Singapore was the highest ranked country in Asia, and rated tenth globally, for the attractiveness of its environment in developing the travel and tourism industry, according to a world tourism report.

The latest World Economic Forum travel and tourism competitiveness report, which evaluated 133 countries, also highlights the effectiveness of Singapore’s regulations and policies in the promotion and growth of the travel and tourism sector.

“Singapore improved by six places over last year’s report,” said Jason Ong, area director, Middle East and Africa, Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

“This impressive ranking indicates the strength of our tourism and management infrastructure.”

Furthermore, the city-state ranked number one in its policy environment, demonstrating that its rules and regulations are conducive to the development and promotion of its travel and tourism industry.

These effective policies include strategies that facilitate foreign ownership and foreign direct investment in conjunction with well-protected property rights, few visa restrictions and transparency of policy-making.

Singapore was also awarded the top position in human resources, scoring high in the quality of its education system, level of staff training, ease of hiring foreign labour and its labour laws.

In terms of overall prioritisation of travel and tourism, Singapore ranked second, up three places from last year. The report cited gauges such as government expenditure on the sector, strong destination marketing campaigns and country-level presence at key international tourism fairs.

As part of its long-term approach, Singapore will continue to focus on transforming the tourism sector, and ensure that the environment remains attractive to the sector’s development.

In terms of tourism sector-friendly policies, the STB recently rolled out a S$90 million ($59.6 million) initiative – Building On Opportunities to Strengthen Tourism (Boost) – for the sector.

Boost includes measures such as “2009 Reasons to enjoy Singapore”, the STB’s global marketing campaign that aims to drive demand for travel to Singapore, as well as enhanced funding support for tourism businesses and training schemes to raise the skills and service excellence of tourism workers in Singapore. – TradeArabia News Service