You’d think that the Singaporean blood running through our veins would compel us to utilise free vouchers (key word being “free”) for our entertainment, but surprisingly, a staggering 2.2 million Singaporean adults have not redeemed their SingapoRediscover vouchers yet.
Shocking.
The vouchers, which were given out last December, entitled every Singaporean aged 18 years and above to S$100 to spend on attractions, staycations, and tours.
In addition, a S$10 subsidy would also be provided for children and youth tickets for attractions and tours.
According to The Straits Times, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Seng noted on Monday (5 Apr) that more than S$108 million in vouchers and additional expenditure have been spent under the scheme since redemptions began on 1 December 2020.
Over 760,000 adult Singaporeans have used their SingapoRediscover vouchers at least once as of 28 March 2021.
All vouchers are valid till 30 June 2021.
Minister Chan revealed these figures in a written parliamentary reply to questions from Members of Parliament (MPs) Hany Soh (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC), Mr Louis Chua (Sengkang GRC), Mr Melvin Yong (Radin Mas SMC), and Mr Ang Wei Neng (West Coast GRC).
The MPs had asked about the uptake of the vouchers and how the government planned to boost the redemption rates, as well as whether it planned on extending the redemption deadline.
Responding to Mr Hany Soh’s queries, Mr Chan expressed that currently, there will be no changes to the 30 June deadline.
“We will continue to monitor the redemption rate over the remaining months before considering if any extension of the redemption deadline is warranted,” he said.
“Meanwhile we encourage Singaporeans to redeem their vouchers early so that they are able to select their preferred products and time slots.”
Merchants Will Intensify Their Efforts To Encourage Voucher Uptake
The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and their partners will continue to work together to encourage the use of vouchers amongst adult Singaporeans.
Mr Chan said that STB is looking to “intensify efforts” in the next few months, including “sharing products and promotions across attractions, tours, and hotels, through STB and authorised booking partner channels.”
He added that merchants are “also encouraged to continue creating interesting products or attractive bundles that will appeal to different groups of Singaporeans, or to work with each other to create such products.”
TODAYonline also reports that in response to public feedback, STB and its authorised booking partners have improved the user experience by placing additional reminders on child discounts and booking of time slots.
As locals are rather IT-savvy, the government designed the vouchers as an online scheme to make them readily accessible to all.
However, for the older folks, they can seek help from the authorised booking partners at more than 60 locations across Singapore.
Mr Chan also pointed out that digital schemes had the additional benefit of allowing merchants to manage their capacity, in order to abide by safe management measures.
Going digital also helps minimises fraud, evident by the absence of such cases so far.
STB will continue monitoring the usage of vouchers closely.
Don’t Want To Use Them? Donate Them Instead
If you’re a part of the 2.2 million and you’ve already explored every nook and cranny of our island already, why not give it up for others to enjoy instead!
More non-profit organisations have joined Klook Cares, which is a charity initiative by the booking platform Klook to help underprivileged families and migrant workers in Singapore.
Aside from Klook Cares, you can also use Trip.com and GlobalTix to donate your vouchers.
Prices range from S$30–S$100, so you can choose to donate a part of your vouchers or all of it, depending on your preference.
Click here to find out about the 10 ways you can donate your SingapoRediscover vouchers to make someone else’s day!
Feature Image: Maria Nelasova / Shutterstock.com
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