in the Jurong region. It was one ...
and
Sentosa Sentosa Island ( ), known mononymously as Sentosa, is an island located off the southern coast of Singapore's main island. The island is separated from the main island of Singapore by a channel of water, the Keppel Harbour, and is adjacent to ...
which is now a popular resort island for both tourists and local visitors. The board also markets the city as a convention venue and organises events to attract visitors. Throughout the 1960s to 70s, the tourism board ran multiple advertising campaigns aimed at drawing visitors from different countries and published monthly newsletters to promote multiple attractions in Singapore. The
Merlion The Merlion () is the official mascot of Singapore. It is depicted as a mythical creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish. Being of prominent symbolic nature to Singapore and Singaporeans in general, it is widely used to represen ...
was also created as the Singapore Tourism Board's logo in 1964 and was used in promotional materials. The Merlion eventually became a well-known Singaporean icon and in 1972, a Merlion statue was erected in the
Merlion Park Merlion Park, ) is a famous Singapore landmark and a major tourist attraction, located at One Fullerton, Singapore, near the Central Business District (CBD). The Merlion is a mythical creature with a lion's head and the body of a fish that is ...
. In the 1980s, several historic and culturally significant areas such as
Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...
,
Little India Little India (also known as Indian Street, India Bazaar, or India Town) is an Indian people, Indian or South Asian sociocultural environment outside India or the Indian subcontinent. It especially refers to an area with a significant concentra ...
and
Kampong Glam Kampong Glam ( ; Malay language, Malay: Kampung Gelam; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: کامڤوڠ ڬلم ; ; Tamil language, Tamil: கம்போங் கிளாம்) is a neighbourhood and ethnic enclave in Singapore. It is located north of ...
were earmarked for preservation. These places express Singapore's cultural diversity and became popular tourist destinations. The
Singapore River The Singapore River is a river that flows parallel to Alexandra Road and feeds into the Marina Reservoir in the southern part of Singapore. The immediate upper drainage basin, watershed of the Singapore River is known as the Singapore River Plann ...
underwent a major cleanup program and the areas along the river were developed for restaurants and other tourist amenities. On 7 October 1997, the parliament passed the Tourist Promotion Board (Amendment) Bill to rename the STPB to Singapore Tourism Board. On 19 November 1997, STPB was renamed as Singapore Tourism Board.


Mission

The board now oversees all aspects of tourism, including resource allocation and long-term strategic planning. It establishes offices around the globe to actively market the Singapore destination. In the short term, the Singapore government has allocated S$905 million to STB for tourism developments until 2017. A third of this amount will be used to assist the industry to build manpower competencies through education and skills-upgrading initiatives, particularly in key areas such as conference management.


Growth

Singapore tourism industry has grown rapidly since STPB was set up. In 2004, there were 8 million visitors. On 11 January 2005, Minister for Trade and Industry unveiled the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) targets to doubling visitor arrivals to 17 million by 2015. In March 2010, the STB projected a 20–30% increase in visitor arrivals for the year due to the opening of
Marina Bay Sands Marina Bay Sands is a integrated resort fronting Marina Bay, Singapore, Marina Bay in Singapore and a landmark of the city. At its opening in 2010, it was deemed the world's most expensive standalone casino property at Singapore dollar, S$8&nbs ...
and
Resorts World Sentosa Resorts World Sentosa (abbreviation: RWS) is an integrated resort on the island of Sentosa, which is located off the southern coast of Singapore. The key attractions within RWS include one of Singapore's two casinos, Universal Studios Singapore ...
. This coincided with other key events such as the
Singapore Grand Prix The Singapore Grand Prix is a motor racing event which forms part of the Formula One World Championship. The event takes place on the Marina Bay Street Circuit and was the inaugural night race and first street circuit in Asia designed for Form ...
and the inaugural
Youth Olympic Games Youth Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes aged 15 to 18 years old. Organized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with ...
. New developments such as the International Cruise Terminal,
Gardens by the Bay The Gardens by the Bay (GBTB) is an urban park spanning in the Central Region, Singapore, Central Region of Singapore, adjacent to the Marina Reservoir. The park consists of three waterfront gardens: Bay South Garden in Marina South, Bay East ...
and Changi Motor Sports Hub are expected to be unveiled in the coming years.Singapore Tourism Board Forecasts Record Numbers for 2010 and Unveils "YourSingapore" Destination Bran


See also

*
Tourism in Singapore Tourism in Singapore is a major industry and contributor to the Singaporean economy. In 2019, 19,114,002 tourists visited the country, which was the highest recorded number of arrivals since independence in 1965. As of 2024, as tourist arriva ...
*
Passion Made Possible Passion Made Possible is the destination brand of Singapore, jointly launched on 24 August 2017 by Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Economic Development Board (EDB). ''Passion Made Possible'' marks the rebranding of the Singaporean brand, replaci ...


References


External links

*
VisitSingapore.com
– Official Tourist Guide by STB {{Authority control Statutory boards of the Singapore Government Tourism in Singapore 1997 establishments in Singapore Government agencies established in 1997 Tourism agencies ta:சிங்கப்பூர் சுற்றுலா வாரியம்