Travel agency, booking sites seek donations of SingapoRediscovers Vouchers for tours catering to migrant workers, less privileged

• Tour agency Xperience DMC is holding a donation drive for unused SingapoRediscovers vouchers
• They will be used for tours organised for as many as 30,000 migrant workers, 200 at-risk youth and 100 seniors
• Each tour costs between S$60 and $75 for a beneficiary, inclusive of transport and a meal
• Vouchers may be donated in denominations of S$10, S$20 or S$50
• Various booking sites have partnered social service organisations to allow people to donate their vouchers

SINGAPORE — A travel agency is calling on Singaporeans to donate their unused SingapoRediscovers vouchers to gift a free tour to a migrant worker, senior or at-risk youth.

The new donation drive comes three days after the authorities said that less than half the Singaporean population have redeemed their vouchers, which can be used for hotel stays and attractions here. There are just about two months to go before the vouchers expire after Dec 31.

For its latest donation drive, travel firm Xperience DMC 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.

Xperience DMC will hold the guided half-day tours at one of these locations: Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park, Seletar Aerospace Park, Gardens by the Bay, the Singapore River as well as the Chinatown, Little India and Kampong Glam cultural precincts.

No target has been set for this donation drive, the firm’s director Jane Goh said. “We will proceed and deliver the tours to as many beneficiaries as we can based on the amount collected.” 

Each tour costs between S$60 and $75 for a beneficiary, inclusive of transport and a meal.

Vouchers may be donated in denominations of S$10, S$20 or S$50.

The SingapoRediscovers voucher scheme was introduced in August last year in an effort to boost domestic tourism during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Each Singapore citizen is given S$100 worth of vouchers. 

The vouchers may be used from Dec 1, 2020 to the end of June 2021. The redemption deadline was later extended to Dec 31.

They may use the vouchers for tours and activities listed on booking sites such as Changi Recommends, Global Tix, Trip.com, Klook or Traveloka.

As of Oct 21, more than 1.25 million Singaporeans have used their vouchers at least once among some 3 million people who were eligible to receive the vouchers. 

Xperience DMC already held a similar donation drive in May and raised about S$65,000 in SingapoRediscovers vouchers. 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.

Ms Goh hopes that the latest drive will provide a way for people to put their vouchers to good use before they expire. Tours will be held as soon as the travel agency collects enough donated vouchers to form a group. 

For the migrant worker tours, they will be held once they are allowed to leave their dormitories, Ms Goh said. “Due to the sheer number of migrant workers, we don’t think we can collect that much and the Alliance is happy to enable as many to go as possible.” 

On booking site Trip.com, people may donate their vouchers to voluntary welfare organisation Minds, which serves people with intellectual disabilities, so that its beneficiaries may visit the Singapore Flyer.

The booking site also has a donation call for vouchers that go to beneficiaries of Life Community Services Society, which helps children from low-income or vulnerable backgrounds. This will allow them to go on tours to Universal Studios Singapore theme park or Adventure Cove Waterpark at Resorts World Sentosa.

Klook and Global Tix have also partnered various social service organisations allowing Singaporeans to sponsor trips for beneficiaries from Special Olympics Singapore, Touch Community Services, Ray of Hope, Lakeside Family Services, HCSA Community Services and Thye Hua Kwan Moral Charities, among others.

Over the past year, other organisations have held donation drives for migrant workers and the less privileged. 

Close to S$1 million worth of tickets had been donated to sponsor trips on the Singapore Flyer for migrant workers served by non-profit organisation ItsRainingRaincoats as of April this year, through SingapoRediscovers voucher donations and with matching from the Singapore Flyer, The Straits Times reported. 

Those who wish to donate a tour to a migrant worker may log in here and for a senior or at-risk youth, here. 

For other donations, they are available at Trip.com and Global Tix.