Singapore Introduces a New Audit System to Certify Hotels and Tourist Attractions Are Clean and Safe to Visit

The Singapore government has recently launched an initiative called “SG Clean”. The aim of the initiative is to certify hotels and other tourist attractions nationwide if they meet the specified criteria.

Hotels and other tourist attractions that will pass the clean and hygiene audit will receive a SG Clean quality mark to ease traveler apprehensions and concerns in the post lockdown times. The purpose of this campaign is to make government authorities as well as private businesses to adopt good cleaning and sanitation practices.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) is planning to audit and certify around 570 hotels and other tourist attractions in the next two months. The plan is to eventually audit and certify 37,000 hotels, tourism and other lifestyle businesses operating within the country.

In order to obtain certification, hotels are required to comply with the criteria specified by STB.  The criteria to obtain SG Clean quality mark includes recruiting a SG clean manager, having processes in place for checking temperature as well as overall health of employees, executing good hygiene practices and compliance with travel and health advisories and orders by government on novel coronavirus.

Grand Hyatt Singapore is the first hotel in Singapore to receive the SG Clean certification and stamp. The hotel was recently in news as several Covid-19 cases were linked to a meeting of a private organization held at the hotel in January 2019.

The Chief Executive at Singapore Tourism Board, Keith Tan, said that the purpose of this certification and SG Clean quality marks is to ensure that high standards of cleaning and good hygiene are upheld amidst the current situation involving Covid-19.

He further said that  SG Clean quality mark helps in sending signals to both locals as well as visitors that our hotels and other tourism businesses take cleanliness and good hygiene very seriously and are committed towards ensuring that maintenance of high cleaning standards is a ‘new normal’ for the future times.