Holidays to Singapore twinned with the tropical Island of Bintan are increasing in popularity among British holiday makers. UK visitor arrivals to Singapore and Bintan have witnessed continued growth over the past three years and in 2007 both islands welcomed a record number of visitors from the UK.

Divya Panickar, Area Director for Northern and Western Europe, Singapore Tourism Board explains: “Singapore is a multicultural, vibrant island which gives UK visitors many unique and memorable experiences from the colourful festivals, delicious and varied dining options to the amazing shopping and nightlife scene.  We are also seeing a growing trend in visitors who are choosing to twin their Singapore experience with Bintan, which lies just 55 minutes by Catamaran beyond the shores of Singapore and boasts miles of wonderful white sandy beaches, perfect for relaxing and reflecting.”

“We want to encourage this trend. We are already seeing a rise in tour operators selling this twin-centre package and we now want to educate agents further about this perfect holiday combination, which is why were a launching a new Singapore / Bintan module to our Singa-pro training tool.”

On 15 April, a new training module will be launched on the Uniquely Singapore online agents training programme called ‘Singapore and Beyond’. The new component is a joint project between the Singapore Tourism Board and Bintan Resorts and will enable agents to learn more about the tropical Island of Bintan including the wide choice of resort hotels which all have excellent facilities from sea-sports and spas to golf courses as well as the dining options and other activities that can be done on the idyllic island retreat.

The addition of Singapore and Beyond takes the total number of modules on singa-pro.co.uk to six.

Chris Lee, Marketing Director, Travelmood said: “Twin centre Singapore – Bintan holidays are certainly proving to be a popular choice among our customers who are looking for the excitement and variety that Singapore has to offer and as well as a relaxing element to their holiday, without having to take yet another plane journey.  Bintan is quick and easy to reach from Singapore and so the two together make for a very memorable and refreshing holiday experience which is exactly what people want as an escape from their busy lives here at home.”

The UK is the largest western market for Bintan Resorts accounting for about 5% of all arrivals in 2007. In January 2008 Bintan Resorts confirmed its commitment to the UK market with the appointment of their first trade representative in the UK, Mr Rob Haynes of Red Tree Representation.

“With the increase in interest for the Far East in general and Singapore in particular amongst UK travellers, Bintan Resorts is poised to benefit strongly from this trend. Together, Singapore and Bintan offer an even more appealing destination choice - the glitz and glamour of a major metropolis with tropical island paradise offerings of Bintan. We look forward to working with the Singapore Tourism Board and our trade partners in the UK to encourage more travellers to make Singapore and Bintan their next holiday destination,” said Mr Asad Shiraz, Director Marketing, Bintan Resorts.