Singapore rolls out new SG Clean scheme

The Singapore Tourism Board has rolled out the SG Clean quality mark to the tourism and lifestyle sectors as it seeks to rebuild trust in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Among the first to be certified are those along the popular Orchard Road shopping belt.

These include food and retail businesses in malls such as Plaza Singapura and ION Orchard, Grand Hyatt Singapore and the Singapore Visitor Centre @orchardgate.

Establishments like Charles & Keith, Golden Village, Jean Yip Hub, Jumbo Seafood, McDonald’s and TungLok are on board SG Clean.

Two other hotels outside of Orchard Road have also been certified – Village Hotel Sentosa and Shangri-La’s Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa.

Grand Hyatt Singapore and several businesses at Plaza Singapura received their SG Clean quality mark today from Chee Hong Tat, senior minister of state for trade and industry, and education – following a visit to the premises.

Over the next few months, Singapore Tourism Board will encourage more than 37,000 businesses within the tourism and lifestyle sectors to sign up for the SG Clean certification programme.

The SG Clean campaign is a government effort to rally businesses and the public to uphold good sanitation standards and hygiene practices.

In February, the National Environment Agency began rolling out the SG Clean quality mark at hawker centres and coffee shops, with support from the Singapore Food Agency.

The quality mark will focus on certifying establishments that experience heavy human traffic on a daily basis, such as shopping malls, hotels, tourist attractions, conference venues, preschools, schools and transport nodes.

Keith Tan, chief executive, Singapore Tourism Board, said: “Over the next two months, Singapore Tourism Board aims to audit and certify 570 hotels, attractions, and other tourism establishments.

“The SG Clean quality mark sends a strong signal to both locals and visitors that our tourism businesses take their cleanliness and hygiene very seriously and are committed to maintaining these high standards as a ‘new normal’ for the future.

“We hope that this gives locals and visitors peace of mind to go out and enjoy all that Singapore has to offer, and to show support to our tourism businesses and workers during this challenging time.”

To be certified, businesses have to go through a seven-point checklist tailored to the requirements and operations in the various sectors.

They must also comply with health and travel advisories, guidelines and government orders on Covid-19.