The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Thomas Cook Group plc, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), at the end of last week, to cover cooperative marketing campaigns, trade engagements and public relations activities.

This is the first MOU between the two organisations and it will be effective from 5 October for a period of three years until 4 October 2020. Under the MOU, STB and Thomas Cook will collaborate to promote Singapore as a tourism destination, position it as a must-visit destination in Asia, and encourage tourists to stay longer in the city-state. It will cover a series of joint activities including brand advertising and promotional campaigns, product development, sales and public relations to boost visitor numbers from the UK, Germany and France to Singapore.

In addition, the activities will focus on promoting STB’s new brand, Singapore – Passion Made Possible, which officially launched in London yesterday at London Cocktail Week.

Aimed at deepening the understanding of consumers in Europe about Singapore, Thomas Cook and STB will share information and statistical data related to tourism, as well as analysing consumer habits and booking trends to support the development of strategies that will help continue to encourage tourism growth in Singapore.

Lionel Yeo, chief executive for the Singapore Tourism Board said: “This is the first MOU that STB has inked with a tour operator in Europe and it marks a significant milestone in our cooperation with Thomas Cook, one of Europe’s leading travel brands. This MOU is also timely as we launch our new destination brand – Passion Made Possible – in the UK. Through this MOU, STB and Thomas Cook will work together to refresh perceptions of Singapore and promote new travel experiences that will appeal to travellers from Europe.”

Tourism figures from 2016 show that international visitors to Singapore rose by 7.7 percent to reach a record high of 16.4 million last year. Of these travellers, about 11 percent were Europeans. The UK, Germany and France are Singapore’s top three European source markets. The number of visitors from the UK, Germany and France grew 3, 15 and 9 percent on the previous year respectively. In the first half of this year, visitors from the UK, Germany, and France also increased by 7 percent, 9 percent, 2 percent respectively, as compared to a year ago.