Current Practices in the Visitor Economy

Running head: CURRENT PRACTICES IN THE VISITOR ECONOMY
COVER PAGE

1CURRENT PRACTICES IN VISITOR ECONOMY
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Tourism and the image of the tourist destinations.....................................................................3
Overview of tourism in the nation of Singapore........................................................................4
Strategies used for the enhancement of the image of Singapore as a tourist destination...........5
Singapore’s unique national culture.......................................................................................5
Organisation of cultural events..............................................................................................6
Presence of different tourist attractions..................................................................................7
National governmental policies..............................................................................................7
Analysis of the strategies used by Singapore Tourism Board................................................9
Recommendations......................................................................................................................9
Conclusion................................................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................11

2CURRENT PRACTICES IN VISITOR ECONOMY
Introduction
As opined by Johnson (2016), the tourism industry over the years had emerged as one
of the most important industries of the world and it greatly supports the national economies
of the different nations of the world. Getz and Page (2016) have stated that the tourism
industry of a particular nation greatly depends on the image of the nation itself to which the
tourism industry belongs and also the worldwide image of the different tourism destinations
or the locations that are a part of the concerned nation. In this regard, it needs to be said that
there are various factors which affect the image of the different tourist destinations or for that
of the entire nation itself as a tourist destination and these in turn affect the number of tourists
who visit the concerned nation or tourist destination or location (Edgell Sr. 2016). Some of
the most important factors in this regard are the national culture of the nation, the
governmental policies or initiatives for the promotion of tourism, the cultural or the social
events of the nation, climatic condition, food and others (Anholt 2016). Recent researches
have suggested that the national governments as well as the tourism authorities of the
different nations of the world through the effectively usage of different kinds of policies or
strategies have effectively exploited these factors not only for the enhancement of the image
of their nation as a tourist destination but also have been able to promote sustainable tourism
as well (Kim 2018). This becomes apparent from the exponential growth and also the
improvement in the image that the nation of Singapore and its tourism industry had
experienced over the years. This report intends to undertake an analysis of the different
factors or strategies which have contributed towards the enhancement of the image of
Singapore as a tourist destination.

3CURRENT PRACTICES IN VISITOR ECONOMY
Tourism and the image of the tourist destinations
Crane, Kawashima and Kawasaki (2016) have articulated the viewpoint that the
tourism industry is primarily concerned with catering to the travel needs of the individuals,
whether be it for business purposes or for leisure or holidaying purposes. On the other hand,
Lee and Bai (2016) have noted that an interesting trend seen within the tourism industry is the
fact that the tourists rather than opting for the domestic tourist destinations are increasingly
opting for the different international tourist destinations for spending their vacations or
holidays. However, at the same time it is seen that an important factor which effects the
choices made by the tourists regarding visiting a particular tourist destination is the image of
the concerned tourist destination or for that matter the image of the nation to which the tourist
destination belongs.
As discussed by González-Rodríguez, Martínez-Torres and Toral (2016), the idea of
‘image of a tourist destination’ can be defined as the idea that comes to the mind of the
tourists regarding a particular tourist destination or for that matter the image or the opinion
that the individuals have formulated regarding the tourist destination on the basis of the news,
information, data and others that they have heard regarding the destination. The resultant
effect of this is that the different nations of the world and their tourism authorities are trying
to enhance not only the image of their own nations but also the diverse tourist destinations
that the concerned nation boasts in the international arena and also among the tourists for the
full-fledged development of the tourism industry of their nation. As a matter of fact, it is seen
that for the effective development of the tourism industry, the different nations are
increasingly turning towards the construct of digital wherein they upload or share the diverse
positive cultural, social, food, climatic and other aspects of their nations and also the unique
experience that the tourists are likely to get by visiting the nation so as to entice the tourists