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Singaporeans aged 18 and above this year will receive $100 each to spend on staycations, tickets to leisure attractions and local tours, in a move to stimulate domestic spending and save jobs in the tourism sector.
The digital SingapoRediscovers Vouchers will be accessible via SingPass from December and can be used to offset ticket purchases and hotel stays until the end of June next year. Permanent residents will not be eligible for the vouchers.
Adult Singaporeans will also be able to purchase up to six subsidised tickets for attractions and tours - each at $10 off - for those under 18.
Announcing the details on Wednesday, Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing said the duration of the voucher programme is timed to coincide with the March, June and December school holidays and to spread out demand in between.
The initiative is not a social assistance scheme, he stressed.
"This is an economic scheme to help our tourist attractions preserve their capabilities that have been built up over the years while they consolidate capacity in the interim," Mr Chan told reporters during a visit to Jurong Bird Park.
The $320 million SingapoRediscovers Vouchers scheme was first announced last month and forms part of the Government's efforts to prop up the tourism sector, which has been decimated by travel restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The vouchers, which will come in denominations of $10, can be used at all licensed hotels, leisure attractions and for local tours by operators that have received approval from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to reopen or resume services.
There are currently 214 hotels, 40 attractions and 438 tour itineraries that have been given the green light to resume operations with safe management measures in place. They include Singapore's four wildlife parks, a number of activities and hotels on Sentosa and guided tours of Pulau Ubin.
STB also announced that tourist attractions can apply to increase their operating capacity to 50 per cent - up from the current 25 per cent - from today. Gardens by the Bay and park operator Wildlife Reserves Singapore are among those planning to do so.
The move to get Singaporeans to support local businesses is gathering pace, with the latest move complementing the $45 million SingapoRediscovers marketing campaign, launched in July to promote holidays at home.
The vouchers will provide added incentive for Singaporeans to rediscover their backyard, STB said.
The Straits Times
