SingExplorer Pte Ltd (SingExplorer) is a local enterprise that conducts and manages in-bound tours in Singapore. During the recent COVID-19 pandemic period, its business was affected badly and it had to scale down and pivot its business to being a booking agent for local attractions, hotels and cruises. After the pandemic, it reverted to its old business. Even so, it could only recover back to about 70% of its pre-pandemic sales. It is now looking for opportunities to grow its in-bound business.

SingExplorer is not alone in this predicament. The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) had obtained similar feedback and wanted to help the industry. It also hopes to promote Singapore as a pre-eminent tourist destination in Southeast Asia. It notes that Singapore has been accorded two UNESCO heritage statuses: Hawker Culture and Tropical Botanical Gardens. Leveraging on these awards, the STB has started to promote Singapore as a must-come destination in overseas markets. At the same time, it has set up a Local Tourism Innovation (LTI) Grant programme for any creative tourism service that is themed on either one or both of these UNESCO awards. The grant for each successful proposal is worth up to $50,000.

SingExplorer is deeply interested in pursuing the LTI grant. The grant will help to defray costs in developing a new range of services that it can offer to its customers. This will create yet another avenue of growth for the company. In this assignment, you will be required to use independent thinking and analytical judgement to apply innovation effectively to real-world problems.

Imagine that you are a product manager at SingExplorer and you have been tasked to propose a new service innovation to the STB. How will you develop the discussions, justifications and presentations to the senior management of the company and to the STB? Analyse the case scenario and suggest a service innovation that will help promote Singapore as an attractive tourist destination that leverages the UNESCO accolades. Explain how your proposed service will be delivered along with a clearly labelled diagram of a delivery blueprint. Illustrate with a collage of images of how you would like your prospective customers to view your service. What is the most distinctive part of your service and justify, using a suitable theoretical framework, why it can be considered new?