On November 3, 2020, an international round table "Russia - Singapore: Tools for the Development of International Tourism" was held in a Zoom-conference format. The main issues were the prospects for the development of Russia-Singapore cooperation in the field of tourism, bilateral and multilateral events, as well as interaction in related areas of culture and business. The event was held at the initiative of the Russia Singapore Business Council (RSBC) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).
The round table was attended by about 20 experts representing state and municipal authorities, travel companies (tour operators, travel agencies, excursion bureaus from Russia and Singapore), insurance companies, etc.
The experts focused on the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on the current situation in international tourism, mechanisms for ensuring the safety of life and health in places of residence, during flights, as part of excursions and public events. The experts highlighted the measures that are currently being taken in Singapore and Russia and tried to formulate some forecasts for the development of the tourism industry in the short and medium term.
Sergey Pronin (Deputy Chairman and Executive Director of the RSBC) spoke about the main directions of the Council's work and the opportunities that it creates for the development of educational and business tourism as part of the development of the international electronic Platform RSTrade and Centre for Overseas Promotion of Russian High Technology Companies operating in Singapore.
Svetlana Mailatova (Manager of the Singapore Tourism Board for Russia and Eastern Europe) spoke about the activities carried out by the Singapore authorities, hotels, Changi Airport, etc. to ensure safe travel both to Singapore itself and as a transit point for travel to other countries, as well as opportunities to reduce travel costs provided by STB.
Svetlana Krasnoborodko (Business Development Manager of Singapore Airlines) demonstrated the airline's new aircraft layout designed to improve service, drew attention to the latest cabin air recirculation system, which makes it possible to almost completely eliminate the possibility of infection during long flights, and informed about changes in the registration and flight rules.
Katerina Kolmakova (Editor-in-Chief of the Russian-language magazine Unique Singapore) focused on the issues of holding events in the conditions of the pandemic, the possibilities and prospects of hybrid forms that combine online and offline formats.
The meeting was moderated by Anna Akaeva (Head of International Cooperation and Marketing of RSBC).
At the end of the meeting an interactive game was held, where the three winners will be presented with books by Singapore's first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew "From Third World to First". This book has been translated into many languages and is recognized as a world bestseller.
All participants expressed confidence that, despite the damage from the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry has something to offer corporate and private clients. New technologies for disinfecting surfaces and air will increase the safety of tourists in the post-pandemic time, modern information solutions will simplify the procedures for checking in for flights, checking into hotels and forming tourist services, including business tourism. Events have changed, many of them are held in hybrid and digital formats now. All this creates new opportunities for the development of the tourism industry and related areas.
Nikolai Volobuev (Deputy Director General of the Rostec State Corporation, Chairman of the RSBC) noted that the development of business tourism, including in new formats, is especially important for Russian industrial and innovative companies in the context of a pandemic. The economy and business continue to develop, thereby creating a steady demand for new tools, methods and formats for maintaining business activity.
The governments of Russia and Singapore provide additional benefits to travel service providers and tourists. And everyone, of course, is expecting the most important thing, namely the return of the tourist flow both from Russia to Singapore and neighboring countries, and from these countries to Russia.