In SG's quest to be a sports hosting hub, SG is willing to let covid-19 carrying inbound travellers in and spread the virus at the sporting events.
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'Safety premium' gives S'pore edge to host big sports events, says STB chief Keith Tan
This advantage will likely not last beyond three or four years.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Jonathan Wong
Assistant Sports Editor
31 JAN 2021
SINGAPORE - The relatively stable and secure conditions in Singapore during the Covid-19 pandemic has meant the country enjoys a certain "safety premium" that makes it attractive to organisers of big sporting events, said Singapore Tourism Board (STB) chief executive Keith Tan.
This advantage is not permanent though, he told The Straits Times, and will likely not last beyond three or four years, making it imperative that Singapore "runs as fast as we can" to seize opportunities when they arise.
The
recently-concluded Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M2 World Championship is a good example, Tan adds.
It was originally scheduled to be held in Jakarta but was moved to Singapore due to the coronavirus outbreak. Despite three players from Brazilian team DreamMax testing positive, the week-long event at the Shangri-La Hotel went on smoothly while the final drew 3.08 million viewers, making it the fourth-most watched e-sports event in history.
Singapore will also
host an ATP 250 tennis tournament from Feb 22-28 at the OCBC Arena on a single-year licence. Before this, the last top-level men's tournament on the professional circuit here was the 1999 Heineken Open.
Alison Lee, executive vice-president of the international region at ATP, had highlighted both Singapore's excellent track record at delivering international sporting events to a world-class standard as well as a primary focus on ensuring safety.
These are the kinds of testimonials that gives Tan confidence moving forward even as STB adapts its strategy for an acutely changed world.
According to the World Travel Organisation, the global sports tourism industry pre-pandemic was worth US$800 billion (S$1.06 trillion) - amounting to about 10 per cent of the global tourism pie.
Whereas previously STB sought to bring in mega events like the International Champions Cup football tournament, Formula One's Singapore Grand Prix and Singapore Rugby Sevens, Tan said the statutory board would no longer only pursue such "fan-focused events" but also look at "spectator and/ or participatory events" which can engage the consumers virtually.
Last year's Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon
featured a hybrid race format incorporating a virtual race and augmented reality - allowing participants to create avatars and see themselves competing with fellow runners in real time on running routes that take in iconic landmarks like Orchard Road, Little India and Chinatown.
More than 12,000 runners eventually signed up for the race, with about 37 per cent based overseas.
Mindful that in light of the pandemic the health and wellness industry has taken on more prominence for many people and travellers, Tan said this segment would be a new major focus for STB and it will work with stakeholders "to create a lot more products and experiences that will meet those demands".
E-sports will continue to be a growth area STB looks at, as will women's sports events in rugby, football, athletics, golf and tennis.
Tan said: "Over the last few years, there has been growing recognition of the athletic progress of women athletes. They are every bit as compelling to watch... but their stories have been under told. I believe there's tremendous potential for women's sports which is still untapped."
One of his immediate priorities though, is to scale up existing pilots that have allowed people to return to live events. Since last October, mixed martial arts (MMA) organisation One Championship has held four shows here with up to 250 paying fans, in five zones of 50 participants, who all had to undergo an antigen rapid test for the coronavirus before being allowed into the venue.
Conceptually, there is nothing stopping organisers from increasing this two or four fold as long as they can meet all the safe distancing measures, said Tan.
"But even 1,000 fans (in 20 groups of 50), which is a huge step forward from the existing protocol, is a far cry from a full on MMA tournament in the Indoor Stadium, which can seat more than 10,000," he added. "So we have to build confidence if we want to get back to some semblance of pre-Covid BAU (business as usual)."
Besides the ATP tournament, other marquee events that have been pencilled in for this year are the April 29 to May 2 HSBC Women's World Championship at Sentosa Golf Club, the F1 night race on Oct 3 and the Oct 29-30 Singapore Rugby Sevens.
Tan said: "Nothing should be stopping us from pushing for a calendar of events... Our responsibility is to seize as much of the opportunities that still remain out there, to lay out very clearly our health protocols and parameters, and if they (organisers) can live with it, then we work very closely with them to implement, execute the event."
