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Shanghai Daily News Digest

Singapore the highlight of overseas travel choices   2023-12-24

 

 

Overseas destinations are popular over the upcoming three-day New Year holiday thanks to an array of preferential visa policies, online travel operators unveiled recently.

Southeast Asian countries are the most booked outbound destinations among Chinese travelers during the holiday, with the implementation of a number of visa-free policies.

So far, Thailand and Malaysia have implemented a visa-free policy for Chinese travelers, while China and Singapore announced a 30-day mutual visa-free policy recently.


Marina Bay in Singapore.

The rapid resumption of flights to Southeast Asian countries has also stimulated tourists' enthusiasm, and they are witnessing a reservation peak for the New Year holiday and even the Spring Festival holiday, said online travel operator Tuniu.com.

Overall, the orders for outbound destinations during the holiday have surged nearly 500 percent from the same period last year, according to online travel operator Trip.com. Tongcheng Travel, another online travel operator, said the bookings to beach resorts in Southeast Asia have soared 300 percent for the holiday from the same period last year.


Marina Bay.

Digital approach

Meanwhile, with digital technologies and Metaverse gaining increasing popularity in a number of areas, a digital approach is being introduced into the tourism sector to provide a novel way of travel.

The Singapore Tourism Board and Tuniu.com have jointly released a set of digital tourism souvenirs in the shape of stamps, inviting people to explore the "Lion City" by following the digital souvenir route in a unique way.

Singapore's popular check-in spots such as River Ecological Park, Hawker Center, Koon Seng Road, and Marina Bay are featured in the souvenirs. People can experience the charm of green and sustainable tourism in the digital tour and take an immersive art journey.


A digital souvenir.

Koon Seng Road is a small east-west road with distinct, brilliantly colored architecture. These buildings were constructed in the 1920s and were once the residences of local Chinese. Their original charm and culture is well preserved.

Hawker Center is a mirror of Singapore's melting pot culture. Here, all the special dishes of Singapore, including Laksa, Indian pancakes, curry fish head, coconut rice, satay, chicken rice, and fried kway trow, are a real temptation to taste buds.

People are able to collect the digital tourism souvenirs via WeChat mini program for free and explore stories behind them for reference for their travel plans by scanning the QR code.


A digital tourism stamp.

Source: Shanghai Daily

 


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