Strengthen arts marketing and cultural tourism:
• MITA should work with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) to promote arts and cultural tourism through:
a) capitalising on opportunities in conferences, conventions and exhibitions (e.g. medical conventions, architectural conventions);
b) systematic international marketing of our arts and cultural activities by working with foreign media, travel writers and tourism industry operators; and
c) developing an online ticketing system to better promote advance ticket sales for performances and exhibitions in Singapore.
• Set up an Arts Marketing Task Force to systematically develop marketing practices in the arts industry that would attract more audiences and sponsors from Singapore and abroad. This should be supported by $500,000 over three years to enable it to commission market research, identify potential marketing opportunities and advise on marketing plans.
Increase incentives for arts sponsorship:
• Study how tax incentives can be extended to encourage corporate sponsorship for culture.
Promote Singapore as an international arts events hub:
• Encourage international arts events to be staged in Singapore. Consider concessionary measures in areas such as the withholding tax on income earned by foreign performing artists and tax on income earned by show presenters from arts productions.
• Set aside $500,000 over three years to organise an international performing arts market with an Asian focus to attract our neighbouring countries to market their arts groups and productions to festival directors and impresarios.
• Promote the development of art auction houses through the judicious use of pro-business packages.
10. These proposals will require an increase in the long-term level of funding for arts and heritage. For a start, MITA is proposing additional funding of $50 million over the next five years for the new programmes and schemes proposed here. This does not include capital expenditure and additional recurrent expenditure from development projects.
11. The Renaissance Singapore vision and recommendations will help us establish a strong position as a premier cultural city in Asia. These initiatives in culture and the arts will demonstrate the Government’s resolve in pursuing policies that will secure a bright, vibrant and creative future for Singaporeans in the 21st century.