Impact of Manpower Crunch in Hospitality and F&B Sectors on Customer Satisfaction and Singapore's Reputation as Business and Travel Destination
Ministry of Trade and IndustrySpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the impact of the manpower crunch in the hospitality and F&B sectors on service standards and Singapore’s reputation, as raised by Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui. Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong stated that Singapore remains a top-tier destination with a robust event pipeline and has reopened borders for foreign workers to alleviate labor shortages. He emphasized digitalization, job redesign, and productivity as key to maintaining quality service standards for local and overseas visitors. Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong affirmed that the Ministry is working with industries to transform and ensure the delivery of high-quality products and experiences. These efforts aim to support businesses as they manage surging demand and sustain Singapore's status as a premier global business and travel hub.
Transcript
28 Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui asked the Minister for Trade and Industry in view of the feedback on the manpower crunch in the hospitality and food and beverage sectors, what is the Ministry’s assessment on (i) the impact to customer satisfaction or service standards and (ii) the overall impact on our reputation as a business and travel destination.
Mr Gan Kim Yong: Singapore’s reputation as a business and travel destination continues to be strong. When compared to nine key competitor cities, Singapore is still among the top travel destinations for both leisure and business travellers, according to Singapore Tourism Board's (STB) February 2022 Brand Health Survey of Singapore’s top 15 markets. There is a robust pipeline of business and leisure events lined up in Singapore for the rest of 2022. These include the FIND – Design Fair Asia Congress, Food & Hotel Asia and the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix.
We understand that businesses in the hospitality and F&B sectors are facing challenges as demand surges with the resumption of movement and activities post-COVID-19. To supplement the tight domestic labour market, we have moved quickly to reopen borders for foreign workers to meet the sectors’ needs.
At the same time, we encourage businesses to continue to press on with their efforts in digitalisation and job redesign, as well as raising productivity. This can help them maintain or improve their quality and standards of service. We will continue to work with the hospitality and F&B industries to help them transform so that they not only serve local customers well, but will also welcome back our overseas visitors with quality service, products and experiences.