Rethinking the Singapore River Cruise

Rethinking the Singapore River Cruise

GE2218 Group K Analysis 1

National University of Singapore Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences Department of Geography

GE2218: Leisure, Recreation & Tourism Year 2011/2012 Semester 2 Group Analysis 1: Assessing a Singapore S ingapore Tourist Space

Rethinking the Singapore River Cruise Muriel Ruth Manning, Neo Zhi Wei, Tan Kee Hwee Esther & Woon Wei Seng Tutorial Group DE3, Group K

Word Count: 1183 words 1 GE2218/2011-2012 Semester 2/Group K/Group Analysis 1/Rethinking the Singapore River Cruise Muriel Ruth Manning (U091636X), Neo Zhi Wei (A0004662N), Tan Kee Hwee Esther (A0084452E), Woon Wei Seng (A0002916N)



Introduction

The Singapore River Cruise (SRC), established in 1987 (Singapore River Cruise, 2011), 1

has been using bumboats retrofitted in traditional colours from the historical twakows that plied the rivers since British colonial rule (Cornelius-Takahama, 2000) for its tour operations. Due to increasing competition from rival company Singapore DUCKTours, we undertook a critical analysis of the current promotional model to identify weaknesses and in our report below, also suggest possible improvements.

Weakness 1: An Insipid Promotional Model As Crang (2008) asserts, advertising is important in shaping tourists’ perception of a

certain place as it lures people to the site of their imagination. In our analysis, we find that SRC’s contemporary promotional model is insip id, in this digital age and when compared to 2

its rival HippoTours ( HT). In examining SRC’s promotional brochures , we note that they market the heritage of the River and the authenticity of its bumboats. However, the brochures seem impersonal, portraying Singapore as devoid of people (besides statues), the focus of heritage solely on cultural artifacts such as the twakow and physical landmarks such as the Merlion and Esplanade, a trend which runs through the bumboat experience as well. 3

This contrasts with r ival HT’s promotional brochures depicting people and liveliness of the 4

River. Similarly, we notice that the SRC’s website has taken the people out of the River as 5

well. It pales especially in comparison to HT’s website which shows endorsements and

targeted products for different market segments, although heritage offerings of SRC’s cruises are strongly emphasized, with pages dedicated to the h istory and landmarks of “Our 6

River” .

Furthermore, the website is not very interactive, utilizing neither videos nor social media platforms, besides a button linking to its Facebook page and a link to its Flickr 1

According to Dobbs (2003), twakows are light Chinese crafts that were traditionally used for transporting goods. 2 See Appendix 1. 3 See Appendix 2. 4 See Appendix 3. 5 See Appendix 4. 6 See Appendix 3.3 & 3.4.

2 GE2218/2011-2012 Semester 2/Group K/Group Analysis 1/Rethinking the Singapore River Cruise Muriel Ruth Manning (U091636X), Neo Zhi Wei (A0004662N), Tan Kee Hwee Esther (A0084452E), Woon Wei Seng (A0002916N)



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photostream showing its press coverage . This does not tap into the full potential that social media provides in this digital age, with the full plethora of platforms ranging from YouTube 8

to Twitter that can engage the tech- savvy of today’s youth. This affects the marketability and awareness of SRC amongst youths, especially since an informal poll conducted by us 9

shows that a good percentage of youths are unaware of the SRC .

Strategy 1: A New Niche Market for Students and Soci al Media

We propose focusing on a new niche market of visitors - students, as a starting point to reaching out towards locals as well. A differentiated pricing scheme could be introduced to cater to them, especially since they are financially less empowered. This will also encourage repeated visits. Package deals could also be introduced: for instance, the SRC could partner with certain restaurant(s) to offer lunch and a boat ride at competitive rates. Both locals and foreigners would potentially be attracted by the ‘value -for-money’ aspect of

such a marketing strategy as well. In addition, we recommend maximizing the usage of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook in advertising, especially to cater to our new proposed niche market of students. For example, in order to increase viewership on the SRC’s Facebook page, we

propose to introduce a competitive setting: local patrons of the boat rides will upload photographs of themselves on the boat, with the ‘best’ photograph winning a prize. The winner will be determined by a process of public votes. In this way, awareness of the product is increased amongst not only those who submit photographs, but their circle of contacts as well. This is relevant particularly to the student demographic, as they are ardent users of social media and are an appropriate target audience due to their willingness to try new activities. Consequently, with the hype of the uploaded photographs and word-ofmouth publicity, a significant number of people’s impressions of the SRC experience might

be reshaped. 7

See Appendix 3.5. Facebook, Twitter & foursquare are social networking sites that perform different functions. These functions vary from allowing users to post short posts (“tweets” in Twitter) to “checking -in” at a location via one’s smartphone (foursquare). YouTube is a video-sharing website that allows users to upload and share videos they have made on their own onto the website for public viewing and commenting. 9 See Appendix 5. 8




Weakness 2: Non-Interactive and Repetitive River Cruise Experience

Experience, to us, is considered a promotional model as tourists may help to further advertise the river cruise through word of mouth. Hence, we personally took the River Cruise to better understand the weaknesses in the current boat cruise experience. First, we noted the lack of interaction between tourists and locals due to the 10

absence of a human tour guide as a weakness. Furthermore, descriptions of the Singapore River and famous landmarks along its banks are broadcasted in the bumboat on a pre11

recorded tape . We feel that the digitalized commentary of the Singapore River might result in a highly inauthentic experience of the Singapore River for tourists, especially as Conran (2006) contends that intimacy and interaction with locals is important for the postmodern tourist, and might even be the main objective of travel. In addition, the route along Singapore River is repetitive since the bum-boat only 12

travels to and fro along the same route. We presume the tourists may be bored by the time it returns from the same stretch of the River. The pre-recorded audio is also not in sync with the locations we passed by. For example, the video gave a concise description and history of Fort Canning even though the boat had not yet reached the area. These small weaknesses combine to form a major deficiency in the overall experience of the River Cruise.

Suggestion 2: The Multi-Sensory Promotional Model

To maximize the authenticity of the SRC experience, we suggest a new multi-sensory conceptualization of the SRC experience that will increase tourist interactivity with each other and the s urroundings. Research has suggested that “taste -scapes, smell-scapes, sound-scapes, touch-scapes” (Franklin, 2001:123) all contribute greatly to the touristic experience as well (Everett, 2008).

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The bumboat driver was accompanied by a man who helped us board t he bumboat but did not interact with any of the passengers thereafter until the end of the trip to help us alight from the bumboat. See Appendix 6.1. 11 See Appendix 6.2. 12 The route is a loop – depending on where you start, you will head downstream towards the Marina Bay, loop around it and head back upstream, towards Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay before making a loop and returning to the start-point downstream.




We suggest replacing the accompanying pre-recorded audio that currently serves as the impersonal ‘tour guide’ aboard the bumboat to a human tour guide with whom tourists

can engage with, as the inter-personal approach is important in enhancing the tourist experience (Giordmaina, 2008:45). Here, the tour guide will be in the best position to allow tourists to engage in intimate, authentic encounters with locals, for example through revelation of personal experience and answering questions about Singapore’s culture. Adding on to the current visual and audio engagement, we also propose that a section of the bumboat could be remodeled as a food-tasting site. In her study on food tourism, Everett (2008:340) suggests that food is increasingly seen to “encompass the very identity of a place or individual”. Thus, local snacks from Singapore’s various cultural groups – for example, Peranakan snacks – could be sampled on board to cement the Singaporean

sense of place. Another study further suggests that olfactory marketing helps in the “enhancement of brand communications” (Giordmaina, 2008:44); in our case, smells from food samples on board would serve enhance and retain tourists’ memories of the cruise

experience aboard the bumboat through further sensory engagement.

Conclusion To improve the SRC’s promotional model so as to attract both tourists and locals

alike to ride the river cruise, we have identified two main weaknesses in the current model a lackluster advertising model and an impersonal and jaded boat cruise experience. Hence, we suggest a two-pronged approach to improve it - identifying a new niche market of students and tapping into social media to reach out to visitors, and developing a new multisensory experience for visitors. While we acknowledge that there are more weaknesses than what has been outlined above, we contend that these are the most important and that the strategies we have developed are not only low-cost but also aimed at having the greatest impact in changing visitors’ impressions of the Singapore Ri ver Cruise.




Bibliography Crang, M. (2004) ‘Cultural Geographies of Tourism’, in Lew A., Hall C.M., and Williams A. (eds.) A Companion to Tourism. London, Blackwell, pp. 74-84. Conran, M. (2006) ‘Beyond Authenticity: Exploring Intimacy in the Touristic Encounter in Thailand’, Tourism Geographies, vol. 8(3), pp. 274-285.

Cornelius-Takahama, V. (2000) Bumboats [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 12 February 2012]. Dobbs, S. (2003) The Singapore River: a social history . Singapore: Singapore University Press. Everett, S. (2009) ‘Beyond the visual gaze?: The pursuit of an embodied experience through food tourism’, Tourist Studies, vol. 8(3), pp. 337-358. Franklin, A. (2001) ‘The Tourist Gaze and Beyond. An Interview with John Urry’, Tourist Studies, 1(2), pp. 115 –31. Giordmaina, J. (2008) ‘Multi-sensory marketing and its application in tourism’ , Journal of the Institute of Tourism Studies, vol. 2, pp. 42-25.

Singapore River Cruise (2011) Company History [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 12 February 2012].




Appendix 1: Brochures of Singapore River Cruise (SRC) (1) Exterior of Singapore River Cruise Brochure , depicting Singapore’s heritage and landmarks but devoid of people (besides statues).

(2) Interior of Singapore River Cruise Brochure, similarly full of landmarks.




Appendix 2: Brochures of HippoTours (HT)

(1) Front of Hippo River Cruise Brochure, which shows people – whether local worker or tourist.




(2) Rear of Hippo River Cruise Brochure showcasing the performers on their themed cruis

(3) Interior of Hippo River Cruise Brochure, which is similarly peopled even though it also highlights the landmarks like in the SRC Brochure.




Appendix 3: Website of Singapore River Cruise (1) Title Page of Singapore River Cruise Website ( http://www.rivercruise.com.sg/ )

(2) Some Photo Transitions on Title Page of Website ( http://www.rivercruise.com.sg/ )




(3) Menu Bar of Website

(4) “Our Rivers” Page ( http://www.rivercruise.com.sg/ourriver.php )

(5) Links to Facebook (Facebook logo at bottom-left hand of page) & Flickr (Press Coverage link) ( http://www.rivercruise.com.sg/about.php?p=history )




Appendix 4: Website of Hippo Tours (1) Title Page of Duck & Hippo Tours Website ( http://www.ducktours.com.sg/ )




(2) “Hippo River Package” Page ( http://www.ducktours.com.sg/tours_hipporiver.php )




Appendix 5: Facebook Poll Question:

Have you heard of the Singapore River Cruise? Or have you been on board one of the bumboats of the Singapore River Cruise? (Not the Hippo / Duck Tours!)

Response 1: Yes I have heard of the bumboats of the Singapore River Cruise, but not been on it – 45 responses

Response 2: Yes I have been on the bumboats of the Singapore River Cruise – 16 responses Response 3: No I have not heard of the Singapore River Cruise and its bumboats – 0 responses (Poll results as of 16 February 2012 11pm, https://www.facebook.com/woonweiseng?sk=questions )

Appendix 6: Photographs of Singapore River Cruise Experience (1) The man (in yellow) who helped us to board the bumboat but subsequently did not interact with us throughout the trip.




(2) White square loudspeaker on side of bumboat broadcasting pre-recorded commentary that played at certain key locations along the tour.

(3) Wei Seng, Zhi Wei & Esther (from left to right) on our virgin bumboat experience, on the first fieldtrip to Singapore River.


Rethinking the Singapore River Cruise

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