Changi Airport Group calls pitches to lure mainlanders to transit in Singapore

The second round of the creative pitch took place last week. A source close to the account told Campaign Asia-Pacific that DDB, Publicis and Saatchi & Saatchi where shortlisted. The result is expected to come out in mid-November. 

The source, a 4A agency head, told Campaign Asia-Pacific that it is now a lot more convenient for mainlanders to travel. "Changi Airport is good if Singapore is their travel destination," she said. "The challenge is how to attract more mainland tourists to use Changi Aiport to transit to other destinations, as there is so much competition from other airports in the region." 

For example, with Hong Kong being linked to China, mainland visitor arrivals to Hong Kong during the first three quarters of 2012 grew 24.2 per cent year-on-year to 25.3 million, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board. 

In June, Tourism Australia chose its most valuable overseas tourism market, China, to launch the next phase of its 20-year 'There's nothing like Australia' campaign, which will see the country spend US$243 million (A$250 million) over the next three years.

Competition for Chinese tourists is also heating up in Europe, according to an IHT article, banking on the added appeal of Britain as a holiday destination following a successful London Olympics, the British government is to spend US$12.5 million on a marketing campaign that aims to triple the number of visitors from China.