With travel borders still shut, few hoteliers were cutting ribbons then. But Kiong spoke boldly of a “third wave” of tourism — Singapore emulated foreign destinations in the 1960s, then improved the tourist experience in the 1980s; tourists today seek cultural significance in their voyages, said Kiong.
Veteran hotelier Arthur Kiong explains how to bring the local hospitality scene to the next level even as he hangs up his hat
I first met Arthur Kiong in February 2021, when Far East Hospitality (FEH) invited journalists to experience The Clan Hotel, a 30-storey business hotel at Telok Ayer that opened in the thick of the Covid-19 pandemic.
