Singapore Tourism Board harps on power of social media for #TravelThrowback initiative to promote tourism in Southeast Asia

July 15, 2020 – The pause in travelling due to the pandemic, and its effects on tourism has been felt the world over. Everyone wishes to be able to travel again, to see the sights, to meet friends old and new, to explore and discover, and build memories. While doing so would have to wait, encouraging people to band together to stay hopeful until the next great escape is one thing we can all do.

This is the motivation behind the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) #TravelThrowback social media initiative that is aimed at uniting passionate travelers to promote the beauty of not just Singapore, but the entirety of Southeast Asia. This initiative—an undertaking in partnership with strategic tourism partners in Southeast Asia—intends to spark interest and encourage travellers to make the region a top-of-mind destination once international travel resumes fully.

“We want to rally travellers and brands with a passion for Southeast Asia’s rich culture and heritage to share their best memories, stories and experiences, as a visual treat of what [it] has to offer,” said John Conceicao, Singapore Tourism Board Executive Director for Southeast Asia. And the board recognizes that the best way to propel this effort is through social media.

Recognizing the strong influence of social media on travel decisions, the initiative calls on Instagram travellers across Southeast Asia to share their favourite travel throwbacks from their photo library by posting them using the specially created “TravelThrowback” Instagram Effect available on @Visit_Singapore’s Instagram page. With this Instagram Effect, users can share their memories across destinations in Southeast Asia and tag their friends and family to challenge them to do the same.

STB will be working with various local partners in each Southeast Asian country to welcome other national tourism organisations, tourism providers and travel stakeholders to be a part of the #TravelThrowback social initiative to inspire wanderlust.

Tourism is one of the key economic sectors in the region, and it is united by the common goal of reenergizing the spirit of tourism once it is safely back on the table again.

Relive your Southeast Asian adventures with Singapore Tourism Board’s #TravelThrowback filter. The specially made filter allows users to share their breathtaking photos from the region which they can easily label with location tags and the different flags embedded in the feature. Try out the #TravelThrowback filter and help support the revival of tourism in the region.

“This is a collective effort by a community who lives, works and plays in Southeast Asia — an authentic voice of advocacy for the return of travellers to the region. #TravelThrowback makes the first steps to encourage intra-Southeast Asia travel, and towards recovery,” adds Conceicao.