Introduction to the role of events in tourism destination development
You are to envisage themselves as tourism development and marketing consultants carrying out a project for the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore.
Events play an important role in attracting tourism within a destination. As a result, destination management looks at marketing and production of events in bringing tourism to a destination. In tourism, events are marketed to motivate tourism in a destination and are recognized to have economic benefits in a destination`s well-being (Todd, Leask, and Ensor, 2017). According to Van Winkle and Woosnam (2014), they have identified that events have implications should take the community response into consideration. This reflects the perceptions of the community attribute towards the success of events in destination tourism. Additionally, research by Xie and Sinwald (2016) looking at the perceived benefits of evens suggest that the participation contributes towards economic benefits of the community. This identifies that the main role in events in destinations such as Singapore is to promote tourism and benefit the community. In addition, in promoting events, this reflects the objective of creating a strong destination image aimed towards boosting tourism. With this into consideration, this should allow events in conjunction with the destination itself contribute towards the perceived benefits of tourism.
The classification of various events is important towards developing an understanding of its purpose. With this, events can also fall into different categories. Jakulin and Golob (2015) identify event size in a destination can fall under the following categories: local, regional, national and international. The size of the event is important when considering the scale and amount of investment required for this event. Additionally, Getz`s work (as cited in Jakulin & Golob, 2015) identify 8 categories which can classify events including political, sports, recreational, educational, cultural, business, entertainment and private events. From this, the purpose of the event contributes towards shaping the overall theme of the event and creating objectives for the well-being of a destination in tourism. This is essential towards planning the overall event and creating objectives for the event to address in regards towards the benefits of destination tourism.
For events to meet their objectives, the interests of the stakeholders need to be considered. In meeting the objective of the stakeholders, the community of a destination can benefit from the event plan. Research from Xie and Sinwald (2016) have looked at the main function of events as a tool towards creating a positive image for a destination. Todd, Leask, and Ensor (2017) in their research have identified the importance of events in tourism to satisfy stakeholders. This indicates that importance of events to meet best interests of stakeholders and that events play a role towards destination well-being and tourism.
The methodology of creating events in destination management is also essential to look at towards the role of events. The expected duration of special events is that they must last for at least 3 days (Warnick, Bojanic, & Cartier, 2014). Another viewpoint from Van Winkle and Woosnam (2014) suggest the role of event planning to reduce problems and maximize benefits of events. With the timeframe to consideration, the event should look towards effective scheduling and management to direct towards the positive well-being of a destination in tourism. The role of events also reflects an emphasis on utilizing events to maximize the benefits of destination tourism while addressing the implications.
In-depth and concise summary of visitors to the region and profile of event attendees
With regards towards the best interests of the Singapore Tourism Board, a signature event will be used as an approach towards boosting tourism in Singapore that meets their objectives. The Singapore Tourism Board`s vision statement is: “A vibrant and inspiring destination Singapore that we are proud of (Singapore Tourism Board, 2017). In addition, the Singapore Tourism Board`s mission statement is: “To shape a dynamic tourism landscape for Singapore in partnership with industry and community” (Singapore Tourism Board, 2017). With this, the signature event needs to reflect the image that reflects the mission and vision statement of the Singapore Tourism Board. In doing so, it creates guidelines towards the roles of events in meeting the objectives of the Singapore Tourism Board.
Based on this, this signature event report will look at analyzing the profile of the Thai visitors in Singapore. In addition, a SWOT analysis will be utilized to assess tourism within Singapore. In understanding the environment of Singapore as a tourism destination, this will give insight to a potential event that can appeal to Thai visitors. From this, a signature event concept will be presented aiming towards attracting Thai visitors. Based on this, the signature event will need to meet the following objectives: 1. Attract Thai visitors to Singapore and encourage them to have longer visits; 2. Create consistency with the Singapore Tourism Board`s tourism brand and existing event calendar; 3. Build on the current destination assets and infrastructure in Singapore; 4. Contribute positively towards the destination well-being and capital of Singapore. From meeting these objectives, this signature event for Singapore will be able to benefit from tourism. In addition, the success of the signature event is expected to have a positive contribution towards the destination well-being and community of Singapore.
Thailand contributes a total of 3.2 percent of visitors to Singapore, and it found that in the year 2013 Thailand ranked 9th largest market. The reasons for the arrival of the is the strong event connectivity between Thailand and Singapore. There are other new attractions like Gardens of Bay and Universal Studios.
Analysing the Thailand market and the scope, the population of Thailand is 67 million as recorded in the year 2013. The population of the main regions in Thailand are Bangkok- 8.30 million; Central- 18.18 million; Northern: 11.66 million; North-eastern- 18.97 million; Southern- 8.87 million. The outbound travel according to the years is 2010- 5.34 million; 2011: 5.40 million; 2012: 5.72 million; 2013: 5.97 million. The top 5 travel destinations of the people of Thailand are Malaysia- 2.04 million; Laos- 0.96 million; Singapore: 0.43 million; China: 0.33 million; Hong Kong: 0.24 million. The types of the outbound trips are: business is 21 percent; Leisure is 79 percent. The seasons where outbound travelling is seen the most are March, April, October and December (Stb.gov.sg, 2018a).
The visitors that arrived in Singapore from 2011 to 2013 are shown in the graph below (figure 1) and it shows an increasing trend. The specific values of the number of visitors in the year 2011 is 473,000; 2012 is 478,000 and in the year 2013 the total number of the visitors to Singapore is 497,000. The tourism receipts in terms of in terms of million dollars are shopping, Accom, F&B, transport and others. In the year 2011, 2012, and 2013 the transport receipts are found to be 570 dollars, 622 dollars and 618 dollars. Tourism receipts per capita are found to be 1206, 1302 and 1242 dollars for the year 2011, 2012, and 2013. The purpose of visits highly stands on the holiday with 31 percent, 28 percent and 26 percent for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively (Stb.gov.sg, 2018a).
Figure 1: Visitors arrived in Singapore from Thailand
The weekly flight’s statistics show that flight frequency is 204, 250 and 270 for the year 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. The seating capacity is found to be 37191, 52397 and 56031 for the year 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. The top 3 cities of origin of the most number of visitors are Bangkok, Hat Yai and Chinag Mai for the year 2011; for the year 2012 Bankok, Chinag Mai and Hat Yai contributed the most; and for the year 2013, Bangkok, Chinag Yai and Phuket are found to be the top contributors (Stb.gov.sg, 2018a).
The Thai leisure travellers mostly emphasize on the travelling, and the Thai travellers are doing the leisure travel in order to escape the stress and recharge the day to day life. Travelling according to the Thai travellers is vital because it provides with the energy and will to come back again work again. The top 5 travel consideration by the Thai travellers is: the destination will have good attractions, the destination fits the budget, has good shopping, the travel companion, and also to visit the relatives and friends (Stb.gov.sg, 2018c).
Figure 2: Thailand visitors to Singapore through the infographics [source: Stb.gov.sg, 2018a]
The Thai leisure travellers perceive Singapore as a travel destination where the Thai travellers find it easy to plan the holidays, feel safe of the Singaporean destination and also find it easy to plan a holiday. Along with the above-mentioned attributes it is also found that Singapore is the best destination for family vacations and also for the first time visitors and Singapore is also not far from Thailand. The Thai families that have already travelled to Singapore have mentioned that Singapore is a very convenient destination with the along with the elderly or with the children. Singapore Has many family-friendly destinations like Gardens by the Bay and Universal Studios Singapore. The other key associations are Singapore cuisine, shopping along Orchard Road, Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands (Stb.gov.sg, 2018c).
It is important to note that the top dining choices of the Thai travellers are: coffee shop, food court and hawker centre; local ethnic restaurants; Unique dining experience; dining enclave and fine dining restaurants. The Thai travellers are food lovers and when a survey was carried out among the Thai travellers some of the dishes came out to be favourite. Such dishes are frog leg porridge, chilli crab, Hainanese chicken rice. It is also important to mentions that food alone is not the trigger due to which the Thai travellers travel to Singapore (Major, 2018).
The food festival of Singapore has its fair share of the strengths and weaknesses. Thus in order to woo the Thai travellers into the food festival, there is a need to assess and make a SWOT analysis of the event.
Strengths-
- Revisit food from the Singapore’s past- Singapore is a world known hub for the best diverse food in Asia and has been in discussion since the Singaporean cuisine evolved. With the evolution of Singaporean food many types of food items came and gone, however, the Singapore food festival provides an opportunity for the people belonging from different part s of the world to get a taste of the past (Singapore Travel Hub, 2018).
- Go on a food and heritage tour- the heritage and the rich culture that are present in the streets of Kampong Glam. At the end of Singaporean food, the festival is there is a feast which provides with the mouth-watering dishes at the Malay cuisine. The spice trail provides a sound and sights and it is capable to give an insight into the Indian culture, and the food festival also provides the opportunity to see live cooking by the master chefs (Stb.gov.sg, 2018b).
- Tasting the food of the future- Singaporean food festival is a signature event and it presents a five-course dinner which formed from the collaboration of the international chefs. With the touch of the culinary geniuses, the pop-up restaurants provide the best food items that are only available in the Singaporean street food and it gives the sensations like no other because it gives an insight into the food of the future. Other than the futuristic food items, the other food items like casuarina curry restaurant, char curry restaurant and the disgruntled chef (Singapore Travel Hub, 2018).
- The best part of Modern Singapore cuisine is also known as Mod-Sin cuisine and is one of the highlighted parts of the STREAT and the Singaporean signature event. The local dishes offered in the outdoor food event are coffee pork burger, spring rolls and chocolate rojak (Stb.gov.sg, 2018b).
- It is important to note that the at the Singaporean food festival, the workshop combines art and food together. The dishes are presented in such a decorative way that they present a space for the art to percolate in.
- The event is conducted for over a month and the food festival was started long back in the year 1994 and the Singaporean food festival is organized by the Singaporean Tourism Board. The festival has the primary goal of celebrating local food and the event focuses on Singapore as a country with rich food diversity. The popularity of the Singaporean food festival is drawn from the rich heritage of Singapore and also from the diverse food options (Singapore Travel Hub, 2018).
- The air distance between Singapore and Thailand is 1016 miles and takes approximately 1.8 hours and thus, the Thai travellers can reach Singapore easily to attend the Singaporean Food festival.
Weakness
- Size constraint- Singapore is a small country and due to the space constraint, there exists a challenge with respect to the limitation in the number of the venues and also in terms of the functionality, location, size and availability (Abb.com.sg, 2018).
- unpredictable weather- due to the unpredictable nature of Singapore rain, it becomes a major issue for the events that are organized in outdoor and in open roof places. The sudden downpour can hinder the major events (Nea.gov.sg, 2018).
- The business costs are high in Singapore and thus it puts off a majority of the shareholders and potential investors of the events.
- The living cost is high in Singapore and thus it scares away the majority of the attendees and potential visitors (Singapore Expats Guide, 2018).
- In Singapore, due to the lack of the sponsorship and partnerships by the private sector in the cultural and the art events has limited the vibrancy and the growth of the cultural and the local scene.
- It is a known fact that Singapore is a multi-cultural event and the celebration of the cultural events take place throughout the year.
- cultural events that are taking place in Singapore do not align with the multi-target approach.
- Due to the decline in the international visitors for reasons like social instability, economic and political issues.
- Singapore has very limited resources and it affects the event planners detrimentally and also the event itself.
- Due to the majority of the attraction being artificial and man-made, this creates a limitation in the number of the human visitors to visit Singapore.
Opportunities
- Singapore has obtained the major touring and holiday destination in South East Asia (Ozdemir, Çizel & Bato Cizel, 2012).
- The festival highlights the Singapore’s vast diversity in culture and considering the historical and rich heritage of Singapore, the Singapore food festival is promising.
- The increased appreciation and the awareness is likely to improve the appeal of Singapore which is a major travel destination that facilitates the enhanced relationship between the people of the other cultures.
- A positive experience has the benefit of increasing the confidence and the happiness among the travellers that are likely to visit the event.
- The confidence obtained from a well-run event can make Singapore a more appealing destination for the other types of events.
- When a number of events are organized in Singapore, the increased number of the travellers that will enter the country will serve as an opportunity for the other types of the businesses that are set up in Singapore and at the same time improves the economic condition of Singapore.
- The fact that 2016 had been the year which has seen the highest influx of the travellers and tourists and it shows that the tourists are interested in visiting Singapore.
Threats
- The success of the event will depend on the effective engagement of the major stakeholders and the other minor stakeholders. The major stakeholders include the business owners, Singapore Tourism Board, tourism operators and media.
- Risks can have adverse effects on the added financial burden and financial loss.
- Similar kinds of events taking place in other countries can serve as an uncertainty and unpredictability and when held in Singapore with certain challenges like the low presence of audience and tourists at the event.
- From the logistical perspective, Singapore is in a disadvantaged condition and compared to the other countries due to the shortage of manpower and the non-availability of space.
- Singapore’s event market may get saturated due to the yearlong events.
- Budget cuts may be done by the Singapore tourism board because it is a government entity.
- Events can only have successful outcomes if the participation is done effectively by the community participation and engagement.
- The communities participating in the food festival event does not participate effectively in the event then the infrastructure built will be unable to make use of the infrastructure and financial capital will be desolated.
- certain events may not turn out to be successful as it is thought to be even after investing heavily in them will result in the large financial losses.
The event chosen for the study is Singapore food festival which is organized annually by the Singapore Tourism Board and it lays emphasis on the celebration of the local food items. Such food items will be capable enough to portray Singapore as a country which is rich in food diversity. The event popularity can be drawn from the multicultural heritage of Singapore and other than that the food festival will offer the range of other diverse food options. STREAT is depicted as the main event of the Singapore food festival and the attendees can taste Singapore’s best dishes from a range of favourite dishes and it will also include the modern dishes. It is important to note that entry into the STREAT will be free, however purchasing the food will require money (Visitsingapore.com, 2018).
The food festival provides an opportunity to incorporate the contemporary dining, proud tradition and local culture. The event also includes the rare collaborations of the local chefs that are of best quality, fun lifestyle events and local favourites. The food festival is especially targeted towards attracting the Thai travellers and the tourists. The event is actually taking place in the Chinatown food street where the event is already organized every year. Through the earning from the food festival, the money will directly go the participants of the events which belong from the local communities.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it can be concluded that the destination and planning is an important part of the event management. The study exclusively dealt with the food festival in Singapore which targets the Thai travellers and the tourists into the event. There is a large number of a surge in the Thai travellers into Singapore due to the favourable destination. The country is small in size and the lack of manpower some of the issues like space constraint which are effectively solved through round the year event planning and execution.
References
Abb.com.sg. (2018). Overcoming space constraints in Singapore with indoor and underground substations. Retrieved from https://www.abb.com.sg/cawp/seitp202/80d673565e60e2df48257ec20032c756.aspx
Major, K. (2018). Is Singapore Asia’s best food city?. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/asia/best-food-in-singapore-where-to-eat-in-singapore-a7168171.html
Nea.gov.sg. (2018). Challenges in Weather Forecasting. Retrieved from https://www.nea.gov.sg/training-knowledge/weather-climate/weather-forecast/challenges-in-weather-forecasting
Ozdemir, B., Çizel, B., & Bato Cizel, R. (2012). Satisfaction with all-inclusive tourism resorts: The effects of satisfaction with destination and destination loyalty. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 13(2), 109-130.
Singapore Expats Guide. (2018). Monthly Cost of Living in Singapore – Singapore Expats Guide. Retrieved from https://www.livinginsingapore.org/monthly-cost-of-living-in-singapore/
Singapore Travel Hub. (2018). Singapore Food Festival 2018 – Street Food, Dates & Location Map. Retrieved from https://www.singaporetravelhub.com/events/singapore-food-festival/
Stb.gov.sg. (2018a). Retrieved from https://www.stb.gov.sg/statistics-and-market-insights/marketinsights/stb%20market%20insights%20-%20thailand.pdf
Stb.gov.sg. (2018b). Savour Singapore in Every Bite at the Singapore Food Festival 2017. Retrieved from https://www.stb.gov.sg/news-and-publications/lists/newsroom/dispform.aspx?ID=709
Stb.gov.sg. (2018c). Market Insights. Retrieved from https://www.stb.gov.sg/statistics-and-market-insights/Pages/market-insights.aspx
Visitsingapore.com. (2018). Singapore Food Festival. Retrieved from https://www.visitsingapore.com/festivals-events-singapore/annual-highlights/singapore-food-festival
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