Officials from the Singapore Tourism Board have been outlining plans for the upcoming year at the Annual Tourism Industry Conference, with an emphasis firmly on growth for 2011.

Held at the Suntec Exhibition and Convention Centre, the conference brings together tourism and travel related professionals involved in the tourism industry in Singapore.

Sentiment at the conference was very positive, with the Singapore Tourism Board reporting an exceptional 11.6 million visitor arrivals in 2010, which accounted for tourism receipts of approximately SGD18.8 billion – representing 49 per cent growth over the challenging year of 2009.

This was fuelled by the opening of the two integrated resorts – Resorts World and Marina Bay Sands, and the introduction of a slew of tourism products including new attractions, hotels and international events, such as TravelRave.

In the recent World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index 2011, Singapore came out tops in Asia Pacific, and was ranked in 10th place out of more than 130 countries.

Competitiveness criteria include policy rules and regulations, infrastructure, safety and security, and human resources.

Speaking at the conference, S. Iswaran, senior minister of state for trade and industry, highlighted the need for Singapore to move away from quantity-driven tourism to focusing on quality and yield, in order to sustain the growth in the tourism sector.

With innovative ideas, an integrated approach within the industry and greater productivity, Iswaran is confident Singapore can ride on Asia’s momentum and position itself for the next phase of growth.