$100 tourism vouchers for personal use only: STB
STB hopes they will have multiplier effect on spending at F&B, retail merchants
The $100 tourism vouchers that all adult Singaporeans will receive from December are meant for personal use only, said the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
Asked if the vouchers could be transferred or pooled together, STB brand director Lim Shoo Ling said the vouchers "must be used for their intended purposes so that usage can be tracked, and abuses such as fraud and resale can be avoided".
On how STB would enforce this rule, Ms Lim told The Straits Times that the agency is working out the parameters of the voucher scheme and will give more information in due course.
The SingapoRediscovers vouchers, announced in August, are meant to be spent on staycations, tickets to leisure attractions and local tours.
The $320 million worth of vouchers - aimed at giving local tourism businesses a boost - will be provided in denominations of $10 and users can decide how much to use for each of their purchases.
They will be distributed through SingPass and can be used at licensed hotels, leisure attractions and for local tours by operators that STB has given the green light to reopen or resume.
As of Monday, 219 hotels, 40 attractions and 609 tour itineraries have resumed operations.
Asked if the vouchers can be used for shopping and at food and beverage outlets, she said the tourism industry adds vibrancy to the retail and F&B sectors.
There are other support measures for the F&B and retail sectors, she said, adding that the agency hopes the vouchers will have a multiplier effect on spending at these merchants, when Singaporeans visit them while exploring the country.
Consumers and eligible merchants will get more information about eligible promotions and products in due course, she said.
In an interview with Money FM 89.3 on Monday morning, Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan said many attractions and tours are starting to digitalise or innovate, to capture domestic demand, especially in the short term.
TRICKLE-DOWN EFFECTS
On whether the Government would monitor if the vouchers were disproportionately spent on hotels and staycations compared with local tours - resulting in an "imbalance in recovery" - Mr Tan said there will be trickle-down effects as the vouchers are meant to stimulate demand.
"We're trying to cover the ground as much as possible. We're trying to look at ways... and in fact, help them to come up with packages. So it just doesn't benefit one segment but a whole tourism ecosystem.
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