As all our travel plans are put on a pause due to the pandemic, its effects on tourism have been felt all over the world. Everyone wishes to be able to travel again, to see the sights, to meet friends old and new, to explore and discover, and build memories. While doing so would have to wait, encouraging people to band together to stay hopeful until the next great escape is one thing we can all do.
This is the motivation behind the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) #TravelThrowback social media initiative that is aimed at uniting passionate travelers to promote the beauty of not just Singapore, but the entirety of Southeast Asia. This initiative — an undertaking in partnership with strategic tourism partners in Southeast Asia — intends to spark interest and encourage travelers to make the region a top-of-mind destination once international travel resumes fully.
“We want to rally travelers and brands with a passion for Southeast Asia’s rich culture and heritage to share their best memories, stories and experiences, as a visual treat of what [it] has to offer,” according to John Conceicao, Singapore Tourism Board Executive Director for Southeast Asia. And the board recognizes that the best way to propel this effort is through social media.
Recognizing the strong influence of social media on travel decisions, the initiative calls on Instagram travellers across Southeast Asia to share their favourite travel throwbacks from their photo library by posting them using the specially created “TravelThrowback” Instagram Effect available on @Visit_Singapore’s Instagram page. With this Instagram Effect, users can share their memories across destinations in Southeast Asia and tag their friends and family to challenge them to do the same.
STB will be working with various local partners in each Southeast Asian country to welcome other national tourism organisations, tourism providers and travel stakeholders to be a part of the #TravelThrowback social initiative to inspire wanderlust.
Tourism is one of the key economic sectors in the region, and it is united by the common goal of reenergizing the spirit of tourism once it is safely back on the table again.
“This is a collective effort by a community who lives, works and plays in Southeast Asia — an authentic voice of advocacy for the return of travelers to the region. #TravelThrowback makes the first steps to encourage intra-Southeast Asia travel, and towards recovery,” adds Conceicao.