From a kitchen banding together to spread cheer with their meals, a concierge staff offering a lifeline to stranded visitors to new modes of engagement like virtual tours, the tourism sector has shown true resilience amid the pandemic.
In all his time working at Resorts World Sentosa (RWS), sous chef Louis Loo had never seen such an enormous mountain of food in the Integrated Resort’s walk-in freezer. The space was stuffed to the brim with dozens of baskets of long beans, hundreds of kilogrammes of white cabbages, alongside other staples like garlic, chilli, and meat.
Louis was facing the most unprecedented challenge of his over 15 years career as a Chef — to cook breakfast, lunch, and dinner, which would be delivered to thousands of quarantined individuals at the Singapore EXPO during Singapore’s Circuit Breaker period in 2020.
Even when his loved ones expressed concern, Louis gamely volunteered to return to the kitchen to take on the mission.
Starting out, however, Louis felt a little lost. For one, a lot of time and effort was needed to plan the menu, with thousands of bento boxes to be prepared in just six hours. Despite operating under “factory-line” conditions, Louis took it upon himself to create different sets of menus that were diverse and delicious.
Knowing that food was an important morale-booster, his team at RWS strove to ensure there was enough variety in dishes to break the monotony, switching it up from international cuisine to Asian food like curry fish and tom yum chicken. “That was the least we can do – to give the residents more positive energy during that period,” said the 35-year-old.
Things quickly fell into place as they learnt to operate like clockwork. Under his leadership, the kitchen staff worked efficiently in their split teams, with many going the extra mile to help the other teams complete their tasks.
One of the most memorable moments was when one staff realised they had missed out a vegetarian bento box during the packing stage, just before they sent out the food to the delivery truck. Straightaway, the entire kitchen of 100 people stopped operations and focused on locating that one box.
“It was so dramatic,” recalled Louis. “Seeing how we helped each other up like a family, I could feel the kampong spirit.”
Looking back, Louis is honoured to have contributed to the efforts on the ground. “I feel very proud to have been part of the team to do something meaningful for society,” he said.
Louis is a recipient of the Special Award for Community Care (Business and Individuals) in the Singapore Tourism Awards 2021, singled out for having embodied the extraordinary empathy and resourcefulness of the tourism sector despite being heavily disrupted by the pandemic.
Creating a “sparkling” experience for guests
Among them is Certis Aviation Security staff Mark Gain Cantalog, a Senior Experience Executive roving around Jewel Changi Airport to assist travellers and deliver a memorable experience to them.
Staff like Mark would often help with directions, provide suggestions on the best eats or gift options, and attend to patrons in times of distress.
When international travel came to a near standstill last year, the 28-year-old, who has been working at Jewel since 2018, also became a lifeline for many passengers in crisis while being deployed as a temperature screener and social distancing ambassador. This could range from helping customers to retrieve their checked-in luggage and escorting them to their gate to make sure they did not miss their flight to helping stranded families due to flight cancellations.
One such case was when a distraught Mr Arvin (*not his real name) approached Mark and his colleague at the Jewel temperature screening counter in December last year.
In halting English, Mr Arvin explained how he was scheduled to catch a flight back to his hometown to marry his fiancé and be reunited with his family after two years of working in Singapore.
But a last-minute flight cancellation the night before left him stranded at Changi Airport. Unprepared for this predicament, Mr Arvin had no alternative lodging arrangements. To make matters worse, the new flight ticket he received was invalid and he had no means to buy a new one.
Upon discovering that Mr Arvin had not eaten for the last 24 hours, Mark and his colleagues immediately bought him a meal. Over the next few hours, Mark began contacting Mr Arvin’s former employer and ticketing agency to help him resolve the issue.
After making countless phone calls to different agencies over the weekend, Mark eventually managed to secure a replacement flight ticket for Mr Arvin three days after the original take-off day. Despite it being his day off, Mark accompanied Mr Arvin to the airport and watched on as he checked-in to make sure that he could catch his flight home successfully.
Before he departed Singapore, he sent Mark a selfie and expressed his heartfelt thanks.
“It was very emotional but also very fulfilling to help someone change their situation for the better,” said Mark. “It taught me that no matter what your background, what nationality, we are all human, all in this together. By helping and supporting each other, we can surpass any trials in life.”
For going out of his way to assist the stranded worker, Mark is a recipient of the Singapore Tourism Awards’ Best Customer Service Award in the Outstanding Shopping Mall Experience category. Passionate about the work he does, Mark can’t wait for the day when international travel can truly resume again and to welcome guests with open arms.
The new face of travel
The Singapore Tourism Awards 2021 also highlighted other companies who have shown resilience and creativity in adapting to this new normal.
One of them was Darius Phee, a tourist guide from Monster Day Tours, who started conducting virtual tours to stay connected with foreign and local guests at a time when international travel was at a standstill.
The 33-year-old tourist guide and his company were deeply affected last year when the demand for tours dried up from the lack of travellers. Darius now adopts a larger-than-life persona of a “famous vlogger” as he combs the streets of Chinatown and Little India with a camera gimbal in tow.
Through his mobile phone, Darius keeps his energy levels high and ensures that his usual zest for adventure comes through to his audience. The tourist guide does role-play, performs trendy mini TikTok style dances and delivers jokes, despite the curious and perplexed stares from strangers.
Today, Darius counts participants from Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, and even as far as the United States as part of his virtual tour group. And while he strolls along the streets of Little India to deliver virtual learning journeys for schools, his colleagues are stationed at the students’ classroom with relevant items such as spice samples and elaborate saris for them to see, smell and touch. The aim is to recreate the rich atmosphere of Little India.
“It’s not easy but as an adventurous person, I like to try everything. With virtual tours, I can share the information to as many people as possible and gain confidence in speaking up,” he said.
For his innovative efforts, Darius received Best Customer Service Award in the Outstanding Tourist Guide category.
With the recent emergence of domestic tourism, Darius is on a constant lookout for new opportunities to inspire more locals to rediscover their own backyard. For instance, his One-North tour takes participants around Singapore’s Science and Technology district. It’s a place where many do not know of but are always fascinated about when they learn of the innovative research and development conducted there.
Darius also developed a food-themed tour around Sentosa, where guests could sample different cuisines at unique spots around the Southern Island: golf course, fort, beach and even the hilltop. Other tour ideas that Darius has in the pipeline include a heritage food tour and speakeasy experience.
Cocktail making during COVID-19 ‘a rollercoaster ride’
Besides tourism, the food and beverage (F&B) sector has also borne the brunt of tightened restrictions and dine-in bans.
Indra Kantono, the co-founder of the Jigger and Pony Group, describes business operations during the pandemic as a “roller coaster ride”. The Group, which runs a string of F&B establishments, including a famed cocktail bar of the same name at Amara Hotel, managed to recover 25 per cent of their sales from the very first Circuit Breaker period but saw their revenue decline by 90 per cent during the last Phase Two (Heightened Alert) period from mid-May to June of this year.
To keep the business afloat and the cash register beeping, Jigger and Pony decided to pivot their usual offerings. When the nation was instructed to stay at home between April to June last year, Jigger and Pony introduced a doorstep delivery service for their cocktails — which was unheard of until then.
“In the early days last year, we scrambled to find suitable packaging for the cocktails. We couldn’t even source for nice glass bottles, so we made our cocktails in vacuum packed bags,” said Indra with a laugh.
His team also created PONY, an in-house bottled cocktail brand, to provide customers with the opportunity to recreate the bar experience from the comfort of their homes.
Amid the challenging period, all hands were on deck to keep the bar’s business running as usual.
The bartenders of Jigger and Pony were also kept busy throughout the period as they were roped in to entertain guests and conduct virtual cocktail classes to reach new audiences. The staff organised themed nights at the bar to transport guests around the world, such as a romp around the Italian Mediterranean. They also emulated the feel of summer camp nights, complete with a cosy tepee and s’mores.
For their innovation and creativity, Jigger and Pony received national recognition at the Singapore Tourism Awards under the Outstanding Casual Dining Experience category.
The group’s efforts paid off as they managed to discover a new customer segment and harness the growing demand for craft cocktails to-go. The virtual experience and delivery service also proved to be popular amongst first-time cocktail drinkers and parents of young children who had previously found it hard to visit bars. Cocktails for takeaway have now become a popular gift option between friends, loved ones and a fancy drink of choice for people serving their quarantine orders.
Indra is hopeful that Singapore will bounce back from the crisis and the F&B industry will continue to play an important role in the community.
Though the tourism sector went through a trying time, these stories show how the spirit of travel and discovery is kept alive, through new formats and mediums.
After living in these isolated times, there will be a renewed emphasis on “human relationships, meeting people and celebrating together” going forward, said Indra.
“Increasingly, we see a world that’s been more divided, where people live in their own echo chambers. Restaurants and bars play a levelling role where people from all backgrounds in life can mingle. I’m excited that one day we can come together and have these social interactions once again,” he said.
Produced in collaboration with Singapore Tourism Board
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