This article narrates Singaporean tourism development vis-à-vis conventional hotel-based and expensive public relations campaign models of tourism development championed by Western multi-lateral and private institutions in the postcolonial period. Using documents from the National Archives of Singapore, this article contends that Singapore opted for an infrastructure-led, aviation-based tourism development model, which culminated in the creation of an airport–Changi–which was as much a destination as a transit point. In achieving this approach to travel as tourism, the People’s Action Party highlighted the global advantages of an attractive airport and traveller amenities that made it an ideal global transit point in Southeast Asia. © 2022 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Customers’ experience is one of the most impactful factors in the tourism industry. Only by offering customers an excellent experience is it possible to build and ensure long-term customer loyalty. In today’s world, technology plays a key role in providing customers with an excellent customer experience. This study has the objective of analyzing how a positive customer experience can be achieved, and which technologies are necessary to ensure this. Results were collected through a literature review, and qualitative interviews with managers of selected hotels, as well as of attractions in Malaysia and Singapore. The analysis of these hotels and attractions is based on a set of criteria to determine the extent of the adoption of the new standards that contribute to positive online customer experiences. As a conclusion, different perspectives are compared, and positive and negative aspects of the use of modern technologies in the tourism industry are specified and discussed.