1.9 million people have flown the Flyer, here's to more

A year after opening, the Singapore Flyer, which celebrated its first anniversary on April 9, 2009, has welcomed 1.9 million to enjoy the world's greatest view.

Ms Chew Boon Heang, Corporate Planning & Business Strategy Director, Adval Brand Group Pte Ltd, said the number was achieved between February 11 and December 22, 2008. And that number looks set to grow judging from the slew of offers and packages the iconic attraction has put in place to woo both locals and foreign visitors.

Said Ms Chew, "Into our first full year of operations, we are now better aware of our customers' needs, especially in light of the current market sentiments.

"In our bid to constantly stay unique and interesting for our visitors, we will work in close collaboration with our travel and trade partners to launch new and attractively priced packages, promotions, product bundling and tie-ups to attract more visitors, both locals and foreigners to the Flyer."

Special packages to boost visitorship

Apart from offering the 2009 free tickets in February under the STB's "2009 Reasons to enjoy Singapore" campaign, which Ms Chew said helped create a lot of buzz for the Flyer, it has also put together special offers to get it through the tough times.

These include:

• The "Special S$10 Student weekday flight" promotion - which allows for all students with a valid student pass to enjoy Singapore Flyer basic flights at S$10 on weekdays

• Singapore Story and Singapore Fengshui Audio Guides - to enhance and complement each 30-minute scenic flight atop the World's Largest Giant Observation Wheel

• The individual and senior type to friends of Singapore Flyer annual membership

• The Singapore Flyer River Taxi service, available for special periods only (e.g. during the FORMULA ONE night race period, Christmas, etc)

Wooing price-sensitive and premium plus visitors

"People in general are more price-sensitive in the current climate. In addition to taking a panoramic flight, Singapore Flyer is adopting the strategic thrust in being a one-stop lifestyle destination catering to both local and foreign visitors across all age groups," Ms Chew added.

To drive more tourist demand, Ms Chew said the STB along with other industry partners could, in addition to catering to mass markets through discounting, map out a strategy for positioning Singapore as a venue for premium plus visitors from various markets.

"As visitors from this segment are more resilient to economic downturns, we are confident such targeted efforts will translate to more tourist demand and higher tourism receipts in the long run."

See related articles: