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Uniquely Singapore booth at ITB
"Singapore has witnessed an increase in visitor arrivals from Germany for the last three years. It is clear the market has reacted positively to STB's promotional efforts based on the Uniquely Singapore and Beyond Words campaign," said Mr Gevin Png, STB's Area Director for Central, Southern and Eastern Europe.
This year, about 40 industry partners joined the STB in the Uniquely Singapore booth at the world's largest trade fair.
In 2006, Germans made up 1.65% of total arrivals and 13.3% of European arrivals. While this was a dip from the historic high in 1994 of 195,980 visitors, the STB remains committed to a market known for its wanderlust and which is projected to grow by 11.6% in 2010 over 2005 by Euromonitor.
German consumers love holidays abroad and will spend on one when in times of crisis and spending restraint. And, despite press reports about Germany's economic troubles, Germans are relatively wealthy and many can well afford to go abroad for holidays. Coupled with a high annual leave entitlement and a large number of public holidays, German is a good market for any tourism destination to keep their eye on.
Market's changing, things are looking up
The German travel market has also undergone great changes in the past couple of years. Short-term bookings are on the rise with consumers believing the later they wait, the better the prices will be.
However, for long haul travel, though booking time has shortened, it is still considerably ample, at between three and six months on the average.
And they are more price-conscious and keener to hunt for bargains – which in German does not mean the lowest price wins, but the one offering the most value for money.
Mr Gevin Png, STB’s Area Director for Central, Southern and Eastern Europe
With this in mind, Mr Png said the STB had been forging stronger ties with tour operators to promote Singapore to the German market through packages such as the Singapore Excusive package – a joint partnership between Singapore Airlines and three tour operators.
In addition to partnerships, Mr Png said the STB has used its official German-language website and German travel websites to promote packages and advertise. Gong further, the STB provides travel agents in Germany with online training to provide information about Singapore, the latest products and how to increase sales to Singapore.
The German taste for the exotic is increasing and destinations like Vietnam and Cambodia are high on their list of must sees. Mr Png said STB is positioning Singapore as a gateway to exotic ASEAN destinations.
"Riding on the increasing number of Germans traveling to Australia and New Zealand, STB will also continue to capitalize on Singapore';s strategic location to promote itself as athe perfectr place for travelers to rest and recharge before continuing their journey Down Under."
Not a market to be ignored
As well as being the second-largest European market for Singapore, Mr Png said "Singapore is among the top five countries in terms of market share for German outbound travel to the Asia-Pacific."
The bulk of German travellers to Singapore tend to be between 25-34 years of age (20.5%) and 35-44 years of age (24.2%). This is followed by those between 45-54 years of age (19.3%) and 55-64 years of age (14.7%).
These age groups would include young professionals and early seniors, who usually are DINKS (double income no kids) and empty nesters with high disposable income. These segments will continue to be the key market segments for the German market.
The average length of stay by German visitors in 2006 was 3.09 days and the total number of visitor arrivals in 2006 was 161,000 up 4.1% from 2005 when 155,000 visitors arrived from Germany. In 2004 there were 142,000 visitor arrivals from Germany.
"The steady growth in visitor arrivals and expenditure clearly shows Singapore is still attractive as a holiday destination and out product offerings are able to cater to the changing tastes and demands of the Germans," said Mr Png.
The Uniquely Singapore branding, unveiled at ITB 2004, remains key to the STB's marketing activities in Germany, which aim to promote Singapore as a destination and as the preferred gateway to ASEAN, Far East and Oceanic regions.
"Moving forward, with the opening of the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort in 2009, we will start in 2007 to market the convention spares and new products available at Marina Bay Sands to attract more events to Singapore," said Mr Png.
