Some still keen to redeem vouchers despite concerns about taking seniors, unvaccinated kids to tourist spots

• Hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans have yet to redeem their SingapoRediscovers vouchers
• Many said they were put off by the fear of taking their elderly parents and unvaccinated children to crowded places, among others
• But a majority are still keen to use the vouchers
• Organisations and booking platforms have seen tens of thousands tickets redeemed from vouchers donated by Singaporeans

SINGAPORE — Deterred by the fear of her unvaccinated children being infected by the coronavirus at tourist hot spots and hotels that housed persons under quarantine and stay-home notices, homemaker Nor Zulaikha has not used her SingapoRediscovers vouchers since she received them.

But with two months to go till their Dec 31 expiry, the mother of three children aged between one and four is planning to redeem the vouchers in the coming weeks.

“Maybe we’ll use it to book a staycation because I’m still worried about taking my kids to crowded places, especially tourist attractions,” she said.

Ahead of the expiry date, Madam Zulaikha, 35, is among the hundreds of thousands of Singaporeans who have yet to redeem their tourism vouchers, offered by the Government to be used for hotel stays, attractions and tours here.

The Government announced in August last year that it would set aside S$320 million for the voucher scheme, with the aim of boosting domestic tourism by offering each adult Singapore citizen S$100 worth of vouchers.

The vouchers could be used from Dec 1, 2020 until the end of June 2021. The redemption deadline was then extended in late April to Dec 31.

Last week, Trade and Industry Minister Gan Kim Yong said that less than half of the adult population here have used their vouchers.

Some Singaporeans interviewed by TODAY who have yet to redeem their vouchers said that they were put off by the fear of taking their older parents and unvaccinated children to crowded places, as well as the hassle of redeeming the vouchers, among others.

A majority, though, are still keen to use the vouchers.

One of them is preschool teacher Pauline Lim, 28, who had waited till the restrictions eased and the number of Covid-19 cases in the community to stabilise before booking tickets to the Universal Studios Singapore theme park for her family.

“My parents are old… so I wanted to wait until it’s considered safe to take them there,” she said.

Like Ms Lim, medical social worker Zakiah Humaira, 39, also had some qualms about going out with her 12-year-old daughter, who had just completed her Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE), before the exam period ended.

“I haven't used my vouchers mainly because it has been a crazy year. Our daughter just completed her PSLE, and we feared going out too often will increase our risk of getting infected,” she said.

Mdm Zakiah is also waiting for her daughter’s vaccination status to be updated, as she had just received her second vaccine shot.

“I will still redeem it when the time is better… when all of us are fully vaccinated,” she added.

For some others, the hassle of having to browse the five Singapore Tourism Board-authorised booking portals through which the vouchers can be redeemed has also been off-putting.

Mr Pan, a retiree who declined to disclose his full name, said: “It's too troublesome to redeem it online and our children are too busy to do it for us.”

The 64-year-old said that he would donate the vouchers instead.

VOUCHERS DONATED

Since last year, several organisations and booking platforms have seen tens of thousands tickets redeemed from SingapoRediscovers vouchers donated by Singaporeans to charitable causes.

Booking platform Klook, which has partnered several organisations, said that it has seen over 30,000 tickets redeemed with the vouchers.

Likewise, Trip.com has seen 3,000 attractions passes and room nights donated to beneficiaries in the past year, with more donations planned in the weeks to come.

This has served beneficiaries from non-profit organisations such as Babes Pregnancy Crisis Support, which has received a total donation of 44 vouchers.

Another booking site, GlobalTix, said that it has seen a surge in donation numbers as the expiry date for the vouchers approaches. It did not disclose how many donated vouchers it has received.

“We will continue to work with merchants to come up with new experiences for the beneficiaries for the remainder of the year and encourage more to donate their vouchers,” it added.

Migrant worker advocacy group ItsRainingRaincoats, which has been facilitating trips to the Singapore Flyer for these workers, said that ticket sales from the donations received have reached more than 21,000 people.

In the first week of November alone, 144 tickets have been sold.

Travel agency Xperience DMC, which called on Singaporeans to donate their unused SingapoRediscovers vouchers to gift a free tour to migrant workers, seniors or at-risk youth last week, said that it has received 601 donations of differing amounts, totalling S$16,680.

The firm, which has partnered with the Alliance of Guest Workers Outreach and Life Centre Community Services to let as many as 30,000 migrant workers, 200 at-risk youths and 100 seniors go on the tours, will continue to take in donations until the end of the year.

Its donation drive in May collected 690 SingapoRediscovers vouchers amounting to about S$65,000.

The sum raised was used to hold tours for beneficiaries from 10 different children’s homes and non-profit organisations, including Chen Su Lan Methodist Children’s Home, Darul Ihsan Orphanage and Awwa School.