Singapore Tourism Board (STB) Indonesia has kickstarted the ‘SingapoReimagine’ initiative in Indonesia with an unveiling of two-part mural piece between Singapura and Indonesia at M Bloc Space, Jakarta today.
‘SingapoReimagine’ is part of the Singapore’s tourism story in reimagining travel from a fresh perspective. Through the initiative, Singapore’s tourism is creating a new standard for tourism to meet the evolving needs of visitors and ensure that every aspect of their experience is safe, yet delightful.
According to the Covid-19 Impact Analysis study conducted by STB in 15 countries through Ipsos in January 2021, confidence in travelling overseas for leisure and business has been steadily increasing, with 68% of leisure travellers and 88% of BTMICE (Business Travel and Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conventions and Exhibitions) travelers from Indonesia indicating that they are likely to travel in the next 12 months, if possible.
This is in line with and above the global trend average, which shows the intention of international travel of 68% for leisure tourists and 72% for BTMICE tourists.
STB Chief Executive Mr Keith Tan said, “Covid-19 is the biggest crisis we have ever faced in travel and tourism. However, it also offers us an opportunity to reset and revive our industries in ways that we never imagined was possible a year ago. The journey to reimagine travel has already started in Singapore.”
STB’s latest efforts to maintain Singapore’s attractiveness as a leading business and leisure destination are focused on three key priorities, namely restoring the flow of travelers to Singapore, facilitating industry and business transformation, which is more important now than ever, and retaining mindshare to keep Singapore top of mind.
To restore the flow of travelers to Singapore, STB is working with other Singapore government agencies to explore all options for the safe reopening of the borders.
Connect@Singapore, with Connect@Changi being its first Appointed Facility which was launched in February 2021, is a prime example of Singapore’s effort to re-open its borders in a controlled and safe manner. The initiative allows a limited number of business, official and high economic value travelers to enter Singapore on short-term stays of up to 14 days.
The resumption of high-profile events such as the Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB) M2 World Championship, ONE Esports DOTA2 Singapore Major and TraveRevive etc. are also part of the effort to gradually and safely re-open events in Singapore.
STB is also working with key stakeholders to further accelerate the pace industry and business transformation. It is providing the tourism industry with tools to build new capabilities, preserve core ones and develop sustainable business models.
For example, STB has been working on its Augmented Reality (AR) strategy, which aims to help tourism businesses develop interactive and engaging AR content for visitors.
They will be creating a repository of high-quality AR content that industry stakeholders can leverage to enrich their digital platforms, and will guide them on how to deploy this technology effectively.
Retaining mindshare among Indonesians to keep Singapore top of mind is also a key priority given the unprecedented travel restrictions due to the pandemic.
Through the entire period, STB have initiated various campaigns to entertain and inspire Indonesians who miss travelling. As part of its efforts, STB launched the #TravelThrowback campaign to encourage Indonesians to share their travel photos and memories of Southeast Asia.
It also introduced the ‘Cook with Me’ video series with celebrity chef Martin Praja and ‘Jalan-jalan Bersama Marissa’ video series with ex-MTV VJ Marissa Nasution, as well as its first-ever Kangen Singapura TikTok campaign.
Area Director STB Indonesia (Jakarta), Mohamed Firhan Abdul Salam said, “We are kickstarting the SingapoReimagine initiative in Indonesia at an important juncture as we anticipate and prepare for recovery in leisure travel. For a start, we would like to spark Indonesians’ reimagination of travelling through art. We invited two artists, one from Singapore and one from Indonesia, to collaborate on a mural and use art as a medium for our audiences to connect. Mural art has played an important role in providing refreshed experiences in well-known precincts such as Little India, Chinatown and Kampong Gelam in Singapore.”
“Pre-Covid, Indonesians also enjoy taking photos with mural art to remember their holidays in Singapore and actively share on their social media. The use of Augmented Reality (AR) for this mural activation also elevates the experience and brings the reimagination to another level. We hope that the mural at M Bloc space in Jakarta will spark further interest in reimagining travel in the near future and exploring Singapore,” he added.
Mural Collaboration in Singapore and Indonesia
The Mural collaboration, unveiled today at the ‘Hidupkan Kembali Impianmu di Singapura’ media event at M Bloc Space in Jakarta, is the centrepiece of the broader SingapoReimagine initiative in Indonesia.
Titled ‘Under The Same Sun’, the artwork is the brainchild of Stereoflow from Indonesia and ZERO from Singapore who are separated by geography but portrayed as dreaming under the same sun.
Although separated, disconnected and unable to travel for the moment, people are going through the situation together, united under the same sun.
The mural is filled with symbolism that reflect people’s desire to travel and reconnect with family and friends once the pandemic is over. The artists used connecting lines and symbols that act as a gateway for travelling both time and space.
ZERO chose to showcase gapura in his art work, while Stereoflow chose Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay as those icons stood out most to the artists. They project hope for the future of travelling across borders through recognisable landmarks, while the deconstructed self-protraits represent the present scenario of travelling more inwards than outwards.
The artwork also portrays the idea of mind travel, a tribute to the power of imagination and reminds viewers of their own powerful capabilities.
“The mural art is a medium for us to convey strong and meaningful messages regarding humanity and ideas. We would like people to start reimaging freely about their travel plans and reliving their dreams of travelling, just like how ZERO and I have started our journey to reimagine travel to Singapore through this project,“ said Stereoflow, whose real name goes by Adi Dharma.
Indonesians can also explore the mural through technology as the mural art will be made available on Instagram as an Augmented Reality (AR) which will be available on site. Users can immerse themselves in the mural and pose for photos with the art in the background.
Leveraging technology to reimagine travel to Singapore is another important dimension of the ‘SingapoReimage’ initiative. Singapore aims to create new possibilities for its tourism offerings through virtual experiences that offer new ways to delight visitors without compromising on safety.
Jolene Goh, Area Director of STB Indonesia (Surabaya) said “As part of the SingapoReimagine initiative in Indonesia, STB is partnering with several media outlets to create content tailored for the Indonesian people, collaborating with Indonesian influencers domiciled in Singapore to share information, maintain good relations with tourism industry partners in Indonesia, and build effective partnerships as part of the recovery of the tourism industry in Singapore.”
