STB partners Tencent to draw Chinese tourists here

SINGAPORE — The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is stepping up efforts to attract more Chinese travellers to the city-state by partnering with Tencent, a leading provider of Internet value-added services in China.

In a joint statement yesterday, the STB and the International Business Group (IBG) of Tencent said they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to use the latter’s targeted advertising solutions to promote Singapore as a destination of choice for Chinese travellers.

Tencent is best known for WeChat, China’s top messaging app that is also used daily in the country for in-store payments, online shopping, funds transfer, ride-hailing, hotel and flight booking and a wide range of other services.

Harnessing Tencent’s technologies and its strengths in Chinese consumer engagement, as well as STB’s industry influence and networks in Singapore, the collaboration aims to boost STB’s marketing outreach to consumers in China, enhance Chinese visitors’ experience in the city-state and encourage Singapore-based merchants to utilise Tencent’s platforms.

Mr Poshu Yeung, vice-president of Tencent IBG, said: “Leveraging Tencent’s platforms that continue to grow in influence among the Chinese community, Tencent IBG’s tailored advertising and marketing solutions enable STB to raise consumer awareness in China and engage Chinese consumers during their stay in Singapore.”

“Tapping STB’s influence and network in Singapore, we look forward to further collaborations with other local partners seeking to target Chinese consumers through our products including WeChat, WeChat cross-border payment, as well as Tencent cloud and ad solutions,” he added.

STB chief executive Lionel Yeo said: “China is an important tourism key source market for Singapore, and we continue to see good growth from it.

“STB has been growing its digital footprint in its efforts to engage digital-savvy Chinese consumers through various partnerships, from attracting them to visit Singapore, to delivering an enhanced visitor experience while in Singapore, and to encourage the sharing of experiences post-trip.”

He added: “The partnership will enable us to reach our targeted segments in even more agile and effective ways through Tencent’s big data and multiple platforms. It will also complement our existing strong trade networks to promote Singapore as a top-of-mind destination for Chinese travellers.”

Chinese tourists form the largest group of inbound travellers to Singapore and are the biggest spenders here. Last year, more than 2.86 million visitors from China visited Singapore, making up about 17 per cent of inbound tourists, the STB said.

They chalked up about S$2.8 billion in tourist receipts, with the bulk of the spending going into shopping.