Bangladesh holds promise for Singapore

Encouraged by the strong showing from Bangladesh, the Singapore Tourism Board is stepping up its marketing efforts in the country.

Last year, Singapore welcomed a record 54,000 visitors from Bangladesh, a 30 per cent growth, and the STB believes that the strong inbound visitor arrivals from Bangladesh will continue in 2006. 

“The STB is firmly committed to growing the Bangladesh market. Apart from the recent record growth in visitor arrivals, the Bangladeshi market has consistently been ranked amongst our highest spenders in Singapore.  Indeed, we are encouraged that many Bangladeshis are making Singapore their first-choice destination for leisure, business, education and healthcare. 

“With such encouraging growth, we want to ensure that Bangladeshis will be continually updated on all the latest destination products and services that Singapore offers them. This is why we are supporting the Dhaka Travel Mart 2006 with a Singapore contingent,” said Ms Kang Siew Kheng, Regional Director for South Asia, Middle East and Africa at the STB.

The STB led a 10-member delegation comprising STB officials, Singapore travel trade professionals and Singapore attractions to the Dhaka Travel Mart 2006.

Ms Kang added, “Data from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) suggests that outbound travel from Bangladesh over the next ten years will record an annualised growth of 6.5% which is more than double that of the global rate.  Our inaugural participation in the Dhaka Travel Mart this year signifies the keen interest in Bangladesh as well as our continuing commitment to foster closer ties between the Singapore travel trade and their Bangladeshi counterparts.

“We are also very happy to have the support of Singapore Airlines Bangladesh in offering special air packages to Singapore just for this travel mart.”

The STB is promoting Singapore in Bangladesh on the three pillars of leisure, education and healthcare.

For Bangladeshi students, pursuing an education in Singapore provides them with a launch pad into global careers. Singapore’s close proximity to Bangladesh and its strong reputation on safety also provide peace of mind to parents.

In the area of Healthcare, Singapore's quality healthcare assurance system that emphasizes safety and cost-effective treatments have been the main draw for patients from Bangladesh over the past few years.  “Singapore has made great strides in establishing itself as the regional medical hub and Singapore Medicine, under the auspices of the STB, continues to undertake marketing initiatives to make Singapore’s world-class healthcare services easily accessible to people living in Bangladesh”, commented Ms Kang.