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Frequently Asked Questions

Corporate

1. What is the mandate of Singapore Tourism Board? What are your areas of focus?

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is the country’s leading economic development agency for tourism, one of Singapore's key service sectors.

Our Vision:
A vibrant and inspiring Destination Singapore that we are proud of

Our Mission:
To shape a dynamic tourism landscape for Singapore in partnership with industry and community.

2. What are the key functions of STB?

Tourism is an important economic pillar for Singapore. As the lead agency for Singapore tourism, STB strives to ensure sector excellence through long-term strategic planning, by forging partnerships, and driving innovation. It continues to market Singapore’s multi-faceted appeal as a premier business and leisure destination, and offer empowering and customised experiences through the “Your Singapore” destination brand.

STB also regularly reviews and updates the tourism regulatory framework to ensure its relevance in the current business environment, while providing support and incentives to catalyse the private sector to take the lead in investing for growth.

To navigate the tourism sector through an increasingly complex tourism landscape, STB is pursuing Quality Tourism – a model of tourism development that emphasises economic contribution, innovative and competitive industry and an engaged local populace, it calls for four pathways to success:

  • Pursuing a yield-driven marketing approach through differentiated marketing strategies
  • Enhancing destination attractiveness with a steady pipeline of new or refreshed infrastructural developments and creative unique and compelling experiences
  • Supporting industry competitiveness to help tourism-related companies become more innovative and productive
  • Building local engagement to harness local energies in our tourism development efforts
Branding

3. What is Passion made Possible?

Singapore – Passion Made Possible represents an attitude or belief that Singapore stands for. Singapore is passion made possible: where people with vision, drive, ingenuity and a never-settling spirit, overcome the odds to forge new possibilities that inspire and make a difference.

There are three fundamental shifts to this brand:

a. A unified brand beyond tourism

Over the last five decades, Singapore has built a strong reputation as a global business and tourism hub, recognised for its quality infrastructure, safety, stability, connectedness and accessibility. However, global competition to attract tourists and investments has intensified, and the media landscape has become more crowded and complex. Visitors have become more discerning in their travel choices, seeking to immerse themselves in cultures and build deeper connections with destinations, while international businesses want to create new solutions that make a difference. The unified brand thus aims to communicate the country’s value proposition in addressing the needs of travellers and companies, and help Singapore stand out on the international stage.

b. An inside-out approach

It is usual practice that the consumer is at the focus of the brand process, with the identifying of consumer needs and insights as the start of the process. However, Singapore is not a product, it is a country with many facets.

Hence to go beyond tourism, to build a brand that is authentic and true to Singapore, it is critical to look inwards first.

In the development of this unified brand, STB and EDB had embarked on qualitative and quantitative research with close to 4,500 respondents on what Singapore stands for, reaching out to residents, industry stakeholders, and international audiences in Singapore and across 10 countries . Respondents shared that the themes of ‘passion’ and ‘possibilities’ best reflected the Singapore spirit: While ‘possibilities’ was strongly associated with Singapore as a destination, the ‘passion’ to strive was what drove these possibilities.

c. Standing for an attitude & belief

Passion Made Possible was thus derived to capture the spirit of the nation in a way that builds affinity, affiliation and top-of-mind recall. With the themes of ‘passion’ and ‘possibilities’ entrenched in Singapore’s history and imbued in the nation’s psyche, and told through stories of the people, Passion Made Possible is the embodiment of the country’s track record and tenacity to fulfil passions and continually create new possibilities. By capturing the spirit of the nation, the brand will speak to Singaporeans and residents alike to build affinity and affiliation. For potential visitors and businesses, it will also help entrench stronger top-of-mind recall for choosing Singapore as a destination to visit and invest in.

4. What do I need to do to obtain permission for the use of the Merlion symbol?

You can refer to the guidelines and application form on the STB Corporate Website for use of the Merlion symbol.

An application form needs to be submitted for the use of the Merlion Symbol in food products, food product packaging and all other types of use.

For Merlion images, please visit TIH.

Financial / Assistance Schemes

5. Where can I get information on STB's grants?

Please click here to view STB's various grants.

6. Where can I get information on tax incentives administered by STB?

STB offers two types of tax incentive schemes to encourage Singapore companies to market Singapore as a destination at overseas trade fairs and missions, as well as to expand their markets by participating in international trade-oriented exhibitions held in Singapore. Please click here for more info.

Legislation

7. What are the Statutory Provisions?

You can access the statutory provisions on travel agent licensing, hotels licensing, Singapore Tourism Board, tourist guide licensing and Cess collection.

About the Website

8. Where can I get STB Annual Reports?

PDF copies of our Annual Report can be found on STB's Corporate Website.

9. Where can I get information on STB's Media Releases and Speeches?

STB houses media releases and speeches on our Corporate Website.

You can access Media Releases here

You can access Speeches here

10. Where can I find statistics on tourism?

Key statistical information on Singapore tourism in the form of visualisations and datasets, can be found on the Singapore Tourism Analytics Network (Stan) website.

11. Does STB have any publications or newsletters to subscribe to?

MICE e-Connect

The Singapore Exhibition and Convention Bureau (SECB) publishes MICE e-Connect, a bi-monthly e-newsletter for partners in the industry,
Click here to subscribe.

12. Where can I find images of Singapore?

TIH has a repository of over 2,000 Singapore destination images and videos which is available to media, trade partners and members of the public. Register now to have access to our repository of images and videos.

13. Where can I find the calendar of events in Singapore?

If you are an industry partner and would like to participate in a trade event, please refer to the list of trade events on STB’s Corporate Website at stb.gov.sg.

If you are looking for a calendar listing of events taking place in Singapore, please log onto www.visitsingapore.com

About Other STB Websites

14. What is VisitSingapore.com?

VisitSingapore.com is Singapore’s tourism destination website that provides tourist information on Singapore, including information on getting to Singapore, where to stay, where to eat, what to do, and what to see.

Visit VisitSingapore.com

15. What is Singapore Tourism Awards?

The Singapore Tourism Awards (STA) is organised by the Singapore Tourism Board. It is a formal ceremony to recognise individuals and organisations as the best-in-class for tourism products and service delivery, and those who have contributed to a distinctive and compelling Singapore visitor experience.

The STA is part of the STB's efforts to raise Singapore’s tourism industry competitiveness by motivating organisations and individuals to constantly innovate to deliver such experiences.

Find out more about the Singapore Tourism Awards.

16. What is the Tourism Information & Services Hub?

The Tourism Information & Services Hub (TIH) is a digital resource platform enabling STB and tourism businesses to contribute and share content, as well as providing businesses ready access to relevant information on Singapore's tourism offerings and travel-related services for use on their own digital channels. This open platform offers businesses increased exposure on their product offerings, and makes the sharing and updating of content much more efficient and effective. Find out more about TIH here.