TOURIST GUIDE CIRCULAR

Transcription

1 TOURIST GUIDE CIRCULAR Issue No. 09 April 2018 for Singapore s Tourist Guide community A Quick Look At This Issue Industry News SkillsFuture Study Awards for Tourist Guides Looking forward to 2018 SkillsFuture Study Awards for Tourist Guides Speed dating for TGs and Travel Agents Tourism Industry Conference City Tour Playbook Tour Design Challenge What is it? The SkillsFuture Study Awards encourage Singaporeans to develop and deepen skills. Award recipients will receive a monetary award of S$5,000, which can be used to defray out-of-pocket expenses associated with the course applied. Who is it for? The Study Awards are for tourist guides (TG) who are committed to developing and deepening their skills in the sector. Capability Development What courses are supported? Professional Development Courses Useful Information Inbound Singapore This circular is brought to you by the Travel Agents & Tourist Guides Division of Page 1

2 Am I eligible? You may be eligible if you: 1. Are a Singaporean citizen with at least 2 years of work experience as a licenced TG 2. Have been engaged as a TG in the past 1 year * Other eligibility criteria applies. Please refer to the website link below. It has always been a great passion of mine to interact with people from all walks of life, so being a tourist guide was a career decision that came naturally. This was supported by my education in tourism and hospitality, and my first job with Swissôtel The Stamford. Being a tourist guide for the past 31 years, I have had countless opportunities to show tourists the sights and sounds of Singapore and also the hidden gems around the island. However, I felt like there was still room for me to grow. Thus, it was a joy to receive the SkillsFuture Study Award for Tourist Guide Sector, through which I took on the Advanced Diploma in Counselling Psychology with the College of Allied Educators. I learnt how to enhance tourists experiences by truly understanding their needs, and how to relate to them better as individuals. The course also equipped me with the skills to better analyse the environment and people around me, to give tourists a very memorable time in Singapore. I am very grateful for the opportunities that the SkillsFuture Study Award unlocked, and will definitely encourage my fellow tourist guides to apply for it too! Feeling Inspired? Click here to visit the Skillsfuture Study Awards webpage and find out more! Monica Teoh THE CURRENT APPLICATION WINDOW CLOSES ON 15 JUN 2018 Speed dating for TGs and Travel Agents On the 23 Apr 2018, recently licensed TGs sat down for a matchmaking (networking) session with travel agents (TA) for both parties to get to know one another better and establish new business contacts. Held at the Lifelong Learning Institute, 2 concurrent sessions were held for English and Mandarin-speaking stakeholders. More than 50 TGs and 20 TAs attended the session, and every stakeholder had the opportunity to speak to all other stakeholders present. A tea reception was held afterwards, for stakeholders to network at their own pace. The session was a resounding success, with positive feedback from both TGs and TAs, expressing that it was very fruitful and that they hoped to see more of such sessions in the future. Do keep a look out for s from STB for such events, and put your name down! Page 2

3 Looking forward to 2018 New Opportunities for TGs to conduct local tours without passengercarrying conveyance with effect from 1 Jan TGs can now take control of their own job opportunities by selling, arranging and advertising such tours without a TA licence or going through a TA. Training Support to enhance TGs guiding skills through the introduction of more Professional Development Courses and financial support with the SkillsFuture Study Awards. The upcoming City Tours Playbook also provides a guide to how you can better deliver a tour narrative. Continued Recognition of TGs experience and excellence at the Singapore Tourism Awards (STA) and TG Recognition Awards (TGRA). Coming soon on 8 May and 24 May respectively. STA celebrates and recognises individuals and organisations in the tourism sector for delivering outstanding experiences and demonstrating enterprise excellence. Open to TGs is the Best Customer Service For Tourist Guiding category. TGRA celebrates and recognises the dedication of TGs to the tourism industry, in particular those who have contributed many years of service (10, 20, 30, 40 years) and have excelled in the profession. Continued Engagements through channels such as the TG Circular and at platforms such as TG Dialogue and quarterly Travel Agent and Tourist Guide Update sessions. Future of Guiding To continuously build and improve capabilities for TGs, STB will be introducing the Future of Guiding in the next few months. This is a unifying call and platform to bring TGs and TG associations together to identify key challenges, critical skills and opportunities, as well as to co-create ideas and initiatives for TGs to take charge of their future. Page 3

4 Tourism Industry Conference The Tourism Industry Conference (TIC) is organised annually by Singapore Tourism Board (STB) as a collaborative platform for tourism industry stakeholders to discuss strategies and opportunities for the industry moving forward. Themed Tourism In Transformation, TIC 2018 took place on 17 April and was attended by stakeholders across various sectors, such as hotels, travel agents and TGs. To read about TIC, click here. The conference included a showcase of the Passion Tours Collection, a guidebook of 24 passion tours that amplify the Passion Made Possible brand. 4 new-to-market tours were highlighted: 1. Singapore Sideways Vespa Tour 2. Next Generation Hawker Food Tour 3. Treasures of Kampong Glam: The Insider s Tours Tour 4. Made in Singapore With the amended Travel Agent Act in effect since 01 Jan 2018, more new and innovative walking tours that showcase interesting aspects of Singapore are welcomed. City Tour Playbook STB has developed the City Tour Playbook to support travel agents and TGs by providing an overarching narrative for a City Tour. This includes useful storyblocks, different storytelling approaches as well as stories of Passion Made Possible, covering six precincts across the Island. Keep a look out for the Playbook which will be available in May. Tour Design Challenge To further enhance the visitor experience in Singapore, STB is launching an inaugural Tour Design Challenge to catalyse the creation of new tours. The Challenge will start this year with two Passion Tribes and one market. A briefing session to introduce the Challenge will be held on the 17 May 2018 as posted on Guides Online. Click here to register for the session. Registration closes 4 May. China Ready Focused on multi-day packages, differentiated from existing offerings, targeting young families and early to established careers Explorers Targeted at creating culture-themed tours which expound the distinctive Singaporean DNA Progressors Targeted at developing business tours for BTMICE visitors, and include behind the scenes visits to relevant companies and organisations What to expect Workshops & Familiarisations to develop new tour ideas and network with business owners Content Partners to provide support to participating TGs and tour operators Launchpad to feature successful products through marketing campaigns and roadshows Page 4

5 Professional Development Courses Spotlight on Minority Communities: Muslims in Singapore Training Provider: A+B Tourism Training Hub Pte Ltd Upcoming Course Dates: 12 Jun 2018 This course aims to equip tourist guides with the knowledge of the history of Islam and the fundamental beliefs of a Muslim. Tourist guides will also be able to learn about what attracted the first Muslims to Singapore and how they contributed to Singapore s development. Tourist guides will also gain insights in understanding various practices of the Malay-Muslim community in Singapore. By the end of the course, tourist guides will be able to use the knowledge acquired on Islam and Muslim contributions and weave it into their tour commentary for an informative and engaging tour. To Sign Up: Call , or annika@traininghub.com Guiding Skills in Art Gallery and Museum (English & Mandarin) Training Provider: Society of Tourist Guides (Singapore) Upcoming Course Dates: 2 Jun 2018 (English), 28 Apr 2018, 9 Jun 2018 (Mandarin) This course aims to impart the knowledge skills and correct attitude for tourist guides guiding in a contemporary art gallery. Tourist guides will be equipped with knowledge on art history, especially western art movement in the past till date, and will be trained to recognise several styles in the art-ism movements and provide relevant art piece references. Tourist guides will also be taught how to provide the relevant commentaries to the different types of audiences. Gallery guiding techniques and group handling techniques will also be shared with tourist guides during this training. To Sign Up: Call , or adminsoctg@gmail.com Walking Down the Memory Lane The Uniquely Charming Tiong Bahru (Mandarin) Training Provider: Heritage Networks Upcoming Course Dates: 31 May 2018 By the end of this course, tourist guides will have an understanding of the history and development of Tiong Bahru, and of the historical origins of its roads and street names. They will also learn about its cultural atmosphere and Chinese literati during pre- and post- war. Tourist guides can then apply the knowledge to plan and conduct a heritage trail of Tiong Bahru and also share with visitors the new and trendy outlets in the estate and their unique characteristics. To Sign Up: Call (10am to 7.30pm) or yeonghc_heritage@yahoo.com.sg Inbound Singapore Created for industry stakeholders, the Inbound Singapore newsletter gives you the latest updates on the local tourism scene. Released every 2 months, the newsletter can be accessed via the Tourism Information & Services Hub! LOCAL BRANDS LATEST EVENTS DINING PLACES AND MORE Tourist Guide Circular Issue 9 Should You Need to Reach Us For Guides Online Technical Assistance / Request for Password, contact the Raptech Helpdesk at stb_helpdesk@raptech.com.sg or For general enquiries / feedback related to TG matters, contact STB at stb_tourist_guide@stb.gov.sg, or Page 5