Singapore has announced the extension of the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) to all Indian cities, which was earlier applicable only to Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. Fully vaccinated Indian travellers from all Indian cities can enjoy quarantine-free travel to the destination from March 16, 2022. With this new development, more travellers from India who are fully vaccinated may now use the VTL for quarantine-free travel to Singapore. The VTL which was launched on November 29, 2021, between both countries has witnessed success since its commencement.
As the pandemic has now shown signs of ebbing, there is new hope and optimism in the travel and tourism industry across the world. Arrangements like the VTL serve to ease travel woes and encourage people to revive their long-pending vacation plans. Travelling to Singapore from India for travellers who are fully vaccinated has become easier, with some pre-requisites before departure, including a valid visa, a Vaccinated Travel Pass (VTP), stay of seven consecutive days in India or a VTL country and a mandatory RT-PCR test/professionally administered ART before boarding the flight. On arrival in Singapore, travellers can enjoy a quarantine-free stay, after taking a supervised ART at a Quick Test Centre within 24 hours of arrival and testing negative.
GB Srithar, Regional Director, IMESA (India, Middle East & South Asia), Singapore Tourism Board, said, “The extension of VTL to Singapore from all Indian cities provides the much-needed impetus to travel between the countries for all traveller types, whether for leisure, business or cruise. This is part of Singapore’s calibrated and progressive approach in re-opening our borders. Over the past year and a half, we had continued engaging the consumers and travel trade through a myriad of content and virtual experiences. We had recently launched a “Reserve in Singapore” consumer engagement activation under our SingapoReimagine campaign and are glad that more travellers from India may now start to plan their trips and reserve their experiences in Singapore. We look forward to sharing Singapore’s new, reimagined tourism offerings and experiences with our Indian visitors.”
India is a key source market for Singapore – the third-largest in 2019. Even as the pandemic halted international travel for close to 18 months, STB India continued to build destination affinity with Indian consumers through innovative marketing – such as an art collaboration between acclaimed Indian Gond artist Bhajju Shyam and Singaporean artist Sam Lo titled ‘Dancing In Unison’ to highlight the art and cultural heritage of both countries, curating the Chhota Bheem animated series to take younger audiences on a virtual trip of the destination as well as giving them a taste of Singapore’s diverse cuisine through a month-long collaboration with Foodhall India in celebration of the Singapore Food Festival 2021.
