Increase in tour group size hailed by operators
Tour operators can take parties of up to 20 from yesterday
After three months of working with tour groups with a maximum of 10 participants, local tour operators were able to take groups of up to 20 from yesterday.
Tour operators said the increase in the participant cap has given them much-needed flexibility and allows them to save on some costs.
Society of Tourist Guides Singapore chairman Jean Wang said the change will give operators some flexibility in planning and make them more cost-effective.
"In instances where clients wanted to add two or three more to a group of 10, we might have had to scramble to activate another guide to accommodate them, but we do not have to worry about that now," she said.
Mr Jason Loe, founder of Tribe Tours, said the increase in group capacity could make some of the company's tours slightly more profitable.
"Prior to this, when tour sizes were restricted to 10, costs doubled for groups greater than that number. That means more resources had to be deployed, like two guides or two vehicles to accommodate the group," he said.
"More participants per guide means we can earn more, and keeping groups to 12 will not compromise our service or safety considerations," said Mr Sim Cher Huey, founder of eco adventure travel company Kayakasia.
Mr Tony Tan, director and guide at Betel Box The Real Singapore Tours, agreed, saying the increase in group size makes tours more scalable.
"When the group sizes are too small, the cost of operations can be quite high for us, and the shared costs for participants, like guide fees, may also be prohibitively high," said Mr Tan.
His company has seen more than double the number of bookings for this month compared with October, most of them corporate bookings.
However, some tour operators here are in no rush to raise group sizes.
Mr Toh Thiam Wei, founder of Indie Singapore, said his company's guides have found smaller group sizes more intimate and interactive, especially when compared with those of up to 40 that they led before Covid-19 struck. The company wants to see if it can maintain smaller group sizes beyond the pandemic.
Others such as Mr Sim said he would keep the group capacity to about 10 due to the uncertainty of the pandemic, and in case group sizes were decreased again if the situation got worse.
Those running food tours also cited the "group of five" rule at dine-in establishments as a hindrance to increasing group sizes.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
