But like many tourism boards around the world, the Singapore Tourism Board is anything but discouraged by the downturn. After a major restructuring at the start of the year and an ongoing series of post-SARS programs underway, the STB is well on its way to helping the Lion City roar again.

“One of the things that made SARS particularly challenging for us was that many people didn’t realize that while we were on the WHO’s (World Health Organization) SARS-affected list, Singapore was never on the travel advisory list unlike Hong Kong Taiwan, Beijing or Toronto,” explains Lim Neo Chian, deputy chairman and CEO of STB. “Our ability to control the spread of the disease was very successful. The problems were basically people’s impressions and people’s fears. This was what we really had to overcome.”

Fireworks light up Singapore's night sky

During the SARS crisis, the STB leaped into action with what Lim calls “confidence-building measures.” They sent out letters, created information videos and put up Web sites designed to communicate with their business partners and the general traveling public about the real state of affairs in Singapore. Not long after the WHO pulled Singapore off the list of affected countries, the STB took things up another notch. “We launched ‘Singapore Roars’ on June 18 this year,” recalls Lim. “The Singapore Roars campaign is our recovery program. If we succeed, the year will be fairly normal, though we will not be able to entirely cover the loss.”

Singapore Roars consists of three parts: a continuation of the confidence-building measures, a series of about 200 incentive packages and programs to attract visitors from key markets and a strong global advertising campaign.

Currently, Singapore’s top five markets in order of importance are Indonesia, Japan, China, Malaysia, and Australia.

“Japan’s current situation is not so bright,” Lim remarks. “At the peak, we had about 1.2 million Japanese arrivals per year. That was about 7 years ago. Last year we had 730,000. Generally, it’s been on the decline.”

Even before SARS wreaked havoc, the STB had already been addressing the issue of revamping its image and getting the number of visitors from key markets such as Japan back on the rise. On February 1, it completed a major reorganization that will allow the STB to more effectively promote Singapore’s offerings to the world. At the heart of the reorganization are eight Strategic Tourism Units (STUs): food and beverage, sites and attractions, shopping, business and conference/exhibitions, lifestyle events, cruises, education and healthcare.

Lim Neo Chian, CEO of the Singapore Tourism Board