SINGAPORE - From December this year, Singaporeans aged 18 and above will be given $100 worth of SingapoRediscovers Vouchers to spend on local attractions, hotel stays and tours.

Here are some answers to common questions on the vouchers.

1. How many vouchers will you get?

Each eligible Singapore citizen will receive $100 worth of vouchers to spend on approved hotel stays, attraction tickets and tours, as part of the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers scheme. The vouchers will be in denominations of $10.

2. Who is eligible?

The SingapoRediscovers Vouchers will be available to all Singapore citizens aged 18 and above in 2020.

All adult Singaporeans are also entitled to purchase up to six child or youth tickets for younger relatives under the age of 18, at $10 off per ticket. So, besides parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, other relatives and legal guardians can purchase such subsidised tickets.

To do so, however, the adult must declare his familial relationship to the child or youth, and must have at least $10 left in your SingapoRediscovers Vouchers balance.

3. When can the vouchers be used?

The vouchers can be redeemed from Dec 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021.

4. What can I spend the tourism vouchers on?

They can be used at all Singapore Tourism Board (STB) approved hotels, leisure attractions and local tours.

As of Monday (Nov 23), STB said 230 hotels, 971 tour itineraries, 43 attractions and 230 hotels have been approved to resume operations.

For now, the vouchers can be used at 178 hotels which represents about 77 per cent of hotels allowed to re-open.

They can be spent on the tours offered by 79 tour operators.

As for attractions, 39 of them, or 91 per cent meet the eligibility criteria for the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers.

The full list of eligible merchants can be found here.

5. Can the vouchers be used on cruises, shopping and food and beverage and at weddings?

Generally, no, even if a wedding package includes a hotel stay.

But the vouchers may be used for retail and F&B only if they are part of an approved package including a hotel stay, attraction visit and/or tour.

Such packages must meet certain criteria such as ensuring that the retail or F&B component is used during the same period as the hotel stay, attraction visit and/or tours.

For instance, the vouchers could be used for a one-night room stay bundled with dinner for two at the hotel's restaurant.

Simlarly, vouchers can only be redeemed for cruises as part of a bundled package.

6. Can the vouchers be used all at once?

You can decide on the value of SingapoRediscovers Vouchers you want to redeem for each purchase.

Each voucher comes in denominations of $10 and any unused value in a voucher will be wasted. For instance, if you buy one $25 attraction ticket and use $30 worth of vouchers, the $5 leftover from the vouchers will be wasted. You can instead use $20 worth of vouchers and top up the remaining $5 with cash.

You can check your current SingapoRediscovers Voucher balance at this website from Dec 1.

7. How do I redeem the vouchers?

The SingapoRediscovers Vouchers can be redeemed online through five authorised booking partners: Changi Recommends; GlobalTix; Klook & UOB Travel Planners; Traveloka; and Trip.com.

8. Users can redeem their Vouchers by following these steps:

- Have your SingPass ready. Citizens are encouraged to register for a SingPass account if they do not have one, or reset their SingPass password if they have forgotten it, before the scheme commences on 1 Dec 2020.

- Choose your products. Browse the websites of SingapoRediscovers Vouchers authorised booking partners. Eligible products are marked "eligible for SingapoRediscovers Vouchers" or with the SingapoRediscovers Vouchers icon. Add your item(s) to the shopping cart. To pay, click "Use SingapoRediscovers Vouchers" at the checkout page.

- Login with SingPass to:

a. Select the voucher amount to use.

b. Activate child/youth subsidies. If you are purchasing child/youth tickets, please declare details of any family members under the age of 18. Up to six child/youth tickets will be subsidised by $10 each.

- A voucher code will be generated. Copy and paste this at the booking partner's checkout page, and pay the outstanding amount (if any). Payment modes may differ from merchant to merchant, but most debit and credit cards will be accepted for the payment of any outstanding amount.

- You must complete the checkout process within 10 minutes. Your vouchers are only deducted after you have completed the booking.

9. Where can people redeem their SingapoRediscovers vouchers? Can non-seniors redeem them from physical counters?

Authorised booking partners will provide assistance at 69 locations across Singapore, with most located within CCs or within a five-minute walk from CCs. Booking counters will also be available at selected malls and SingPost locations.

Of the 69 counters, 30 are run by Changi Recommends, 23 are run by GlobalTix, and 16 are run by Klook and UOB Travel.

Each physical counter caters for bookings from only one of the three mentioned booking partners. So a Changi Recommends counter only allows bookings for packages under it, not those by GlobalTix, for instance.

STB advised customers to ascertain what packages they wish to book, before heading down to the physical counter nearest to them.

If the counter does not have the package they wish to book, consumers can book them online or visit a physical counter by a booking partner which has the package.

Non-seniors can also redeem their vouchers at these physical counters, although STB recommends that citizens redeem their vouchers online, and assist family members and friends who require help with online transactions.

10. Why do merchants have to pay a commission to booking platforms?

When asked, STB did not say why booking platforms can charge merchants commissions. But it said that booking partners provide marketing resources to help Singaporeans discover eligible merchants.

These partners also have the manpower to operate physical counters islandwide and the resources to provide customer and merchant support.

11. Will hotels, attractions and tours jack up their prices due to the vouchers?

STB said it takes a serious view of practices such as profiteering and said it will penalise merchants found to have done so.

12. Are vouchers transferable between individuals and can they be pooled with other people's vouchers?

Your SingapoRediscovers Vouchers cannot be stacked or combined with another person's within the same redemption.

But you may purchase an eligible product using your vouchers, and transfer the product to another person provided the merchant allows it.

For more information, please visit this website. A how-to video on how to redeem your vouchers is available online as well. Alternatively, a hotline (1800-2828-228) is open from 8am to 10pm daily, for those who might require further assistance.