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Singapore Tourism Board Chairman, Mr Chew Choon Seng
You’d think that after nearly four decades in the travel and tourism business, Mr Chew Choon Seng, former CEO of Singapore Airlines and now Chairman of STB, would have seen it all but mention that to him and he laughs as he confesses, “I’d like to see more.”
Indeed, this is what fuels his passion for the business – that at its core, travel is about the movement of people and the desire by humans to explore different cultures, and different worlds, and that aviation – an industry in which he has spent his entire career – enables this mobility of people.
Mr Chew is of the view that human travel will remain fundamentally rooted in the spirit of exploration even as the manner of travel continues to evolve. To draw upon an analogy, it is much like the philosophy of music. The musical form has evolved but in essence, it’s still about human beings making a series of rhythms and sounds that resonate with people.
Music has evolved over time but ultimately, people listen to it, like it and it strikes a chord with you.
It is the same with travel – the human wish and need for social interaction, the desire to discover and see how nature can be so different in different parts of the world. Travel and exploration unearths new knowledge, broadens the mind and enriches life.
When asked if the explosion in social networks like Facebook could replace this human need for social interaction or fuel a bigger desire for physical interaction, Mr Chew replied, “Twenty years ago people said teleconferencing would displace business travel but the current reality is that despite technological advances, business travel is alive and well and growing very rapidly.
“When we want to conduct a business deal, most of us want to assess who our partners are, look them in the eye. It’d be a sad world if people only communicated electronically.
In Mr Chew’s opinion, to talk over coffee is a very different experience of engagement from chatting on Skype.
He does not dismiss the impact of social media platforms such as Facebook but pointed out that he prefers to keep his personal life private. To those who have no qualms about public disclosure, Mr Chew says, “To each his own.”
SIA was actually his second job. He had spent a couple of years as an engineer because he thought that “it’d be great to learn about travel and airlines” that way..
But for him, travel turned out to be more than just a perk of the job. “Airlines provide a service that is desired by everyone. It facilitates mobility, commerce, trade and communal ties and creates a global village.”
Providing a means to a greater end is what Mr Chew is really interested in. “A lot of meaningful things – volunteer work, welfare programmes, would not be possible without the airlines and that’s the part I am passionate about.”
Mr Chew is also no stranger to STB – he was a board member between 1983 and 1985 – although he stresses that as chairman, his role is merely advisory and supervisory.
“I wouldn’t say the Board has transformed beyond recognition but the role has certainly broadened. In those days, the board was focused simply on promoting inbound tourism to Singapore but now the focus has broadened to include development and infrastructure with the objective of making Singapore a better place to live, work, play and visit.
“This is appropriate given what my predecessor (Mr Simon Israel) said (see related article) about how great cities such as London and Paris were not built for tourists but for its people.”
Mr Chew’s background in running the top airline in the world has also not gone unnoticed by the industry – after all, few countries in the world can boast a more integrated approach to economic development than Singapore.
One can hardly overstate the contribution of Changi Airport and Singapore Airlines towards positioning Singapore as a leading travel and tourism hub in the region, if not the world.
Mr Chew agrees that one of the pillars of Singapore’s economic success is the government’s integrated approach.
“Having said that, the ability to execute this is just as critical. And in Singapore, we’ve had to perfect our executiongiven our lack of natural resources among other physical constraints.
“The only option is to do the right thing the right way.”
One could argue that the SIA customer service model, well-regarded in the business world, is a classic example of brilliant execution to which Mr Chew smiles and quips, “It could be improved of course.”
“The basic principles are not revolutionary,” he explains. “It’s the melding together of these principles with an organizational culture that has developed over decades and enabled by people who buy into the philosophy of what the company stands for – service above all else yet without sacrificing safety and efficiency.
“If the company does well, its people do well – that’s the cornerstone of the SIA story.
According to Mr Chew, the key to achieving great customer service is to focus on the customer, cultivate long term thinking and focus on what you do best. Avoid engaging in activities in which you have no expertise.
“As a tourism destination, the way to differentiate ourselves is by giving visitors a better experience, value for money and a pleasant stay. That sounds easy in theory but in practice, that’s a challenge.”
Can the SIA customer service model be applied to the Singapore visitor experience as a whole– that is, taking an integrated approach and executing it well?
“If you look at the totality of Singapore’s performance as a tourism destination, it’s been very successful given its size and lack of natural assets.”
“We don’t have waterfalls like Niagara, safaris like in Africa or rock formations like Ayers Rock yet we have managed to attract close to 12 million visitors and achieved approximately $19 billion in tourism receipts.
“Perhaps the shortfall is in the customer satisfaction index,” comments Mr Chew. He recounts a paradox shared by the former chairman of SIA. In the US, there is a department store chain, Nordstroms, which is known for its outstanding service. In contrast, American airlines are not well ranked in this regard. Singapore, on the other hand, has a world-class airline that far outshines department stores and retailers in terms of customer service.
He believes that in order for great customer service to be embraced by employees, the management has to take the lead and motivate and train staff to believe in the philosophy of service.
Branding is another topic that Mr Chew holds close to his heart. P@ssport asks him for his thoughts on destination branding.“Branding for a company or product is very different from a destination. As a general principle, branding serves to differentiate products that are commoditised.”
“The first time I heard about branding was when I was a young boy and learnt that cowboys branded cattle in order to tell one from the other.”
In his opinion, branding on its own is nothing more than an unfulfilled promise. Successful branding is contingent upon effective delivery.
“Brands can morph over time. Uniquely Singapore to Your Singapore – that is an evolution.” The more important question lies in the delivery of the actual experience and whether that lives up to the initial promise.
“So to me, you brand a destination to deliver a promise, not so much to differentiate it.”
Another point of differentiation between a product and a destination is that a destination has many more customer segments and interests to cater to. “Some people may come to look at museums, others may stop over for the food and still others may come with their hearts set on shopping. A destination is unlike an airline which is just about going from point A to point B.”
As for what kind of traveller he is, Mr Chew said, “Mostly free and easy.” If he is travelling for business, he wants things to be well organised, reliable and efficient but if he is on a leisure trip, he likes to immerse himself in different cultures and loves the opportunity to observe people.
“People are very interesting, especially children,” he laughs as he concludes the interview with these closing thoughts..
