SINGAPORE - Theatre veteran Ivan Heng, comedy couple Rishi Budhrani and Sharul Channa, and indoor skydiving champion Kyra Poh are among the personalities who will be representing Singapore in a new campaign to court tourists.
In all, 80 homegrown talents will feature in short films and promotional events overseas, as part of the Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) second wave of marketing activities under the Passion Made Possible brand.
The brand targets tourists based on their lifestyle and travel interests, categorising them into "tribes" such as foodies and explorers.
Three new tribes were launched on Wednesday (Aug 29) that will showcase Singapore's arts and culture, nightlife and entertainment, and adrenaline-filled activities on offer, through the stories of ambassadors in each field. The tribes are Culture Shaper, Socialiser and Action Seeker.
The activities will kick off in the coming months in 16 markets worldwide, including the United States, Japan and Germany.
A pop-up art showcase, tapping augmented reality technology and featuring the works of seven local artists, will also make an appearance in countries such as Russia and India.
Since its launch last August, the Passion Made Possible brand has had an audience reach of more than 555 million and close to 300 million video views, the STB revealed at the launch held at the Arts House.
Said STB's brand director Lim Shoo Ling: "Our storytelling approach to destination branding has been lauded for being refreshing and inspiring, and many have shared feedback that they enjoy the personal stories of Singaporeans and discovering a deeper side to Singapore as a destination."
At home, the STB also has plans to get Singaporeans involved by sharing stories of everyday heroes that can be used for producing content.
STB's acting chief executive Melissa Ow said at the event that the board has been stepping up efforts to profile local trailblazers, everyday heroes and their crafts.
"The core of Passion Made Possible is about building up a tourism destination that is authentic, unique and supportive of local talents and businesses," she said.
Filmmaker Wee Li Lin, who will be mentoring a group of emerging film directors for a short film showcasing Singapore's arts and culture, said: "We have some really great actors in Singapore, so to be able to showcase them... is something very exciting to show audiences."
"Take for example Crazy Rich Asians, seeing how our Singapore actors held their own against the Asian-American actors, I think it's a great sense of pride," she said.
