Tourism board to the rescue again: Yes, Singapore is 'pretty unexciting'

Not again, Time Out London. After calling xiaolongbao dumplings as ‘exploding pimples’, you’re now saying Singapore is boring.

But good thing we have Singapore Tourism Board (STB), who has come to the nation’s rescue once again. 

This time, the board is making a stand against Time Out’s recent survey that singled out Singapore as a “boring” country. 

According to the results of the Time Out City Life index, which polled 15,000 people, Singapore was ranked 31 out of 32 of the world’s most exciting cities (FYI, Istanbul is at 32nd place).

Time Out cited common complaints such as lack of kindness and politeness, sleep deprivation and loneliness.

So when the Singapore brand name is being trampled on, what does the tourism board do? It creates a video that hits back at Time Out London for its statements.

In the video that was posted on Facebook on Thursday evening, STB meshed up clips showcasing the opposite of what the survey claims: that Singapore is “boring”, “there is nothing exciting to do”, “there is no art and culture” and “everything is expensive”. 

STB then ended the video with: “Could we be anymore boring?” and tagged Time Out London on Facebook.

The video has since garnered over 47,000 views, 657 shares and 101 comments. 

According to Marketing Interactive, the tongue-in-cheek video was executed real-time together with agency TBWA. 

While the survey ranked Singapore low on the art and culture scene, as well as live music and nightlife scenes, the nation’s dining and drinking offerings ranked highly at 92 per cent. Out of this, 42 per cent believe the food is amazing with unbeatable quality and choice. 

People who took the survey also said that Singapore is safe, with 98 per cent saying they felt safe walking around alone at night. 

This is not the first time that STB has hit back at publications that diss Singapore.

In April last year, the board uploaded photos on its Facebook page debunking factual inaccuracies in an episode from CBS’ Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.

And in 2016 when BuzzFeed UK slammed the ice cream sandwich as the “absolute worst sandwiches that have ever happened”, STB bit back to defend Singapore’s most popular street snack.

The agency posted a gif of such sandwiches and wrote: “Hey BuzzFeed UK, what’s good? #VisitSingapore”

Thank you, STB.

klim@sph.com.sg