Singapore International Racing Festival

1. Introduction

1.1 Purpose
This report aims to provide a first hand account of the selected event for the field trip, to observe and identify the type of event and its characteristics, to critic and make recommendations on the event marketing, to critic on the event management, and to consider the values of the event to Singapore’s tourism economy.

1.2 Background
Organised by the Singapore Turf Club, the Singapore International Racing Festival will be held from 10 to 18 May 2008 with the Singapore Airlines International Cup and the KrisFlyer International Sprint, both races sponsored by Singapore Airlines, being the finale of the week-long Festival.

One of the highlights of the Festival will be "Horses in Motion". For the first time in Singapore, the public can view ten live-sized painted horses decorated based on various themes.

Other exciting Festival activities include special promotions at selected malls, F&B outlets and major hotels during Festival week and the "Guess the SIA Cup Winner" SMS contest where participants stand a chance to win attractive prizes, including air tickets and cash.

1.3 Investigation
Information for the report is obtained from the event brochures, observation and the event website.

1.4 Scope
The report covers background of Singapore Airlines International Cup, roles of the event to the organizer, the stakeholders, target market, marketing strategies, potential to meet tourist demand and recommendations.

2. Findings
2.1 Background of Organizer
The Singapore Turf Club (STC), renowned for its horse-racing, is the oldest existing club in Singapore. It was founded by Scottish merchant William Henry Macleod Read and began as the Singapore Sporting Club on 4 October 1842.

Horse-racing
The grandstand and track were built in less than five months on swampy land in what is today Farrer Park. The first race meeting was held on 23 February and 25 February 1843 to mark the 24^th anniversary of the founding of Singapore by Sir Stamford Raffles. W. H. M. Read himself won the first Derby, called the Singapore Cup, taking home the prize money of $150. The race course was also used for significant events like the Centenary Celebrations of Singapore's founding in February 1919 and the flight of the first plane over Singapore in March 1911.

In 1840s, the sport was wholly amateur, with owners training and riding their own ponies. Burmese and Chinese ponies were used before the Australian griffins were brought in for the first time in the 1880s. The sale of Australian horses took place in Commercial Square, now known as Raffles Place until 1886 when the venue was changed to Abrams Horse Repository in Coleman Street. The increasing popularity of racing at the turn of the century attracted a larger audience and led to revamped facilities like new stables and a larger grandstand in 1910

Kanji Course
Work began on the new 81.2 ha Kranji course in 1996. The S$5 million race course was opened on 4 March 2000 by the President of the Republic of Singapore, S. R. Nathan with the S$3 million SIA International Cup as its opening race. Saimee Jumaat riding Ouzo, was the only local jockey in the 14 horse field but made the opening ceremony sweeter by taking the cup and beating some of the best jockeys worldwide. The event was witnessed by a crowd of 28,000 and was the first horse race broadcast live in Singapore and worldwide.

2.2 Role of Event to Organizer and Venue
Singapore International Racing Festival event serves as place marketing as it creates positive images to the organizer and the venues where the various events were held. It improves quality of life whereby audience have the extra cash to indulge in thrilling experience by placing bets on the winning horse. The event attracts both residents and investors.

Secondly, it is considered as a tourist attraction by attracting quality tourists who appreciate the activities, spread demand and increase visitor spending and length of stay.

Thirdly, it serves as an image maker as it creates and enhances betting experience and facilities that the organizer is trying to bring out and combat negative imagery. In another words, Singapore Turf Club is trying to prove that it provides better betting experience than other turf clubs.

Fourthly, catalyst as it stimulate infrastructure and develop areas around Kranji which in turns stimulate businesses with the increase in visitors’ spending and support other attractions such as shopping malls situated near the event.

Lastly, it encourages first and repeat visits at facilities and attractions.

2.3 Stakeholders


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2.4 Target Market
Singapore International Racing Festival is targeted at working adults, ages ranging from 21 to 70.

2.5 Marketing
In consideration of the 8Ps of event marketing, Singapore International Racing Festival’s product is horse racing. It provides high entertainment value and creates a unique experience for the audience. It has a good range of activities lined up throughout the event period at various venues in Singapore. It places its events wisely at different location in Singapore. For examples, the “Horses in Motion” event is held in Plaza Singapura. Plaza Singapura is located at Dhoby Ghaut, which is also the interchange for North South Line and North East Line, it tends to attract more people, thus creating awareness of the events. The Partnerships with Singapore International Airlines is another method to create awareness and publicity through its renowned reputation. Being the organizer of the event, Singapore Turf Club has to depend heavily on partnerships for funds. Singapore International Racing Festival provides a variety of programmes in the form of competitions and tours to cater to the different needs of the adult groups. The people involved in Singapore International Racing Festival’s marketing include experienced and professional corporate communication managers, marketing managers, staff and hosts. It has an attractive packaging of different betting experience, consisting of both air conditioned and non air conditioned setting. Others may include high end betting experience with table service for ordering food and shorter queue line for buying bets. It distributed its events over a wide area. Promotion of the event is widely known through websites and banners around town area. Admission price is Singapore Turf Club is the key advantage in reaching its target audience as fairly affordable for almost all people. SGD $3 for non air conditioned and SGD $7 for air conditioned. Both the Singapore International Airlines and Singapore Turf Club promotes its events through the Internet at Singapore Tourism Board website and its official website, event brochures and banners at popular locations around Singapore.

To make marketing more effective, the organizer can advertise the event through other media channels such as television and radio which are more likely to reach out to the working adults. In addition, it can produce interesting commercial advertisements to better catch attention.

2.6 Rating
In regards of the activities flow, contents and variety, Singapore International Racing Festival 2008 was rated overall as interesting. The races proceed smoothly without any delays. However, there were critical flaws. The crowds were too big for them to handle. Seating capacity was very small and people were standing. Even for the high end betting areas, situation of people finding seats is commonly seen. There were inadequate service staffs to cater to the ordering needs of the customers. Standards of service were seen decreasing due to the lack of manpower. In addition, there seem to be a lack of communication and understanding between the various managers in charge of the different functions.

Therefore, on the whole, the event on the day of field trip is rated average.

2.7 Potential in Meeting Tourist Demand
Singapore International Racing Festival has good potential in meeting the tourist demand. Although it is a local event that is not widely publicized overseas, it is marketed through the Internet and the event is held annually. Participants will be attracted by the huge prize money and horse fans from various countries will arrive to watch and bet on the races they are familiar with. Tourists who come across the event by chance may also be attracted by the crowd and activities. The event nature coincides with the general tourist’s interests in experiencing something unique and thrilling, being in places of vibrancy and life and experiencing the local culture. Singapore International Racing Festival will definitely satisfy tourists who are particularly into sports and those who wish to try their luck overseas for monetary gains.

2.8 Improvements
Being an international event that involves the participation from other countries, Singapore International Racing Festival can affect the tourism efforts of Singapore to a large extent. The mission of Singapore Tourism Board is "We develop & champion tourism, so as to build the sector into a key driver of economic growth for Singapore".

The annually held Racing Festival could work on marketing its event overseas with the help from Singapore Tourism Board and the government. In addition, it could also increase its scale of event so as to create better awareness. After adequate marketing of the events are done, more tourists will visit Singapore, they will spend and thus increase the total revenue for the host country. Moreover, increase tourist visits will bring profitable monetary gain to retail, F&B and hotel segments. Another way to raise its value is to increase national involvement and community participation. It would be a more attractive event to attend if the whole country is taking part in it.

3. Conclusion
To achieve Singapore International Racing Festival’s objectives, vision and goals, recommendations should be taken into consideration. Having the potential to meet the tourist’s demand and adding on improvements to the event will ensure that it will attract more tourists and participants from all around the world.

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