Work on Singapore’s cultural image to attract top dollar

This article I wrote for "Today" newspaper in response to an article about what Singapore can do to attract tourists.

In his article, Mr Chia made the point that a company - and Singapore, byand large - needs to be either a cost leader or a cost differentiator, rather than be “stuck in the middle”, as it will end up poorer for it. With this, he made a classical marketing error that many companies still make. Instead of starting with what the customer - be it Singaporeresidents or visitors - wants, he immediately jumps to the finishedproduct and its price. In my opinion, Singapore should be asking itself if it wants to be a cheap and relatively good holiday stay or a premium destination with resort type facilities.

Does it want to give the best facilities to its citizens or does it want to put its wealth into yet another bland shopping mall or an amusement park? In comparing Singapore with world renowned cities like London andParis, one should be reminded that these cities are much more than placesto live, work and shop. If Singapore really wants to command top price forits hotel beds, it needs to work on its cultural image. In The Netherlands, the city of Groningen - where I grew up in -had the challenge of attracting tourists, even though it’s far from thestandard tourist trail. It answered this challenge by building a world-class modern artmuseum, making the inner city car free and attracting shops that are“different” from the standard mall type outlets. At the same time, itattracted businesses like biotech and IT to settle down on the outskirtsof town. Couple this with a charming centuries-old city centre and youhave a tourist magnet.
To be like London, Paris and even New York, Singapore needs so muchmore than integrated resorts, spruced up streets and luxury hotels. Find out what kind of people you want to attract before offering them what you think they want. The price becomes much more irrelevant after that.